Heating Mat

[ETXfigs]

I got a heating mat the other day from Amazon. I have not used one before. I have 10 cuttings that are in clear solo cups and then put in plastic bags. I put the heating mat at the bottom of a plastic tote and the cuttings on top of that. My question is, can these heating mats get the cuttings too hot? With them all bunched up in there, I am wondering if there should be air flow between the cuttings. I have a feeling that I should put a thermometer in there and use some sort of thermostat. Maybe I should put them in a bigger tote so I can space them out. Is it possible to get them too hot with one of these mats?

 

[387PETE]

You need to get a thermostat and set it around 78 degrees. You can easily cook your cuttings without one

 

[DavidNC]

I second Pete. I would never use one without thermostat/controller, one with a probe you can insert right into the soil at the root zone.

 

[ETXfigs]

Thanks, I will get a thermostat.

 

[387PETE]

This is the one I have and it works very good

 

[ETXfigs]

I hope that I didn't cook them. I had them in there two days with the heating mat. I may have to put those varieties back on my WL. I will look at it as a learning experience. Once I get the thermostat, that will never happen again.

 

[ETXfigs]

This is the one I have and it works very good

Thanks. Is that one that will turn off the heating mat when it gets too hot? I think that I need one that will regulate the heat. Will it turn the mat on and off?

 

[BucksCountyFigs]

And put something between the heating mat and your fig pops. I put my heating mat under my Tupperware bin.

This is the controller that I got, which is cheap and was recommended by my friend who is a commercial fruit grower.

https://a.co/d/3fRPDTu

P.s. my heating mat was was super cheap (also recommended by my farmer friend), but I noticed when I just got some other heating mats, that holy moly, hating mats are NOT all created equally, even if priced similarly, so just a heads up.

 

[SDO]

Mike Kincaid has a video you might be interested in.

 

[GoodFriendMike]

I used to use them with ceramic floor tiles over them. I found by doing that it made the heat more even. Sometimes those mats will have hot spots. I stopped using them for fig cuttings as I keep my house at 75f.

 

[BucksCountyFigs]

I used to use them with ceramic floor tiles over them. I found by doing that it made the heat more even. Sometimes those mats will have hot spots. I stopped using them for fig cuttings as I keep my house at 75f.

Wow, my heating bill would be through the roof!
I wish I had solar.

 

[GoodFriendMike]

Wow, my heating bill would be through the roof!
I wish I had solar.

Here it is the summer months that my electric bill is crazy high.

 

[superdave336]

I used to use them with ceramic floor tiles over them. I found by doing that it made the heat more even. Sometimes those mats will have hot spots. I stopped using them for fig cuttings as I keep my house at 75f.

Since I start my cuttings inside my house I just use the ambient temperature of the house which works fine. I found the thermostat kept the mat so it barely ran anyway so I don’t bother with it now inside.

 

[ETXfigs]

Since I start my cuttings inside my house I just use the ambient temperature of the house which works fine. I found the thermostat kept the mat so it barely ran anyway so I don’t bother with it now inside.

I have only been heating the part of the house that we use the most and only at night-early morning. I got the heat mat because the cuttings are in a room that isn't getting any heat. I think that a simple solution to this problem is to move the cuttings into the living room, atleast until I get a thermostat.

 

[387PETE]

Thanks. Is that one that will turn off the heating mat when it gets too hot? I think that I need one that will regulate the heat. Will it turn the mat on and off?

Yes it turns the heat mat on and off. If you set it for 78 degrees it will shutoff when the probe reaches that temperature and stay off until it drops 3 or 4 degrees and then restart. I'm not sure if you can change the temperature differential with this one but some you can

 

[ohiobruce]

I have this one and you can control the temperature differential. Inkbird

 

[BucksCountyFigs]

I have this one and you can control the temperature differential. Inkbird

Do the different outlets really mean as they are labeled (one for heating and one for cooling)- but how is the other outlet for cooling?

 

[snarfing]

Oh

I got a heating mat the other day from Amazon. I have not used one before. I have 10 cuttings that are in clear solo cups and then put in plastic bags. I put the heating mat at the bottom of a plastic tote and the cuttings on top of that. My question is, can these heating mats get the cuttings too hot? With them all bunched up in there, I am wondering if there should be air flow between the cuttings. I have a feeling that I should put a thermometer in there and use some sort of thermostat. Maybe I should put them in a bigger tote so I can space them out. Is it possible to get them too hot with one of these mats?

View attachment 15098
View attachment 15099

oops i have the same one. though i just temped it all and the mat itself was at 89 degrees, the figs were at 78. I just threw a towel between them and i think that'll be fine. the room theyre in is around 60

 

[ohiobruce]

Do the different outlets really mean as they are labeled (one for heating and one for cooling)- but how is the other outlet for cooling?

You plug in your refrigerator to the cooling outlet. I originally used this controller for brewing beer to keep the fermentation temperature down.

 

[DavidNC]

I tried keeping the ambient temperature at 75 so I didn't push the heating pads, but I started to get bud break on many of my cuttings. I set the ambient to 68 to chill the top growth, and let the pads heat the medium.