# Ball Pythons > BP Husbandry >  Hydrofarm MTPRTC-Digital-Thermostat any good?

## kyleax1

I have read about how rheostat's suck if the temp in the room fluctuates and I'm not willing to spend 50+ on a ranco or johnson thermostat.

I'm not a fanatic, I just want my snake to be happy and healthy.

Does anyone know if this is a good thermostat?

I wanted to use one for my cool side UTH and another with a CHE to keep the ambient temp steady.

I am currently using dimmer switches and I am having to adjust them all the time to keep the temps right.

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Cody John Steele (11-22-2010)

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## Cody John Steele

I have no knowledge of the Hydrofarm thermostat, I have seen it several times before, and I thought of using it myself to save a few pennies. I would just personally save up for the $60 rancho one from Reptile basics.

I wish I had a review or something I could give you on the Hydrofarm thermostat, but hopefully some of these other guys will have used it.

Sorry I couldn't be of anymore help.

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kyleax1 (11-22-2010)

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## Tzeentch

Yes, I use it for my UTH.

I've had it for 6-7 months, so far so good. 

It's nothing special, but it works.

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kyleax1 (11-22-2010)

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## kyleax1

Thanks for the info Tz

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## jfreels

I have three of them and they are all getting the job done.  Keep in mind, they are the on/off type of thermostat.  They shut off when they hit a specific temp threshold and they turn on when they hit another.  There was another member here who got it and said they sucked because they didn't know how they worked.  I have mine set to 92 and it generally turns on at 89 and off at 93.5 F.

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kyleax1 (11-22-2010)

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## kyleax1

> I have mine set to 92 and it generally turns on at 89 and off at 93.5 F.


That's good enough for me. 
The problem I have been having using the dimmers is at night the stats show 80/90 and in the morning sometimes the temps are 75/88 and others they are 70/83...so I just need something economical to fix this problem and this device sounds like it will meet my needs at a reasonable price.

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## fredanthony

> That's good enough for me. 
> The problem I have been having using the dimmers is at night the stats show 80/90 and in the morning sometimes the temps are 75/88 and others they are 70/83...so I just need something economical to fix this problem and this device sounds like it will meet my needs at a reasonable price.


I have 4 of them, no problems yet and gets the job done  :Smile: 
I got them from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

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## jonesy72

i agree .. when i was getting into BP's i was tring to save a few bucks.. so i ordered a hydrofarm.. ive been useing one for 6 or 7 months now on my rack .. yeah its cheap ..my findings on this stat..
its fairly acurate.
its been reliable.
it does get the job done.
the probe isnt replacable so if it breaks the thermostat is done.
if i remeber correctly it handles 600 watts might be 400..
for the money its worked very well .. ive had no problems . Now that ive used it for awhile now ,and have a better understanding of thermostats .Its very basic .But it works
ive since ordered a herpstat nd . be here monday.. the hydro farm will make a good back up..

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## BroknBusted

How do you have yours set up: under the tank on the heat pad or inside the tank? And if it's inside, any issues with the snake getting near the wire? I just got one and not sure the best bet for setting it up. I do have a thermometer connected to the glass above the heat pad and under the substrate right now. THe temps show the heat pad hits 110, but the substrate never seems that warm. I am more worried she may burrow down to the bottom glass and burn herself, so that is why I got one.

THANKS!!

Jay

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## Vypyrz

The thermostat probe should be mounted so that it contacts the heat source. One way to do it is to mount the probe to the bottom of the enclosure and then mount the heat source over it.

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## tdcamp

I have two on the way. Ill let you know what i think when they get here.

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## fonzi1289

How r they working? I wanna use one on my rack till i get my helix

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## jason79

One thing that I find kinda funny is people spend hundreds if not thousands on snakes and then want to skimp on the controller that could mean life or death for all the snakes in the rack. I have never used the thermostat in question but to be so cheap they had to use cheap materials to make it. Price doesn't necessarily mean it no good but I prefer to use top quality thermostats to protect my animals. When you figure in the cost of the animal replacement / vet bills if your t-stat fails it seems like 80.00 bucks or so more is nothing to get a top quality t -stat.

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## Amon Ra Reptiles

> How r they working? I wanna use one on my rack till i get my helix


Works great so far but only at 6 months here

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## SnakeKB

Ive got the reptitemp 500r and a herpstat. The reptitemp was only 30$ and works flawless. Only a 2* temp change from on and off. I wouldn't hesitate using the hydrofarm thermostat.

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## Amon Ra Reptiles

> One thing that I find kinda funny is people spend hundreds if not thousands on snakes and then want to skimp on the controller that could mean life or death for all the snakes in the rack. I have never used the thermostat in question but to be so cheap they had to use cheap materials to make it. Price doesn't necessarily mean it no good but I prefer to use top quality thermostats to protect my animals. When you figure in the cost of the animal replacement / vet bills if your t-stat fails it seems like 80.00 bucks or so more is nothing to get a top quality t -stat.


I don't mean to be offensive here but as you said just because a product isn't expensive does not mean it's not a quality product. I'm not advocating use of this tstat on an incubator or even putting it on your rack and leaving it for weeks on end without checking on it to ensure that it is working properly. But let's be honest here, what's a worst case scenario if a tstat fails? The flexwatt shuts off. Now I know that some owners would like their animals to stay at exactly 89.5degrees with no more than .01 degree fluctuation but quite frankly that's not always realistic nor is it necessary. These animals have survived for eons with what I'm pretty sure is a temperature fluctuation from time to time. I'm not saying it's good for animals to go without heat for any period of time but I can assure you they WILL survive it if it happens. When operating with an tstat its a good idea to have a back up plan in place regardless of the brand but other than that I see no GOOD reason why a less expensive tstat shouldn't be used. 

It drives me nuts when people think you should have a 1500.00 set up for one or two animals with a 5000.00 savings account for back up before you should bring home your snake. The fact is people have kept and bred these animals in far worse conditions than simply having a cheap tstat. It's your collection ultimately and if you want the higher end tstat then by all means buy them but please don't look down on the smaller time owner that doesn't have the coin to spend on them. At least they are putting a tstat on and running the flexwatt wide open. 

Is the hydrofarm the best choice? Probably not, but dollar for dollar it's a good tstat. 

P. S. This was posted by someone who actually has experience related to the OPs question, not just an unfounded, unasked for negative opinion.

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## BuckeyeBalls

Funny thing is people say yhe "repti-temp 500r" people say is the WORST tstat u could ever buy. Its better than a dimmer switch tho  :Smile: 

Yes that tstat may not be "ideal" for what most people would use, but at-least its a tstat. Same with the OP, that may not be the most ideal tstat he could buy, but its better than unregulated flexwatt or heatpad...

And about the repti temp 500r i actually have one running 2 small boaphiles, and works just fine. Tho i will switch it out soon just in case but it has never failed me and i know many people who have used em for a long time with no failures.

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## jason79

> I don't mean to be offensive here but as you said just because a product isn't expensive does not mean it's not a quality product. I'm not advocating use of this tstat on an incubator or even putting it on your rack and leaving it for weeks on end without checking on it to ensure that it is working properly. But let's be honest here, what's a worst case scenario if a tstat fails? The flexwatt shuts off. Now I know that some owners would like their animals to stay at exactly 89.5degrees with no more than .01 degree fluctuation but quite frankly that's not always realistic nor is it necessary. These animals have survived for eons with what I'm pretty sure is a temperature fluctuation from time to time. I'm not saying it's good for animals to go without heat for any period of time but I can assure you they WILL survive it if it happens. When operating with an tstat its a good idea to have a back up plan in place regardless of the brand but other than that I see no GOOD reason why a less expensive tstat shouldn't be used. 
> 
> It drives me nuts when people think you should have a 1500.00 set up for one or two animals with a 5000.00 savings account for back up before you should bring home your snake. The fact is people have kept and bred these animals in far worse conditions than simply having a cheap tstat. It's your collection ultimately and if you want the higher end tstat then by all means buy them but please don't look down on the smaller time owner that doesn't have the coin to spend on them. At least they are putting a tstat on and running the flexwatt wide open. 
> 
> Is the hydrofarm the best choice? Probably not, but dollar for dollar it's a good tstat. 
> 
> P. S. This was posted by someone who actually has experience related to the OPs question, not just an unfounded, unasked for negative opinion.


They asked for opinions on a thermostat so I gave mine. I never put anybody down and I'm not looking down on anybody for their choice in thermostat. I also never said anything about a 1500 dollar set up or 5000 dollars to put aside I don't know where you came up with that. its a 120.00 dollar thermostat verses a 30.00 dollar one a difference of less than a hundred dollars. The tried and true good thermostats cost less than even the cheapest morphs But worst case is it doesn't shut off and burns or kills them yes believe it or not it can happen. The second worse is it turning off and causing RI which will cost you more than a good thermostat would have in the first place.  On a single cage its not as big of a deal as it is on a rack full of snakes. I never said you should not use these or any others I just pointed out the fact that people spend lots of money buying snakes then try to skimp on what in my opinion is the most important part of the rack setup to each their own though. I hope these do work well for all that have them but as with most products that are sold cheap they are usually made with cheap materials that don't last. I just hope peoples animals don't end up suffering because they tried to save a few bucks.  I guess all that matters is your comfortable with it as you pointed out its your collection not mine. 
Good Luck

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LizardPants (04-30-2011)

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## LizardPants

> One thing that I find kinda funny is people spend hundreds if not thousands on snakes and then want to skimp on the controller that could mean life or death for all the snakes in the rack. I have never used the thermostat in question but to be so cheap they had to use cheap materials to make it. Price doesn't necessarily mean it no good but I prefer to use top quality thermostats to protect my animals. When you figure in the cost of the animal replacement / vet bills if your t-stat fails it seems like 80.00 bucks or so more is nothing to get a top quality t -stat.


I second Jason on this to the extent that you should not skimp on equipment.  Really, the welfare of your snake is worth the (negligible) extra investment.

However, electonics circuit building and micro-controllers, is a hobby of mine.  I haven't compared the circuit and components of the Hydrofarm against other non-proportional thermostats, but from my understanding it's doubtful that the Hydrofarm uses components or a circuit design of any significant lesser quality than that of Johnsnon or Ranco.  I may prove myself wrong upon further analysis, but in my opinion the Johnson and Ranco are overpriced for non-proportional thermostats.  When you're at the price point of a Johnson or Ranco, you might as well shell out the extra coin for a Herpstat which is proportional, tried, and tested.

If you're in a pinch, or need something temporary while you wait for your Herpstat to be built and shipped (I'm looking at you Bean Farm), get the Hydrofarm (I've done this).  If you want to put non-proportional back ups in line with your proportional thermostats (as recommended by Herpstat), at this point I would recommend the Hydrofarm over the other non-proportional thermostats.

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