Zilla thermostat is FRUSTRATING ME. advice?

[Ballpythoncrazy]

I bought a Zilla thermostat a while ago (I don't remember what it's called so take a look at the picture to get a better idea) AND ITS TERRIBLE. I have my heat pad plugged into it, and I have it set to 90 degrees but my infrared thermometer says the heat pad is 80 degrees. But if it turn the dial just barely enough for the red light to turn on my thermometer says its 96 degrees, which is way too much. I have the probe directly on the heat pad, but it seems like the probe is just for looks and doesn't actually do anything.

Am I just doing something wrong? Has anyone else had this problem? Or uses one of these? Opinions are much appreciated!


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[mohawk]

What does your temp gun read inside the tub, over the heat pad ??

[Ballpythoncrazy]

What does your temp gun read inside the tub, over the heat pad ??

The temp gun says the inside of the tub is the same temp as the heat pad. It usually is. The inside will only ever be like .2 degrees different


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[mohawk]

Is your probe just sitting on the pad that is sticking out from the tub ??
It should be placed between the pad and tub bottom .

[Ballpythoncrazy]

Is your probe just sitting on the pad that is sticking out from the tub ??
It should be placed between the pad and tub bottom .

That seemed to slightly help. I moved the probe and put it between the heat pad and bottom of the tub, then the thermostat turned on and bumped the temp up to 88 (which is still 2 degrees off). But then once it got to 88 the thermostat turned back off and now my temp gun says the heat pad (and inside of tub) is 82, and the thermostat still hasn't turned back on


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[EL-Ziggy]

I use a different thermostat but I usually have to set the thermostat a few degrees higher to get the enclosure temps where I need them. For example my thermostats are set between 90-94 which brings my substrate temps to 86-88.

[KMG]

The advice I can give you is get a good tstat. The ones from the big box pet stores are pretty junky.

I vote you replace it with a Herpstat when you can.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Dont read the numbers on the stat. Go by you thermometer.

[Mr. Misha]

I agree with El-Ziggy. I have to set up my UTH thermostat to like 95 (it's a PVC enclosure) for it to hit 90. I also agree with KMG. Getting a proportional thermostat is definitely the way to go and I highly recommend it.

[EL-Ziggy]

You can't beat the high end proportional t-stats like herpstat or vivarium electronics but I've been using the hydrfarm thermostats for a few years now with no issues. I highly recommend them for those who are looking for a less expensive but reliable option.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...arm+thermostat