UTH vs. Heat Tape: Why ever use the former?

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Originally Posted by ladywhipple02

I used two on/off Ranco t-stats for years when I kept multiple ball pythons in boas in a rack system. They worked perfectly and I never had an issue with them. I kept 10 tubs running just fine. That said, you're always going to get what you pay for - the proportional thermostats are always going to be better at keeping your snake at a steady, constant temp. But for a single tub? On/off isn't a bad deal.

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Hmmm. The thread I was looking at was this one, in which kitedemon discusses extensive testing of the hyrdofarms and their vast (seemingly dangerous to me) temp fluctuations. From this I gathered that on/off was fairly risky by nature and it seemed like a better choice to go proportional, and the recommendations I saw for hydrofarm over the Hobbystat made me think Hydrofarm was sorta the peak of what could be achieved in this realm for the relative price.

I'll dump some research into the Rancos. They look like industrial equipment :rofl:That is certainly a cheaper option.

I bought them pre-wired. It was years ago now, so I can't even remember where from. I do remember I had a Johnson's Control wired thermostat too, but sold it to another hobbyist. It worked fine for the time I had it. I've never used a Hydrofarm, so I can't speak to it.

I can tell you I paid around $70-80 a piece for my Rancos pre-wired, which seems to be more than the going price for a Hydrofarm. Again, I'm a very firm believer in you get what you pay for :)

I am using a pre-wired ranco to run the oil filled space heater in my snake room. I've had no problems and it is very accurate. The second the temp drops 1 degree below where it's set, it turns on.

With any thermostat, it is integral to use a temp gun / thermometer to check the actual temp in the cage on the hotspot. I have noticed a slight variance with the hydrofarms of about 3 degrees, but some of this has to du with the thickness of the tub.

It is also integral, IMO, when using an on/off thermostat to use a heat source that doesn't continue to heat up after power is shut off. This was my problem with cheaper UTH like zoomed.. The hydrofarm would shut the power off at 91f (when set at 90) but the UTH would continue to heat up until it hit 95f...then start to cool off. That's when I decided to switch to the ultratherms.

I DO run most of my tubs / tanks on a herpstat 4 which is proportional and it is awesome... but, it was around $400. It is worth it, but I think that for just a 1-2 tub setup, a hydrofarm typically will do ok. BTW, I know this is slightly off topic, but the bean farm sells herpstats on amazon as an independent seller... I got all of my friends / family to give me amazon gift cards for my birthday and pooled the money to take a big chunk out of the price of the herpstat.

I have several Ranco on/off t-stats that were purchased pre-wired and used. I've used/tested all and the temperature swing is about half a degree +/- the point where it's set, which shouldn't be a concern for providing belly heat to adult snakes in a rack. I do use a proportional t-stat on my incubator as I don't want temperature swings in it.

Thanks art and lady,

All this talk of on/off being viable is making me wonder if the VE Hobbystat could be worth a try. I have not been able to find a single review of anyone using it for reptiles (or anything for that matter). I'm half-surprised there isn't a whole forum or website dedicated to testing/reviewing pet supplies (a tomshardware.com, if you will). :P Something that the lives of animals depends on... I'm sure people could find it helpful. Especially for stuff like saltwater/reef tanks and reptiles which require very much non-human conditions unlike mammals.

I am seeing a few mentions of Rancos having a short lifespan, or developing error messages. There is no simple decision. Except to get a snake. :snake: