Can i use zoo med thermostat to control portable heater

Cage is too cold even with infrared light so I turned it off and bought a room heater, can I hook it up to the thermostat thing I have for the pad

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Originally Posted by Vincentleo

Cage is too cold even with infrared light so I turned it off and bought a room heater, can I hook it up to the thermostat thing I have for the pad

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What kind of room heater did you buy that has no thermostat built in?

It was 14$ lol but has a min/max fan option and a thermostat with Roman numerals on it

That sounds like it could get dangerous if you plan on leaving it on while you're not around...

NO!!!
Your thermostat will not handle 1500 watts.
Keep your stat on the UTH.

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Originally Posted by Vincentleo

It was 14$ lol but has a min/max fan option and a thermostat with Roman numerals on it

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I'm guessing it's some little space heater then. I would really recommend returning it immediately to get something with a digital controller that you can set built in. And do not hook it up to the same thermostat as the UTH. A thermostat isn't going to put out the watts necessary to run a space heater.

So since you didn't get one with a built in thermostat you'll have to crank it up then adjust it down by using a thermometer in the tank until it's around where it should be because it's never going to be exact.



This is my setup, door stays closed, and the temp stays at a steady 80 even though the rest of the house gets down to 64 at night/during the day and the heat lamp is never on. (the heater) You should go for something more like that for a heater than some cheap half-assed method.
http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/...psybgqly18.jpg

I would not recommend it

1/ those t-stat are far from reliable as a whole
2/ it's probably unfeasible it's all about wattage output (you need to look at your heater and the tstat)

The safest is an oil filled heater with this type of t-stat http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermos...stat-prewired/ (oil filled heater that already have a t-stat usually give out pretty fast)

Mine has been running for 9 years :gj:

As long as it's showing 80+ on my thermometer I don't see in need of spending more on the heater. So yeah I have my question answered thanks

Food for the though when it comes to heaters

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It was 14$ lol but has a min/max fan option and a thermostat with Roman numerals on it

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Originally Posted by Vincentleo

As long as it's showing 80+ on my thermometer I don't see in need of spending more on the heater. So yeah I have my question answered thanks

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Being cheap could cost you more than you think, a cheap heater running 24/7 could be a serious fire hazard, I know I would not leave one of those unsupervised, oil filled heaters with a reliable thermostat are safer.

Now you know ultimately your house :gj:

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Originally Posted by Vincentleo

As long as it's showing 80+ on my thermometer I don't see in need of spending more on the heater. So yeah I have my question answered thanks

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Like has already been said, those can be a serious fire hazard to leave on. This isn't just your animal's safety (though that should be enough to get you to buy the correct equipment) this could legitimately be whether or not you end up in a house fire. Those small heaters are not meant to be left unattended.