CHE Issue - Turning Off Below Temp Threshold

Hey folks, so I use a UTH on the hot side of the cage and a CHE on the cooler side of the viv to offer some temp variance while still keeping the ambient temp where it should be. I regulate all of this with a Herpstat 2. The issue I'm having is that I'll check everything and see that the Herpstat is powering the CHE at 100% sometimes, but the CHE is cold. Flipping the On/Off switch of the heat lamp starts the heat again, but this is very temporary before it cools off again.

The CHE is branded Reptile Structure and is 100w, and the lamp is a 100w unit by All Living Things. Since the Herpstat appears to be sending power and the CHE will get hot again when I flip the power switch, does this mean I have a bad lamp? This doesn't seem to be symptomatic of a bad CHE bulb or thermostat. Thanks.

There is one issue I have had when running CHE's on a thermostat in the proportional mode. The constant on and off pulsing of current tends to cause corrosion on the contacts of the CHE. This could be your problem.

You most likely have a bad lamp where for whatever reason the switch is being reset when power is cut to 0. Another option is to remove the switch and rewire it without a switch so it is always on. I had to do this with an LED light bar. The switch was not an analog switch and would reset to off when the timer switched it back on.

Also, make sure you are using dimming as the proportional option for the CHE and not pulse. I doubt it is some sort of corrosion or you would not have that reset going on when you hit the switch on the lamp. CHE design is basically the same as an RHP, it is simply a resistance in a wire getting hot.

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Originally Posted by ScottS

There is one issue I have had when running CHE's on a thermostat in the proportional mode. The constant on and off pulsing of current tends to cause corrosion on the contacts of the CHE. This could be your problem.

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I'll check it the next time I see it cut out...I was surprised to see it's actually heating as it should be right now. I unscrewed and reseated the CHE in the lamp earlier today before posting this and didn't see anything wrong, but maybe that helped with the contacts if that is indeed the issue.