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Are heating pads for terrariums usable

G

gvittman

Im am this year running into big problems in germinating my seeds. I started about 150 chiles, and every year I simply place them near a heater, and they come up within a week. As this year we had a pretty cold winter, I waited longer than normally before seeding. About one quarter opened their eyes, but then the weather started changing, and we are having between 12 (54 F) and 20 C (63 F) right now, meaning that the heaters are cold. Have been looking for heating pads, called all stores, and people in this darn country don't even know what I'm talking about.
On eBay found some heating pads for terrariums, 17, 22 and 30 W. Can they be used for heating mini greenhouses?
I have never used them. Do you simply plug them in or do you use them with a thermostat in order to control the temp??
Looking forward hearing some expert suggestions from users.
 
I believe many of them come with a thermostat, you might want to visit a store that sells reptiles, spiders and insects if you have one close by. They should be perfect to put unders a mini greenhouse as they are waterproof.
 
Thank you Sir. Will visit one tomorrow. Just contacted the guy on eBay and he says a thermostat is essential. Do you all use your heating pads this way?
 
Thanks Pepperfreak, but that still doesn't tell me if I need a thermostat. Is the temperature not naturally limited by convection?
 
So that means experimenting with the spacing between heat pad and seed tray. I may give that a trial. When I look at prices here, it is shocking. About 50 euro for a 15 x 20 heat mat and 40 for a thermostat. As I need 2, I'd be looking at spending about $300.
 
F., that's an artwork!!! Is a great creation. What is the wattage of your light bulb if I may ask, and does the bottom not get too hot/ top too cold?
 
gvittman said:
Thanks Pepperfreak, but that still doesn't tell me if I need a thermostat. Is the temperature not naturally limited by convection?
Click to expand...

I would definately use a thermostat. Last year I lost an entire tray of tomatoes and only got about 40% germination on peppers because my heat mat fried my seeds. It got up to about 40C or about 100F. I set my thermostat to 30C or 85F and have had over 90% germination on everything within 2 weeks. (excluding wilds of course).

I have also heard of people using water bed heaters for sprouting seeds, so there is a thought as well.

Good luck!
jacob
 
The heating pads sold for reptiles normally run about 100*F(~38*C), so a thermostat or rheostat(light dimmer) would be needed to control the temps.

However, like others have said, you can put an airspace between the heat mat and the germination box to get lower temps as well. Personally, I would use a proportional thermostat.
 
I read one interesting posting on the web, showing how ingenious garden people can be. This guy moved into a new place, and it turned out that his fridge was sticking out 8 inches. Well, very simple. He cut a hole in the wall, put a cupboard in the back, and used this cusboard for germinating his seeds. The back of the fridge takes care of the heating.
 
Got one seed tray heating going and works pretty good. Will try to post some pictures.
Took a plastic postal box, used for transport of mail, which has exactly the same size as my seed trays. Cut 2 holes in the short sides for a light socket, covered the 4 sides with cartboard covered with aluminum foil (sides have ventilation holes), did the wiring and installed 2x20W light bulbs. Was a challenge to find regular light bulbs as most stores only sell the compact fluo type, energy efficient bulbs. The result: 38 C (100 F) on the floor of the tray and 34 C (93 F) at the height of the seeds. Took one side cover out, and this lowered the temp to about 32 C (90 F) at the floor and 27 C (81 F) at height of the seeds. Is coincidence I think but one of the seeds already sprouted overnight.
Now still have to finish a second setup. I placed the seed tray temporarily on top of the water heater, which does a great job keeping the temp at 26 C (79 F). Only bad thing is climbing on the ladder to reach the sealing.
 
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