picking the correct thermostat

I am planning on buying a the iris stc-410 from reptile basics and was wondering what i should go with for a thermostat between helix, ranco, and johnson? If anyone has some knowledgable information on these good or bad let me know. And this will be my first rack but not my last I am planning on expanding within the next year with more racks.

Your options are the following.

Proportional such as helix or herpstat adjust temps constantly.

Non- Proportional such as Ranco and Johnson go on and off.

Proportional allow you to maintain constant temps Johnson and Ranco will allow some fluctuation.

Bottom line it really depends on your needs and what you are looking for in a thermostat.

I own both Ranco and Herpstat and I am very satisfied with both.

I would also talk to Rich from Reptile Basics and see what he recommends for that particular rack... he's very good about answering questions!

I have the exact rack, with a helix on it.... But i have a helix on all my racks also.

Flexwatt is recommended to be used with a proportional, so that's what I'd go with.

If you go with the johnson/ranco, put a dimmer in line between the thermostat and the flexwatt to dial down the max temp of the flex, in case the thermostat fails... Same could be done for a proportional, I suppose...