tempermental heating equipment

I have a Zoo Med ReptiTemp 500R and a ZM Rheostat, both of which fluctuate a good bit. Neither of these devices seem capable of keeping the cool side UTH between 80 and 84, they both want to go much higher, even on the lowest setting (I use the Rheostat for the hot side and the 500R for the cool side, but both are lacking at best). Has anyone else had this problem?? They are both very inconsistent and are bothering me b/c I do not want my BP to become stressed due to bad temps. I was trying to avoid buying a $100+ thermostat, which is why I chose this cheaper alternative...I guess you get what you pay for. Anybody have a good thermostat they want to get rid of for cheap??? Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but they seem pretty idiot-proof. Also, since the problem is them getting too hot, is there a good material to put in between the glass and the substrate? If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears. Thanks for reading this.

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Originally Posted by carmich132

I have a Zoo Med ReptiTemp 500R and a ZM Rheostat, both of which fluctuate a good bit. Neither of these devices seem capable of keeping the cool side UTH between 80 and 84, they both want to go much higher, even on the lowest setting (I use the Rheostat for the hot side and the 500R for the cool side, but both are lacking at best). Has anyone else had this problem?? They are both very inconsistent and are bothering me b/c I do not want my BP to become stressed due to bad temps. I was trying to avoid buying a $100+ thermostat, which is why I chose this cheaper alternative...I guess you get what you pay for. Anybody have a good thermostat they want to get rid of for cheap??? Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but they seem pretty idiot-proof. Also, since the problem is them getting too hot, is there a good material to put in between the glass and the substrate? If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears. Thanks for reading this.

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The zoo med stuff is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to controlling temps ... personally, I'd rather just use some $9 dimmers from Home Depot over those things ... But think about it like this ... you have chosen to take a living animal into your home and provide it care for the rest of it's life (potentially 30+ years) ... THE MOST important thing that animal needs to survive is correct temperatures ... If you save up for a quality, reliable proportional thermostat that is perfect at doing what it's supposed to do it's going to run you around $130 (give or take depending on brand) ... over the lifetime of your animal that's only $4.33 per year ... $.36 per month ... $.01 per day ... to insure that the animal that you are caring for has EXACTLY what it needs to survive and thrive.

No brainer if you ask me. ;) :D

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

The zoo med stuff is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to controlling temps ... personally, I'd rather just use some $9 dimmers from Home Depot over those things ... But think about it like this ... you have chosen to take a living animal into your home and provide it care for the rest of it's life (potentially 30+ years) ... THE MOST important thing that animal needs to survive is correct temperatures ... If you save up for a quality, reliable proportional thermostat that is perfect at doing what it's supposed to do it's going to run you around $130 (give or take depending on brand) ... over the lifetime of your animal that's only $4.33 per year ... $.36 per month ... $.01 per day ... to insure that the animal that you are caring for has EXACTLY what it needs to survive and thrive.

No brainer if you ask me. ;) :D

-adam

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I agree with Adam that zoomed stuff is crap! Adam i cracked up at how you broke it down to a penny a day lol:8: .True but still funny:P

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Originally Posted by joepythons

I agree with Adam that zoomed stuff is crap! Adam i cracked up at how you broke it down to a penny a day lol:8: .True but still funny:P

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Small price to pay to insure the well being of a living animal in your care. ;)

-adam

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Originally Posted by joepythons

I agree with Adam that zoomed stuff is crap!

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Ah Nertz!! I just bought one of their heat cables to test for a rack. It was 12 meters and 100 watts and the only other one I can find is by "rena" and is 15 meters but still only 100 watts so I figured the zoomed would heat more. :(


dr del

zoo med can kiss my a$$...either way, I figured that was the response I would get, and thanks for making it clear. I was just hoping to find a cheaper alternative than $130, but sometimes I guess you just gotta spend the money.

ESU makes one that some members here, including myself use. It is only like 30 bucks shipped and so far, I am happy with mine!

I only use this because I needed a quick thermostat and this was the quickest one to ship at the time (I did not know about reptilebasics) and it has not let me down. If you can, save $75 and go with a Johnson Controls or Ranco thermostat. They are reliable thermostats and members here also use them with good things to say, including myself. Mine heats a 10 tub rack for me and keeps all my temps within a degree of where I set them.

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Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

ESU makes one that some members here, including myself use. it is only like 30 bucks shipped and so far, i am happy with mine!

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I've used the ESU unit in the past ... garbage ... but that's only my opinion of course.

-adam

So I'm going to bite the bullet and buy what I need....what are the best thermostats for the money? Ranco? Johnson? Any info you could give on that would be great, seeing as how I've tried and failed twice now.

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Originally Posted by carmich132

what are the best thermostats for the money?

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Helix or Herpstat.

-adam