How many racks can i run on one Thermostat?

I just purchased 3 new racks (crazy i know, the addiction is hitting me and my bank account hard). If i buy a VE200 can i run two racks off of that? How many can i run safely off of one thermostat?

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Originally Posted by mbaker8686

I just purchased 3 new racks (crazy i know, the addiction is hitting me and my bank account hard). If i buy a VE200 can i run two racks off of that? How many can i run safely off of one thermostat?

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Not sure what the specks exactly are on that specific thermostat, But I have several spider robotics herpstat thermostats they have quite a few different thermostats for sale. Their single herpstat i think will handle up to like 700 watts. They have a herpstat 2 that handles up to like 900 watts per probe or plug. and a herpstat 4 that handles up to 1600 watts total. These are great thermostats that handle quite a bit of power. I have used them for years and they work wonderful. What I would suggest is look at the max. watts the thermostat will handle and go from there. Are you using flexwatt and if you are what watts is it. Then add up the total run of the flexwatt and see if the thermostat will handle 2 racks. Hope this helps........

well there are a few variables that go into whether or not a single thermostat can run more than one rack.

1. heat tape: all of the heat tape connected to a thermostat must be the same wattage and size.

2. Rack configuration: The racks must be identical

3. You can't have more flexwatt than the thermostat can handle... when you see flexwatt listed it usually has a size and a wattage. (such as 3 inch 6watt) This means that for each foot of 3 inch flexwatt it requires 6 watts of power so multiply the wattage by the total length of flexwatt then subtract it from the wattage of the thermostat.

There are other options as well such as the Herpstat 2 and 4. the herpstat 2 has 2 independent thermostats in one box, and the herpstat 4 has 4 independent thermostats in one box. this is a much more cost effective thermostat style and will give you the most flexibility and ability to expand in the future.

http://spyderrobotics.com/

I have the VE-200 and idk how you would do that. Theres only 1 probe so youd be basing the temps off of that one spot where the probe is. Also you would have to have the flexwatt of the rack all connected together on each of the 3 racks. Otherwise there wouldnt be enough outlets on the power strip for you to plug into. Like SerpantMerchant said, it depends on a few things...

That is true, with only one probe you would be reading from only one rack.

If the racks are identical, you can place the probe in one and temp gun them all on a regular basis. I would reccomend eventually getting one for each rack, or at least each stack if you stack them.

Considering the value of the animals you plan to fill these racks with, thermostats are not the place to start cutting cost. In fact, just the opposite is true...

Like Mike said...I also have the VE200 and there is only one probe and you would have to have a continuos piece of flexwatt heating both racks. I think the Spyder Robotics Herpstat 2, etc has the ability ot have more than one probe.

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Originally Posted by RetiredJedi

Like Mike said...I also have the VE200 and there is only one probe and you would have to have a continuos piece of flexwatt heating both racks.

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Gonna have to disagree with that part. In my experience there's only 2 things that matter here:

1) The size and wattage of the flex watt.
2) How many watts the Tstat can support.

I have 3 racks hooked to one Tstat. All 3 are using 3 in flex watt at 10W per ft. 2 are identical AP racks. The other is a RB type rack. All are holding the same temps throughout. The total wattage for all 3 is around 350 watts which is well within the Tstat wattage limit.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

Gonna have to disagree with that part. In my experience there's only 2 things that matter here:

1) The size and wattage of the flex watt.
2) How many watts the Tstat can support.

I have 3 racks hooked to one Tstat. All 3 are using 3 in flex watt at 10W per ft. 2 are identical AP racks. The other is a RB type rack. All are holding the same temps throughout. The total wattage for all 3 is around 350 watts which is well within the Tstat wattage limit.

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So where do you have your probe? If that would work it would be awesome!!