herpstat question

I received my herpstat 6 in the mail Thursday and what I've been noticing since I've set it up is that the temp is varying a few degrees. If I have it set for 92 sometimes it will dip down to 90 or up to 94. Is this normal? I have them all set to heat(dimming) but with the temp variation it seems like its acting like an on/off. What would you consider to hot of a temp? I want to set the high temp alarm but not sure what the max temp you all think would be the max someone should go before being notified.

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Originally Posted by chrid16371

I received my herpstat 6 in the mail Thursday and what I've been noticing since I've set it up is that the temp is varying a few degrees. If I have it set for 92 sometimes it will dip down to 90 or up to 94. Is this normal? I have them all set to heat(dimming) but with the temp variation it seems like its acting like an on/off. What would you consider to hot of a temp? I want to set the high temp alarm but not sure what the max temp you all think would be the max someone should go before being notified.

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Where do you have the probe(s)?

The probe placement is important and is it secure? Make sure the probe itself has no tape over it. Just tape over the probe wire and have the probe fixed on or very close to the heat tape. At times the temperature will fluctuate on the screen based on the current flow from the electrical source. As will the percentages showing how hard the thermostat is working to stabilize the preset temperature. Make sure the thermostat is plugged into a wall outlet rather than a power strip also. :)

Its plugged directly into the wall. Probe are all secure to heat source nothing is on the probe itself. The temps not only fluctuate on the screen but also on all my acurite thermometers. Sometimes its not fluctuating that bad only a couple tenths of a degree but most of the time 1-2.5 degrees.

Never used the 6 but the other models you can select a variance. Did you look at that?

I would just keep an eye on the temps bc the herpstat needs time to adjust current wise and circulate somewhat to the settings. Also are your wattages all the same on everything you are heating? The wattages on the heat tapes i mean.

I have different wattage heat mats but they all have there own thermostat probe.

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Originally Posted by chrid16371

I have different wattage heat mats but they all have there own thermostat probe.

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That may be the reason in part for the fluctuation. 1f - 3f i think is reasonable but 5f is a bit questionable. I think there is a wattage capacitance threshold with the different heating elements though. Just monitor it for now though. i would say over the next 24 hours if you are still noticing the issue w/o improvements to speak to customer service for a more detailed explanation. They have a great customer service as you probably already know. Maybe another member has another take on this.

My 2 leopard gecko enclosures are spot on and staying within .3 of a degree. It seems the only issue is with my 2 bp enclosures. But I'll say its not as bad now as yesterday. Maybe its still breaking itself in. I'll give it a few days and see what happens.

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Originally Posted by chrid16371

My 2 leopard gecko enclosures are spot on and staying within .3 of a degree. It seems the only issue is with my 2 bp enclosures. But I'll say its not as bad now as yesterday. Maybe its still breaking itself in. I'll give it a few days and see what happens.

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They don't break themselves in but it does figure out and adapt to enclosure efficiency. Usually within an hour. For most people regulation will be within a degree. More than that usually means the probe placement is wrong or there is an issue with the heating device not being high enough wattage to make temp compared to room temp. So if you find its always on the cool side under your target temp then that is the case. You need to either bump your room temp up, move up to a higher wattage heating device, or add additional heat. If you see it see-saw the temps and overshoot in a short amount of time then that means the probe may be too close to the heat source.

For a less than ideal setup sometimes you can cheat and turn on basking assist. Its meant for basking bulbs and it holds a little power to the heating device after target temp. This can smooth out the regulation if you have setup that is not ideally matched too. :)

Herpstat 6 uses the proven dimming heating code used in all our of current models so it would act the same regardless of Herpstat model.

Dion Brewington
Owner, Spyder Robotics