Thermostat Setup Help

[Mike41793]

Hey guys so i finally decided to ditch the tank and move my snakes to tubs. So i bought a vivarium electronics-200 model for me t-stat. Instead of using heat tape i decided to use the 2 uth i had used for my tanks before. One is a ten gallon one and one is a 30-40 gallon size one. The smaller one is for the 12qt tub and the larger one is for the 34qt tub. My questions are:
1. Where should i put the probe for the t-stat? Right now i have it on top of the smaller 10 gallon uth heater, so its in between the bottom of the tub and the uth on the outside of the tub.
2. What should i have the daytime temp set to on the t-stat? Because depending on where the probe is depends on what i should set it to.
3. The smaller uth heater seems to be working fine getting hot but the 30-40gallon uth doesnt seem to be getting warm at all. Like i said the probe is on the smaller one so would this mess up the big one? Or does it just take longer for the larger one to heat up? I let it sit for 15 min and it still isnt warming up.
Thanks for reading guys, I appreciate anyones input or answers to my q's!

[kitedemon]

You cannot use two different wattage UTHs with a single probe t-stat. They either need to be the exact same or you need a second probe (either double head tstat or two) I would check them both just plug them into the wall (not attached to the enclosure) and see if they are heating and heating fully often removing breaks them and they need to be replaced.

There is a lot of ideas with probe placement but if you have a single enclosure (especially tubs) in a room that is cool I'd place the probe inside the tub directly over the uth. It MUST be FIRMLY fixed I don't like using tape inside so i prefer hot melt glue it can be removed but it isn't easy to do so. The interior placement with help even off the ambient room temps and keep the set point from needing to be altered as the room temps change. The set point would be what you want the hot spot to be. Typically i use 91 which delivers 90 to the the top of the substrate.

I would urge you to use your old t-stat as a fail safe for your new one.

[kitedemon]

Oh keep an eye on the ambient and cool side temps not just the hot spot this is the comprimise made with tubs they help with humidity but are much harder to heat as the loose so much so fast. The ambient air temp and cool side temp in a cool room are very difficult to maintain. (limited options)

[Mike41793]

Ok thanks. I think I'll just get some heat tape then bc I was planning on getting it eventually anyways, the only reason i used the pads was just bc i already had them...The room i have them in usually stays at like 74-76 so Im not super worried about the cool side temps. I think I'll also take your advice and hot glue the probe on the inside of the tub over the hotspot. One more question: Is it ok to just stick with the one probe in the one tub and base all my temps off of that? Like is there any way to add more probes?

[The Serpent Merchant]

There is no way to add more probes unless you have a thermostat that has 2 separate outputs.

You can use one probe for both if the tubs are the same thickness/material, use the same amount/wattage of heat tape and are in the same room. Otherwise you won't have consistent results. You can experiment with only using one probe if the set-ups are different but I can't say if it will work out or not.

[Mike41793]

Ok thank you. Yes the tubs are both pretty much the same and the room temps remain stable so i feel pretty comfortable with using only one probe. I'll have to get myself some heat tape now.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Ok thank you. Yes the tubs are both pretty much the same and the room temps remain stable so i feel pretty comfortable with using only one probe. I'll have to get myself some heat tape now.

Most racks work this way. You can get flexwatt from Reptile basics. They will even wire it up for you at no extra charge.

[Mike41793]

Most racks work this way. You can get flexwatt from Reptile basics. They will even wire it up for you at no extra charge.

lmao, its like you read my mind. My next q was where do you reccommend getting the heat tape from. Thanks alot, im placing my order tonite.

[The Serpent Merchant]

lmao, its like you read my mind. My next q was where do you reccommend getting the heat tape from. Thanks alot, im placing my order tonite.

Read your mind no... seen enough Flexwatt related questions to know that this question was coming Yes. lol