Rheostat question...

I just picked up a Rheostat Deluxe 500, an Exoterra UTH and a Fluker's 150W heat lamp with a 100W Heat-Glo infrared bulb. Can I use the Rheostat to control both the UTH and the heatlamp or will this cause one or both of them to not work properly?

With a rheostat, you should either use it with two bulbs or two UTHs, but not mixed and matched.

Its going to cut the power the same to both heat sources, each one needs to be controlled independently in order to be the most efficient.

You might be able to get it to work...if I were you, I would just run the lamp at full power and use the rheostat to make sure that the heat pad doesn't get too hot, as many do when left uncontrolled.

Actually a rheostat should work with both of them, but it's not a very good long term solution. Also, there may be a problem with one producing more heat than the other so you might have a hard time dialing in the ideal gradient.

Either way, a rheostat is okay in a room where the temps are consistent all the time. Of course most room temps will fluctuate, so the temps in the cage will as well. As soon as you get a chance I would get a decent thermostat such as a Johnson, Ranco, Herpstat, or Helix.

Thanks for the advice. I now have the UTH on the Rheostat and I'll run the heat lamp at full power. I am probably going to use a timer for the lamp. What kind of on/off cycle would be appropriate? 12 hours on and 12 off is what I was thinking.

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Originally Posted by thegrandpoohbah

Thanks for the advice. I now have the UTH on the Rheostat and I'll run the heat lamp at full power. I am probably going to use a timer for the lamp. What kind of on/off cycle would be appropriate? 12 hours on and 12 off is what I was thinking.

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Keep in mind that the lamp is contributing to the overall heat in the cage. When the lamp goes off, the cage will probably cool down to unacceptable temps. You can solve this by either getting a black or red light bulb and keeping it on all the time, or try to get the right temps with just the UTH and no lamp.

I do have an infrared bulb. Theres just something about leaving a lamp on 24/7 that bugs me. Would it not get too hot and become a fire hazard? Or are they designed to be left on all the time?

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Originally Posted by thegrandpoohbah

I do have an infrared bulb. Theres just something about leaving a lamp on 24/7 that bugs me. Would it not get too hot and become a fire hazard? Or are they designed to be left on all the time?

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I've had heat lamps go 6 months running 24/7 without blowing up. Usually they just wear out and go out when its their time.

I've also found that on my bearded's setup, the heat bulbs that are on the timer go out about twice as often as the bulbs I have on my leo setup that I leave on 24/7. Something about turning them on and off constantly that dramatically shortens their life.