Got my Hydrofarm thermostat; now what?

Hey all!

I just got my Hydrofram thermostat today, and have it all set up and going! I have the prob directly above the heatpad, under the newspaper substrate. It came with a little suction cup to hold it on so I have it suctioned onto the glass. I have it programmed to shut off at 90 degrees, and its been working great! However, now I'm having another temperature "issue".

The probe is literally about an eighth of an inch above the class. Now, because it's reading that that area is 90 degrees, it shuts off. when I use my temp gun, however, its reading around 82 directly above the UTH (this is measuring ON the newspaper, not underneath where the probe is).

Now because the probe is reading the area as 90 degrees, and the temp gun is reading the hot side at around 82-84 degrees, is this okay? Or should I allow the UTH to get a little hotter before the thermostat cuts it off in order to up the temperature for his hot hide? Should I take the paper off and do a reading with my temperature gun to see whether it measures the glass as 90 degrees? I kind of feel like I'm worried about nothing, but I definitely want what is best for my little guy :)

Thanks!
Kourtney

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Originally Posted by Kourtneyhk

Hey all!

I just got my Hydrofram thermostat today, and have it all set up and going! I have the prob directly above the heatpad, under the newspaper substrate. It came with a little suction cup to hold it on so I have it suctioned onto the glass. I have it programmed to shut off at 90 degrees, and its been working great! However, now I'm having another temperature "issue".

The probe is literally about an eighth of an inch above the class. Now, because it's reading that that area is 90 degrees, it shuts off. when I use my temp gun, however, its reading around 82 directly above the UTH (this is measuring ON the newspaper, not underneath where the probe is).

Now because the probe is reading the area as 90 degrees, and the temp gun is reading the hot side at around 82-84 degrees, is this okay? Or should I allow the UTH to get a little hotter before the thermostat cuts it off in order to up the temperature for his hot hide? Should I take the paper off and do a reading with my temperature gun to see whether it measures the glass as 90 degrees? I kind of feel like I'm worried about nothing, but I definitely want what is best for my little guy :)

Thanks!
Kourtney

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The probe needs to be on the outside of the enclosure. It prevents the snake from moving the probe, thus reading and regulating your UTH incorrectly.
Remember, a thermostat isn't a thermometer. It may not read the exact temp.
If your temp gun is reading 82-84, then set your thermostat for 96-97 degrees to give you a hot spot of 88-90. My thermostat is set to 98 to give my hot spot of 90.

I have my thermostate inside and it just makes sure i hit an ambiant of 82 then again i use bins and i only use 8watt heat tape that doesnt get hot enough on full strangth to burn the snake. Everyone has their own methods, thermostate inside the inclosure or direct to the heat tape is a big debate everyone has there own personal preferance

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Originally Posted by jfaria1891

I have my thermostate inside and it just makes sure i hit an ambiant of 82 then again i use bins and i only use 8watt heat tape that doesnt get hot enough on full strangth to burn the snake. Everyone has their own methods, thermostate inside the inclosure or direct to the heat tape is a big debate everyone has there own personal preferance

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8 watt heat tape unregulated gets more than hot enough to burn a snake...

Plus flexwatt doesn't really effect the air temperature inside of a cage.

The interior placement can be used safely if a few things are met first. The big one in any set up is the probe must be secure. 100% secure outside this is easy there are a ton of materials that will work to do this. Inside it harder no tape should be used. Hot melt glue securing the probe and a good amount of the cord is effective. IT MUST NOT MOVE!! The second thing is a failsafe. in this type of set up especially a fail safe should be used. This is a second T-stat or a T-stat that has over and under set points that will kill the power if the probe moves primary fails ect.

Hydrofarm T-stats reading cannot be trusted.

They are speced at 3ºC up or down (that is 6ºF over the set point or under it) add the 4 degree swing they have and you have a monster window. (16ºF) You must disreguard hydrofarm temp and use a known accurate thermometer to set it. This also is a rub as inexpensive digital ones generally have 4ºF ranges and most (all maybe safe) IR guns about the same. Personally I'd either buy at least 3 the same and 5 or more would be better test them against each other and eliminate the odd ones. generally this will be close to accurate. the other way is to buy a traceable thermometer that has been individually calibrated when it was made. They come in all kinds of ranges from 4º to 0.04º. I would suggest that 1 degree up or down is fine. Sadly the cheapest I know of is more than most of the T-stats on the market by a fair bit. The helix and the herpstat, ecozone, herpkeeper and VE all have a one degree error (+/- 1ºF) or better and the lower priced ones are actually quite cheap in the realm of accurate thermometers.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

8 watt heat tape unregulated gets more than hot enough to burn a snake...

Plus flexwatt doesn't really effect the air temperature inside of a cage.

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o.O did i upset someone XD

it doesn't get hot enough when there's a Tstat used with it, as in if the Tstat is in the enclosure it will still keep the heat tape below a burn-able heat :) trust me it works i have never burned a ball or any animal for that matter :)

your right inside of a cage, i said cage because they mentioned glass which means there using a tank of some sorts so i was trying to word it to there needs :) i personally use a rack that uses bins and heat tape which effects the air temp in the bins quite wonderfully thank you :)

the air in my apartment can be 60 and the air in the bins can be 80 and then everyone's happy :)

Okay thanks for the info. Then I'm assuming that I should use the IR temp gun and measure the temp from the GLASS on the inside of the tank, not over the substrate, as it is possible for the snake to get under the paper if he so chooses. Am I correct in thinking this way? If the glass above the UTH is 90 degrees, but the 'hot spot' on top of the substrate is only 84, should I leave the thermostat at that setting because the glass is reaching 90 degrees and this is a place the snake can get?

Thanks again,
Kourtney

IR guns are not very good at measuring glass they reflect off it and deliver false readings yes you should measure the glass. You can use a target of brown paper placed on the glass for 20min before measuring it. IR guns are typically calibrated for objects with the reflective qualities of brown paper bags every thing not this (glass) can be inaccurate.

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Originally Posted by jfaria1891

o.O did i upset someone XD

it doesn't get hot enough when there's a Tstat used with it, as in if the Tstat is in the enclosure it will still keep the heat tape below a burn-able heat :) trust me it works i have never burned a ball or any animal for that matter :)

it will if a t-stat fails I have had two t-stat failures over the years. Failsafe... or at least a herpstat 1+

your right inside of a cage, i said cage because they mentioned glass which means there using a tank of some sorts so i was trying to word it to there needs :) i personally use a rack that uses bins and heat tape which effects the air temp in the bins quite wonderfully thank you :)

I have never seen anymore than 4º personally in my rack (fully enclosed PVCx) some say 6 and I maybe able to get that but you are saying you can get 20º from your rack? So that a rack in a room that is 80º will not have a gradient? Hmm I think not.

the air in my apartment can be 60 and the air in the bins can be 80 and then everyone's happy :)

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I don't know if I buy crappy glue or what, but when I hot glue a probe to the inside it ends up getting brittle and comes off easily eventually. One time my snake knocked it totally off and the UTH heater was 130 before I noticed it. Luckily the snake was on the other side and didn't get burned, but close call. Lesson learned, probe goes on the outside from now on.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jfaria1891

o.O did i upset someone XD

it doesn't get hot enough when there's a Tstat used with it, as in if the Tstat is in the enclosure it will still keep the heat tape below a burn-able heat :) trust me it works i have never burned a ball or any animal for that matter :)

your right inside of a cage, i said cage because they mentioned glass which means there using a tank of some sorts so i was trying to word it to there needs :) i personally use a rack that uses bins and heat tape which effects the air temp in the bins quite wonderfully thank you :)

the air in my apartment can be 60 and the air in the bins can be 80 and then everyone's happy :)

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You said:

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i only use 8watt heat tape that doesnt get hot enough on full strangth to burn the snake

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That is 100% false and that is what I said in my previous post. Unregulated 8 watt flexwatt can get more than hot enough to burn a snake. With a thermostat it is a different story but that isn't what I was talking about in the first place.

I can prove that flexwatt doesn't effect air temperature in any meaningful way... take a piece of flexwatt, plug it in, and let it heat up for an hour or so. Then place your hand 1/2" above the flexwatt. you aren't going to be able to feel any heat coming off the flexwatt. this means that it isn't heating the air. I would question the thermometers that you use.