Heating Cable Warmth

Discussions about the care and keeping of ants

Moderator: ooper01

Post Reply
AntsIkhlef
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2018 8:39 am
Location: Stockholm

Heating Cable Warmth

Post: # 47452Post AntsIkhlef
Tue Aug 14, 2018 7:51 am

Hi!

I wondered how warm a heating cable or heating pad should be for Formica and Lasius queens to feel good? Help would be much appreciated!

Celsius would be best but fehrenheit works too. ;)
Beginner here!
I am new to this and I have just founded my first colonies! :geek:

Keeper of:

2x Lasius niger
1x Lasius neglectus/i]

🐜❤️4ever

TheRealAntMan
Posts: 620
Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:59 pm
Location: Chicago, Illinois

Re: Heating Cable Warmth

Post: # 47457Post TheRealAntMan
Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:16 am

A 15 watt cable will do just fine.
An ants' strength can be rivaled by few animals compared to relative body size.

AntsIkhlef
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2018 8:39 am
Location: Stockholm

Re: Heating Cable Warmth

Post: # 47465Post AntsIkhlef
Tue Aug 14, 2018 11:02 am

TheRealAntMan wrote:
Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:16 am
A 15 watt cable will do just fine.
that i knew but itwas the degrees thati was more on after!
Beginner here!
I am new to this and I have just founded my first colonies! :geek:

Keeper of:

2x Lasius niger
1x Lasius neglectus/i]

🐜❤️4ever

User avatar
colo3000
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2016 3:32 pm
Location: Longmont, CO

Re: Heating Cable Warmth

Post: # 47466Post colo3000
Tue Aug 14, 2018 11:32 am

AntsIkhlef wrote:
Tue Aug 14, 2018 11:02 am
TheRealAntMan wrote:
Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:16 am
A 15 watt cable will do just fine.
that i knew but itwas the degrees thati was more on after!
A 15 watt cable has a standard temperature, there’s 15 watts running through the cable hence the cable is a constant temperature equivalent to 15 watts.
-Colo3000

CampoKing
Posts: 41
Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:20 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: Heating Cable Warmth

Post: # 47704Post CampoKing
Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:42 am

It's hard to put an exact temperature on these cables. In a cold room, they're slightly warm to the touch. In a 25C room, they can feel hot. If they are surrounded by insulating materials (plastic, wood, foam, etc) they can get very hot (above 31C). These cables just emit a fixed wattage of heat along their length, and that's it. Unlike a heater or air conditioner, they have no control circuitry to regulate their heat output.
The surrounding environment determines how warm the cable ends up being.

PS: Formica and Lasius species usually live in temperate forested areas. They should be content with room temperature, up to 25C or so.
Keeper of Camponotus:
C. pennsylvanicus, C. subbarbatus, C. nearcticus

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests