Thermostats

Hi guys, well okay im gonna buy a thermostat and was wondering which kind to buy? I have been looking at the johnsons, do any of you by chance have experience with these?? Thanks

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Originally Posted by mmchoppers

Hi guys, well okay im gonna buy a thermostat and was wondering which kind to buy? I have been looking at the johnsons, do any of you by chance have experience with these?? Thanks

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I have no experience looking at johnsons :P

As far as tstats, you need to decide Proportional (reduces the voltage to the heating element to keep the temp stable) or an On/Off type (turns the heating element off when it reaches the proper temp). Proportionals are more expensive but more accurate. For proportionals you could buy a Helix (the gold standard for breeders, sold at www.reptilebasics.com) or a Herpstat (excellent tstat sold at www.spyderrobotics.com) and for on/off, you could choose a Johnson's or a Ranco. Both are excellent and are sold at www.reptilebasics.com. You can't go wrong shopping there! Good luck!

i've been wondering the same too.

I'm not sure what it means by "raw unit" and "receptacle end"

Both the Johnson and the Ranco cost the same, out of the two which yall reccemmond?

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Originally Posted by mm91187

i've been wondering the same too.

I'm not sure what it means by "raw unit" and "receptacle end"

Both the Johnson and the Ranco cost the same, out of the two which yall reccemmond?

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A raw unit needs to be wired up with a receptable for the heating element to plug into (can be done easily with a little electrical knowhow) and a receptable end has the outlet already wired up. Can't go wrong with either...

Ok, thanks j.. I also looked at a herpstat nd and they are nice, but I wasnt sure of how many heating devices it could output

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Originally Posted by mmchoppers

Ok, thanks j.. I also looked at a herpstat nd and they are nice, but I wasnt sure of how many heating devices it could output

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The Herpstat ND has a single probe so it can control up to 600 watts of the same type of heating element. No need for the ND though if you don't plan on breeding. You can go with the good old regular Herpstat. Give Dion a call or shoot him an email at www.spyderrobotics.com and he will get you hooked up.

Alright thanks.. Heybtw, what is the nightdrop feature for??

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Originally Posted by mmchoppers

Alright thanks.. Heybtw, what is the nightdrop feature for??

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For temperature cycling during breeding season

During the breeding season, most breeders drop their temps at night down into the low 80's. Rather than manually do it, you program the night drop to drop a certain amount of degrees at a certain time.

for example, at 9pm, if my thermostat is set to 93, and i want to drop it to 85, it would set it to drop 8 degrees at 9 pm. then at 9am, the voltage kicks in and bumps it back up to 93 to simulate night and day in real life.

here's a t-stat comparison

http://www.mgreptiles.com/THERMOCOMPARE.html

hope that helps