I was thinking of using more natural UVB as an addition to the light, i figure there is no reason why i cant have him outside in a safe mesh enclosure of course, when im outsite hanging out washing,doing yardwork and playing with the kids that imagine over a week that would really add up, Do you think a unused guinea pig enclosure with mesh top would be safe for outside basking?
REPTILE ONE solar flare heater
- Thread starter n1cky83
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Notorious_Guf
Active Member
Hey Nicky, how is the light going? I'm thinking of getting one as my heat lamp gave up last night and I'm hoping someone at the reptile show will sell them. Have you put your little one outside under regular sunlight yet? mine become dramatically more active, and one gets very aggressive too after being in the sun for a little while, he has issues though 
I've been using the solar flare heater for a couple of months now for my beardie.
he definitely seems to enjoy basking directly beneath it, probably becos of the fan blowing as well.
I initially bought the strongest wattage available (think it was either 75 or 100watts) & was surprised it wasn't as hot as a red heat light or ceramic. The heat emitted is very subtle...two inches beneath the light averages 35C.
The bulbs are exactly the same you see in Ikea/Freedom ceiling lights & easily available from supermarkets for about $3. Halagen globes.
he definitely seems to enjoy basking directly beneath it, probably becos of the fan blowing as well.
I initially bought the strongest wattage available (think it was either 75 or 100watts) & was surprised it wasn't as hot as a red heat light or ceramic. The heat emitted is very subtle...two inches beneath the light averages 35C.
The bulbs are exactly the same you see in Ikea/Freedom ceiling lights & easily available from supermarkets for about $3. Halagen globes.
cypher its very important that you know if you only replace the bulbs with ones form the supermarket , they all now have a UV block, they generally have a little symbol with a line through a little square saying no UV and they emit no uva or uvb, for houses,
you need to buy the reptile one branded replacements and there is anoth reptile brand out there can remember the name though, only $15 for two reptile branded replacements
you need to buy the reptile one branded replacements and there is anoth reptile brand out there can remember the name though, only $15 for two reptile branded replacements
AndrewHenderson
Well-Known Member
sorry to drag up an old thread here. do these have to be run via a thermostat do you know? if so are they used through a dimming or on/off thermostat?
Thanks
Andrew
Thanks
Andrew
I definitely wouldn't use a thermostat with the Solar Ones. The bulb needs time to cool down before it can be switched on again, so the "erraticness" of a thermostat would most likely blow it.
Dimming thermostats would also cause the same problems, in my opinion...as by the time the dimming down kicks it, the bulb may still be too hot to be powered up again.
The Solar Ones tend to generate a pinpoint of heat rather than heating up an entire end of the enclosure.
Dimming thermostats would also cause the same problems, in my opinion...as by the time the dimming down kicks it, the bulb may still be too hot to be powered up again.
The Solar Ones tend to generate a pinpoint of heat rather than heating up an entire end of the enclosure.
dtulip10
Very Well-Known Member
i would disagree i have been using this heating system with a dimming thermo and have not had a drama.
LILMUMMA_69
Not so new Member
i got one two days ago for my beardie and he seems to like it he speds most of his day under it the fan is really quiet and i have no complaints about it so far the hot end is sitting on 98 to 100 degrees and the cool end is sitting on 80 to 82 degrees. yes the UVA\B globe is replaceable if you remove the screen and pull gently on the globe. there ment to be replaced every 12 months for this unit.
the hot end is sitting on 98 to 100 degrees and the cool end is sitting on 80 to 82 degrees. yes the UVA\B globe is replaceable if you remove the screen and pull gently on the globe. there ment to be replaced every 12 months for this unit.
LILMUMMA_69
Not so new Member
I herd that heat rocks and mats are bad because beardies have nerves on there stomach that can get damaged and cause serious damage to them is this true?
dtulip10
Very Well-Known Member
most dragons have blood vessels that run through there back they control there body temp by controlling the amount of blood flow through these vessels. this is why about heating is recomened with most dragons.
cheers D
Dragon-Nut
Not so new Member
Hi all,
I've got 4 of these fan heat lights and my first one was purchased when they first came out nearly 12 months ago. Using them on Beardies & Central Netted Dragons. I've got the 20W & 50W ones depending on size of enclosure. My dragons love them and sit under them all day long. I think they might even enjoy the small brezze the fan produces??!!! lol
The fan heat lights have a low voltage transformer whcih converts the 240V from your power point to 12V to drive the fan's motor and lights. That is why they are not recommended to use with a dimming thermostat as that can short out the transformer when the dimmer slowly reduces tthe current to the transformer. A straight on/off thermostat might be a better option although that might shorten the life of the bulb, not sure if it would? In saying that, i don't use a thermostat with them at all as I have done lots of test with them and measured the temps. They just don't get that hot that it overheats my enclosure. The trick is to use the right wattage in the right size enclosure and the right distance away from the top of the basking spot. You just need to experiment with it a bit. But that's me and I am certainly not recommending that anyone else does the same. It's only on those mega hot days that I turn them off altogether. If my ambient temp is already going to be 40C inside my house, then my enclsoures sure won't need any more heat.
Even though the light does (according to Reptile One) put out 4-5% UVB, if you're using them on dragons, best not rely on that as a primary source of UVB. It is recommended that for dragons, you use 10.0 for desert/arid species anyway so at 4-5%, that tells me that it's not enough anyways, so I have another 10.0 UVB tube which I use in all my enclosures. Maybe that is why they put it under the heating section, not lighting on the Reptile One website as 'andie' pointed out earlier.
888lowndes888 - some of my fan heat lights started to get noisy too after a few months, but only during start up, then they got quiet again. The first time I replaced a bulb, I found a lot of red dust (from my red desert sand substrate) inside the fan heat light (guess that's normal though as the fan will stir up fine particles of sand and dust I suppose), so I got one of those blower things for cleaning camera lens and a paint brush and gave the inside of the unit a good blow and clean with the paint brush to get all teh dust out. That helped heaps to quieten down the unit and now, whenever my units start to get noisy, I give it a good clean inside. (Oh, you gota pull the bulb off to do it because that's where the fan is.) Hope this tips helps you guys later on too.
Lastly, I found most of this out from the product info sheet which I downloaded from teh reptile one website where the fan heat light is, on one of their products page. There is a link there that you can click on to download a PDF info sheet. There's quite a bit of good info on it including UVB outputs which I found quite useful. Go check it out.
Hope I've helped. E.
I've got 4 of these fan heat lights and my first one was purchased when they first came out nearly 12 months ago. Using them on Beardies & Central Netted Dragons. I've got the 20W & 50W ones depending on size of enclosure. My dragons love them and sit under them all day long. I think they might even enjoy the small brezze the fan produces??!!! lol
The fan heat lights have a low voltage transformer whcih converts the 240V from your power point to 12V to drive the fan's motor and lights. That is why they are not recommended to use with a dimming thermostat as that can short out the transformer when the dimmer slowly reduces tthe current to the transformer. A straight on/off thermostat might be a better option although that might shorten the life of the bulb, not sure if it would? In saying that, i don't use a thermostat with them at all as I have done lots of test with them and measured the temps. They just don't get that hot that it overheats my enclosure. The trick is to use the right wattage in the right size enclosure and the right distance away from the top of the basking spot. You just need to experiment with it a bit. But that's me and I am certainly not recommending that anyone else does the same. It's only on those mega hot days that I turn them off altogether. If my ambient temp is already going to be 40C inside my house, then my enclsoures sure won't need any more heat.
Even though the light does (according to Reptile One) put out 4-5% UVB, if you're using them on dragons, best not rely on that as a primary source of UVB. It is recommended that for dragons, you use 10.0 for desert/arid species anyway so at 4-5%, that tells me that it's not enough anyways, so I have another 10.0 UVB tube which I use in all my enclosures. Maybe that is why they put it under the heating section, not lighting on the Reptile One website as 'andie' pointed out earlier.
888lowndes888 - some of my fan heat lights started to get noisy too after a few months, but only during start up, then they got quiet again. The first time I replaced a bulb, I found a lot of red dust (from my red desert sand substrate) inside the fan heat light (guess that's normal though as the fan will stir up fine particles of sand and dust I suppose), so I got one of those blower things for cleaning camera lens and a paint brush and gave the inside of the unit a good blow and clean with the paint brush to get all teh dust out. That helped heaps to quieten down the unit and now, whenever my units start to get noisy, I give it a good clean inside. (Oh, you gota pull the bulb off to do it because that's where the fan is.) Hope this tips helps you guys later on too.
Lastly, I found most of this out from the product info sheet which I downloaded from teh reptile one website where the fan heat light is, on one of their products page. There is a link there that you can click on to download a PDF info sheet. There's quite a bit of good info on it including UVB outputs which I found quite useful. Go check it out.
Hope I've helped. E.
MatE
Very Well-Known Member
I was told about these globes(dichroic)a few years ago.You could buy them from bunnings without the lens,but they dont do it anymore.The lens is only there to limit the uv coming through.My mate that was using them had them on all his lizards with great success.Ive used them on thermostats but only the 20 &50watt.
hey guys, i've got one of these last week the 50W one, i've placed in my 90CM W X 53CM L X 45 CM , the hotter end only provides around 27c and the cool ends at 25c.....i've tested it with a digital thermometer, any advise what i should do as i'm close to ready for my beardie to move in soon
TahneeMaree
Very Well-Known Member
How long are you leaving it on for to test the temp? I left mine go for a few hours and it got really hot (beardies weren't in there at the time as I have no thermo for it yet) I didn't use a thermometer, just stuck my hand under it, and it was definately over what you say yours gets to.
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