another thermostat question

long story short i got a new thermostat from zoomed as my rheostat burned up.... literally. I had the probe taped to the outside of the rack directly on the heat tape and it will only get the ambient temp to 70. i was told not to put the probe in the tub but i dont know how else to get the temps right... any pics of where you put your prob to keep your temps just right?

thanks

I use a probe on the inside of enclosures but never a rack. It feel that i can secure a probe to the bottom of an enclosure but with a rack there is simply too much chance of it moving. Racks basically need to have an ambient air temp in the normal range for royals to work properly. It can be done with out this but it is very hard and requires lots of work and cash. The easy solution is to heat the room where the rack is to 80ºF, this will usually resolve all problems associated with them.

The 500r is a very poor t-stat I'd invest in a better one and use the 500r as a failsafe.

I would junk that zoomed thermostat asap, that thing is going to do the exact same thing as your last rheostat. What brand was your rheostat? Was it a dimmer or something you bought specifically for controlling reptile heating elements? I had a zoomed thermostat, if you're wondering what credibility I have.

The cheapest I would ever go would be a Ranco or a Johnson. I have Helixes and Rancos myself.

no experience in this myself but i have read of using a dummy tub if that would solve your problem