ReptiTemp 500 or Zilla Temperature Controller 1000w?

So I bought the ZooMed Rheostat at petsmart to control my undertank heater--it was crap. Even on the lowest setting possible, the temp was still reading 98 F. So I returned that and ordered the ReptiTemp 500 online, I haven't received it yet.

I was in Petco this morning to get dog food and browsed their reptile section and saw they had the Zilla Temperature Controller 1000w on clearance for $4! So I bought two, figuring I could at least sell the extras on eBay or something. =D

Any way, so now I have two Zilla Temp Controllers at my house, in package, and the ReptiTemp 500 in the mail. Which is the better one? i.e. which should I keep and which should I sell on ebay? lol

I have never had the repti temp 500. But have used and sell lots of the zilla thems, and they are good.

Haha--this is offtopic, but my coworker just bought a Dumeril's Boa off you a few months ago. He was very pleased. I saw your tag and had to mention it. lol

sell all of them on ebay and get a ranco or johnsons.

never have to worry again!*

*as a note, there are a lot of people who can use the zoomed stuff well.. they NEVER worked for me and i had one for a few months. the temps never stabilized because my room temps swung like crazy. With a thermostat with a digital read out and temperature setting (ie, NOT a zoomed thermostat or rheostat), i have never had to worry since. I replaced my zoomed with a johnsons, and now have a helix. The johnsons control is a backup thermostat now.

I have never had a problem with my reptitemp 500r although I prefer to use my Johnson controls. I only use the reptitemp for quarantined animals but in the year that I have had it, no problems.

If I remember correctly, there have been a few cases of the zilla thermostat not allowing the UTH to get hot enough. Like, on the highest setting it would only be 85* or something.

If you search for that thermostat in the forum you might be able to find some helpful info of people past experiences.

I used a 500R for a month or so and finally bought a Ranco. If I had to do it over again, I would have just bought the Ranco or Johnson Controls right off the bat -- the 500R at $30 is a pile of crap. For $40 more, you can get a thermostat that actually holds its settings, is handmade out of high quality materials, and will work for basically forever. I bought mine from Reptile Basics, Inc (RBI), and was very pleased with the experience.

My 500R barely gets the UTH to 89 at MAX setting, and if the room temp drops any, it's over with.

I love my repti temp 500! Never had a problem with it holding temps!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by syrcaid

Even on the lowest setting possible, the temp was still reading 98 F.

---

The only time mine has done that was when the probe had fallen away from the heating mat.