sell me on a HS pro

[tmlowe5704]

I am going to be buying a new thermostat soon and want to see what people are saying about their herpstat pros now that they have been out for a little while. I plan on buying one of these to run my adult racks and hatchling racks since there are 4 different probes and zones and I will be able to just use heat tape and not have to worry about heating the whole room. Are there any downsides to this thermostat? I was looking at the HS2, but for the extra $100 I can control double.

edit: and what is the deal with the USB and software?

[Nate]

I'm looking into the pro for my next tstat too...4 outputs, very nice

as for the USB and software, this is from Spyders web page:

Monitor the status of your Herpstat product online
Receive Scheduled Emails or TEXT Messages with status information
Receive Emergency Email and TEXT alerts
Update the Herpstat's firmware when code changes have been made

[tmlowe5704]

I'm looking into the pro for my next tstat too...4 outputs, very nice

as for the USB and software, this is from Spyders web page:

Monitor the status of your Herpstat product online
Receive Scheduled Emails or TEXT Messages with status information
Receive Emergency Email and TEXT alerts
Update the Herpstat's firmware when code changes have been made

Yea straight from spyder it is $395 shipped. For the price of that vs. buying 4 proportionals, you can't beat it. Plus you have the software and I would like the text alerts if temps drop too much. About the online status, does that mean I would be able to log onto something and see real time temos? It will really help since these 2 racks are the only ones I plan on using for now.

[TekWarren]

Not to be negative or put spyder products down...as I use them myself and love it (original herpstat). But something to consider (coming from my technical background) is the possibility of a single point of failure. Controlling 4 zones would be awesome but to me would be a little scary if those 4 zones were 4 full racks of animals. I have no doubt the products are all of great quality but it never hurts to plan for the worst case scenarios.

[tmlowe5704]

I will be using each zone to control a warm or a cold side of a rack.

[Freakie_frog]

Not to be negative or put spyder products down...as I use them myself and love it (original herpstat). But something to consider (coming from my technical background) is the possibility of a single point of failure. Controlling 4 zones would be awesome but to me would be a little scary if those 4 zones were 4 full racks of animals. I have no doubt the products are all of great quality but it never hurts to plan for the worst case scenarios.

I am with you Tek. If your one thermostat goes out then you could have more than one rack out of heat. Herpstat are great products. I use the helix DBS 1000 its got one button and three plugs real Micky Mouse to run.

[tmlowe5704]

I am with you Tek. If your one thermostat goes out then you could have more than one rack out of heat. Herpstat are great products. I use the helix DBS 1000 its got one button and three plugs real Micky Mouse to run.

I like the Helix but I am looking for something a little more money saving and still getting quality. I know spyder makes some awesome products, but I know this one is fairly new that's what I am asking. I will not be ordering this yet, rather in like 2 or 3 more months probably.

[Ridley]

Not to be negative or put spyder products down...as I use them myself and love it (original herpstat). But something to consider (coming from my technical background) is the possibility of a single point of failure. Controlling 4 zones would be awesome but to me would be a little scary if those 4 zones were 4 full racks of animals. I have no doubt the products are all of great quality but it never hurts to plan for the worst case scenarios.

If one can afford a 300$ stat and some decent racks, I would think the reptile room is probably heated as well, so how disasterous could a failure be? If the room is anywhere above 70-75(mine is at 78 for instance), the damage will be zero to minimal with certainly no deaths. The herpstat has an over-heat shutdown feature, so I wouldn't worry in the least about cooking. I'll have the HS pro running 4 racks and I have no worries, but thats just me.

[tmlowe5704]

Well the rack is in my garage for the time being while we get a fully enclosed and insulated building in the backyard. It is heated and for the reason of accidental power loss etc...I would rather the garage be warmer to start to I may skip the HS pro. I will take some time to think about it

[Ridley]

yeah, i would skip the fancy t stat as well if thats the case. #1 thing to have IMO, is a place for the rack, ie snake room, that takes most all the risk away from T stat failures and/or power outages. 4 racks of snakes, or even one for that matter, in an otherwise dubiously heated area, is too high a risk.