Ugh! Another bulb has blown!

[KJE]

I have been lurking here for a little while. Great place!

Anyway, my problem is that whenever I spend a little extra $$ on a "reptile" light it blows within 2 or 3 days. I have the light hooked up to the same thermostat as the UTH, so it is going on and off all the time. That's the only way I can keep the warm side around 90 degrees. Don't worry, it's a night time light so it doesn't bother my BP.

Here's the clincher...I bought a few of those purple lights after Halloween last year and those seem to last several months. I think I paid like 50 cents for those, compared to around $5 for the reptile light. I can't wait until Halloween gets here so I can stock up on some more of those lights! These are not the lights that make things glow, they are just purple in color.

Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know why the bulbs would be blowing so quickly? Is it because they keep being turned on and off? If that's the case, then why aren't the cheaper bulbs blowing?

[elevatethis]

I would argue that there are some brands of "reptile" lights that are of lesser quality than regular, hardware store bought bulbs, and by the time the pet store marks them up, cost 10 times as much.

But yes, if a bulb is being constantly turned on and off, it will shorten the life of it. I'm not sure why the other bulbs are lasting so long. I would just run the bulb 24/7 and keep the UTH on the thermostat by itself. Remember those heat sources are not equal and ideally shouldn't have been on the same thermostat to begin with.

[Kagez28]

try a ceramic heating element, those last a lot longer then bulbs.

[elevatethis]

try a ceramic heating element, those last a lot longer then bulbs.

Ditto that, and, CHE's can be very accurately controlled by a thermostat without any affect on its life. I have a CHE that is over 6 years old and still going strong.

[Kagez28]

since i use only tubs for my snakes i never have used a CHE. i do use a heat bulb for rodent defrosting and re-warming, and i have had the same bulb for months.

but from what brad says 6 years is a good deal for a CHE. they may cost a little less but as you can see they last alot longer.

[KJE]

I was under the impression that it shouldn't matter what is plugged into the thermostat since it just clicks off when the probe reaches the temperature in which it is set.

I didn't think a thermostat could tell the difference between a light and a UTH, only the difference in the temperature of the probe. BTW, I'm using the BAH-1000.

Maybe I'm thinking about this all wrong, but I thought as long as you were using the 2 things plugged into the thermo for the same enclosure it should be fine, since you are only trying to control the temp.

My concern is that leaving the light on 24/7 might cause the temps to go too high. I might have to check into getting a CHE and another thermo.