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Air conditioning a snake room...
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by Kingetula on October 28, 2009
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I need some advice/help on selecting the right portable AC unit for my snake room. I understand BTU and how to figure up SQFT however when it comes to adding BTU's to compensate I start guessing... I might come close but I thought I would ask some of you who may know a little more or at least let me know if I'm on the right track.
This room is in a new house (5 years old) facing the South. I have a large window (double window) that is 72x72 with tall bushes blocking direct sunlight for the most part. The windows are double pain glass. 1 wall connects to another part of the house however 3 walls are not, they are insulated and have brick exterior. Attic is well insulated.
I will be running 32 lights (Zilla low profile)that probably will not put off much heat however I will be using Pro Products Radiant heat panels (about 2780 Watts all together, 32 panels)
room size is, 13x14 = 182sqft
If I add 10% for the position of my room and window (Facing south)that should put me around 6,000BTU (Right?)
Now it's the panels that I am not sure about. I'd like to keep the room at 75F during the day (give or take 2 degrees) (and maybe lower depending)
I have desert snakes that will require higher temps from the panels and other snakes that should be fine with the heat panels around 85F during the day.
I'm guessing 7,000BTU but as I said, a guess. I want the unit to work properly so being under or over sized can be a problem with a guess and why I look to you for advice. Maybe I'm not giving those panels enough and should be higher on my BTU?
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RE: Air conditioning a snake room...
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by CentralLF14 on October 28, 2009
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The air conditioner size is not that big of a deal...i wuld use a 5000 or 6000 BTU which is definitley big enough...The bigger the air conditioner the less it has to work...if you use a 2000 BTU it would probably cool your room enough but would be running non stop rasing your electric bill...i have a shed that i use for reptiles...it is approx 12x12 and i use a 5000 which is actually to big but it doesnt run that much....i always keep my ambient temp at 75 and use flexwatt to obtain the proper temps in my racks....if you would like further details you can email me if you would like....
Cody
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RE: Air conditioning a snake room...
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by Kingetula on October 28, 2009
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Here are a few things... I used this chart and the tool below (Other link, I just found)
Cody, do you use a Window AC or portable?
http://www.air-conditioner-home.com/ac-btu-guide/
Room Size Recommended BTUs
150 sq. ft. up to 5,400 BTUs
200 sq. ft. 6,000 BTUs
340 sq. ft. 8,000 BTUs
400 sq. ft. 9,000 BTUs
450 sq. ft. 10,000 BTUs
550 sq. ft. 12,000 BTUs
750 sq. ft. 14,500 BTUs
Also this is a BTU tool.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/acroomsizecalc.html
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RE: Air conditioning a snake room...
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by agkistrodude on October 29, 2009
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I agree with Cody. If the size is rated for the room or slightly larger, it won't have to work as hard.My out building is 12x20 (soon to be 24x20, but not finished with the other side yet) and I use an 8,000 btu air conditioner.It does fine even with a lot of sun exposure in the summer. I'll probably need another one or upsize the current one when the adjoining room is finished. Take care, Marty
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RE: Air conditioning a snake room...
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by CentralLF14 on October 29, 2009
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I use window AC...that chart is right with the BTU's but just remember the bigger you go he less it will be running...since your looking to cool a room that is in the house you will have a much easier time maintaining the temps than i do with my shed outside....i have 3 different thermostats hooked up....i use one for the AC so that it will kick on when the ambient temp hits 80...i have another hooked up to he baseboard heater so that my heat will turn on when the ambient temp goes below 73 and then i have a thermosat hooked up to my flexwatt so my cage temps are always what i need them to be....its kind of confusing but i chose to do this so if one heat source fails i ahve a back up....let me know if you understand what im saying here...
Cody
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RE: Air conditioning a snake room...
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by Kingetula on October 29, 2009
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Thanks Randal, Marty and Cody!
I'm glad I asked here first, charts help however the experience people have doing the same thing I want to do can't be beat!
Cody, I understand to a point. Just curious about the AC being hooked up to a thermostat, does your AC not have one? Curious how you have this set up and why (If you did) pass up the thermostat built into the AC? (Maybe I just didn’t understand correctly). I guess this goes for the heater as well… (It just sounds like you bypassed the thermostats built into the AC and Heater and used your own thermostat???
Also for those who use Radiant Heat panels, how have you placed the probes in the cage? What works best?
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RE: Air conditioning a snake room...
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by RFSnakewrangler on October 29, 2009
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I use RBI panels and I have found two things that work well. The first is to silicone the thermostat probe to an unplugged panel and let it cure for a few days before mounting it. This is similar to placing the probe directly on heat tape.
The second is to secure the probe somewhere on the wall of the cage. Again, silicone is a good option.
Both of these methods require a second thermometer with a probe to fine tune your hot spot. The setting on your thermostat will be different than the temp of your spot.
Don't make the mistake I made the first time around, which is taping it to the floor under the substrate. No good, and horribly inaccurate.
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RE: Air conditioning a snake room...
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by Time on October 29, 2009
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I run my 220 unit on a Johnson Control thermostat. I've been using this combination for over 6 years with no problems.
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