$28 is an excellent price for the mat alone.

Sometimes I find that the heat mat actually keeps the soil too warm, and some pencils placed between the mat and the flat with the soil(allowing for some air space between) gives a temp more to my liking.

Just picked two of them up down at the Lakeville location - the price tag says $35.00 but they rang up at $29.84 (w/ tax). As for the trick with the pencils thats good info to have, thank you Leftwood! What should the avg. temp be? 75-80 degrees?

Does anyone put their seed flats on radiators? I've never tried this because it seems like you could fry the seeds. On the other hand, it might be a good way to insure that the flats stay warm at night. Of course, one would have to water more frequently.

I've got two radiators under southern windows. They have radiator covers that provide flat surfaces on the top. Get tons of sun.

Just to let everyone know, Menards also has these for $21.