Ditch the ruined belt, cut your losses, then get a new one.
Heater belts are meant to go around the brew its really that simple, they are not designed to hang in mid air. The full fermenter effectively keeps the heater belt cool, due to the thermal mass that it provides if you hang it in mid air the heat from the belt really has nowhere to go so it just gets hotter and hotter hang it around the brew and the heat is dissipated like it should be (therefore keeping the belt cool enough not to melt) Ive been using them for years and only ever had one problem, that was when I wrapped a towel around a brew with a heater belt on it dont do it, they are not designed for that use it for its intended purpose and it will be fine. (Dont ever stretch a heater belt to keep it tight either, just a couple of pieces of duct tape will hold it in place)
Same with heater pads they are designed to heat something that is hard to heat, not air its fine to wrap a towel or blanket around them brew when using a heater pad, as there is no direct contact with the heat source.
And with heater pads, dont listen to any BS saying it will overheat the yeast cake, a properly fermenting brew swirls around the fermenter like mad, therefore spreading the "heat" through the whole brew. The only time it will heat the yeast cake is when it is finished fermenting, and if its finished fermenting you dont need the heater on anyway
Regarding light bulbs, you wont get light strike, light strike come from UV light, not visible light, so you wont have a problem using that method either.
Heater belts are meant to go around the brew its really that simple, they are not designed to hang in mid air. The full fermenter effectively keeps the heater belt cool, due to the thermal mass that it provides if you hang it in mid air the heat from the belt really has nowhere to go so it just gets hotter and hotter hang it around the brew and the heat is dissipated like it should be (therefore keeping the belt cool enough not to melt) Ive been using them for years and only ever had one problem, that was when I wrapped a towel around a brew with a heater belt on it dont do it, they are not designed for that use it for its intended purpose and it will be fine. (Dont ever stretch a heater belt to keep it tight either, just a couple of pieces of duct tape will hold it in place)
Same with heater pads they are designed to heat something that is hard to heat, not air its fine to wrap a towel or blanket around them brew when using a heater pad, as there is no direct contact with the heat source.
And with heater pads, dont listen to any BS saying it will overheat the yeast cake, a properly fermenting brew swirls around the fermenter like mad, therefore spreading the "heat" through the whole brew. The only time it will heat the yeast cake is when it is finished fermenting, and if its finished fermenting you dont need the heater on anyway
Regarding light bulbs, you wont get light strike, light strike come from UV light, not visible light, so you wont have a problem using that method either.
