| I recently
purchased one of AP's new High Top design racks for some ball pythons I
had coming in. Being a new product design, I would like to take
the time to let people know what I think. The rack arrived in 2
boxes via FedEx with no damage. I'm always thankful when I get
heavy things shipped and they arrive without being run over by a
forklift.
Being my first AP purchase and
never buying a non-assembled rack before, I unpacked and carefully
looked over the parts with instructions in hand. Confident
everything was accounted for, I grabbed the cordless drill with a number
2 phillips bit and went to town. Assembly went very smoothly and
was quite simple. I will note that I used a 15.6v drill and had
the clutch set on 4.
Now that it's assembled, lets
talk about the new features. The rack is heated by 11 inch flex
running from the top of one side (at the back) all the way down and then
underneath and up to the top on the other side to create a wonderful
ambient temperature in the tubs. Each shelf is expertly cut to
allow a space for the flex to be slid into and easily mounted.
Additionally, the rack is shipped with an extra piece of foam insulation
that is used on the bottom to ensure the bottom tub does not
artificially overheat. I did take one extra step and applied a
piece of foil tape across the flex at the top of each shelf where the
tub might rub over time. There were no hang ups and none of the
tubs rubbed the flex with out this, but I figured it wouldn't hurt and
will only serve as protection. Thermostat probe placement is a
dream; with each shelf having a routed slot for the probe and the wire
allowing easy installation as well as a pass through for air to achieve
accurate readings and temperature control.
The rack itself is esthetically
pleasing with clean lines and rounded corners, but the top is the best
part about the looks. All of the cords are channeled up to the top
and concealed. Only a single power cord is seen exiting the back
of the rack. I am running a HerpStat thermostat on this rack with
the default settings and the temperature set to 88.3 and am quite
pleased with the performance in a room where the ambient temp is
currently 68 degrees.
Mark and his staff have done an
excellent job on the design and implementation of this product and I
would recommend it to anyone. I will be purchasing another this
fall.
Damon Theis,
www.degei.com |
