Poor man's herpstat

If it were a couple extra dollars, I'm sure no one would go for the cheaper On/Off thermostats, though for many people $100 price difference is not "a couple extra dollars". Personally I don't know which I will put in my rack, but I can certainly understand those who have other things to spend money on than a 130 thermostat, especially since many people have kept and bred reptiles successfully with the $30 thermostats.

Every set up is differnt, every room conditions vary, I have not used the hydrofarm on off at all, but a zoomed which was junk. The questions I would ask are, does it have a differencial? If you set it at 90 and set the value to one degree will it shut down at 91 and kick in at 89. The zoo med after a test I ran shut down at 128 and kicked in at 85 when it was set to give an average of 90. Not so good. If running a non direct source like a wooden enclosure that is insulating the high spike is absorbed by the material. On a plastic tub the heat is transferred almost instantly and drops very very quickly as well. Just check into that, is all I am saying.

Did you look at the BAH-1000DC Thermostat from big apple? I don't own one either but A local guy does and he swears by it and it is about 45 bucks or so I think.

Thanks for all the input guys and gals, this just got me wondering... Herpstat is always the first thing that pops out of peoples mouth when talking about thermostats. I've seen the reviews and heard all the praises, but is it really the industry standard? And am I really pinching pennies or just avoiding paying an inflated price for a product that has many parallel products on the market? I understand the problems with ZooMed, they've cost me a snake in the past, but I do think spending $130 on a thermostat for 1 rack is a bit superfluous.

Herpstat, Helix, and Ranco.. This is all I personally will ever use. Helix for my racks.. Herpstat for the bator.. Double Ranco for my boaphiles..

I have one and a herpstat, the hydrofarm does a good job on my Cal King.

I actually love the herpstats, the non night drop one is 109. I work with a lot of two button programable devises and the system the herpstat uses in the best by a mile. It works well, simple to use and not overly expensive. I use a very good very accurate thermometer I borrow from work (traceable platinum tip science grade reads .01 degrees) and the herpstat is accurate to .3 better than every thermometer I have. I do not own a helix but I'd be shocked if it was not similar. They work the heat source sits at or near the temp you set and for what it is cannot be beaten. Hell to buy a digital thermometer as accurate as the herpstats probes you will spend 100$ I really hate adapting stuff to do something they were not designed to do, it can work just fine but having to tinker it for me is not worth it at all. It still comes down to your budget. I like the peace of mind I get with the herpstat.