this question probably gets asked a lot but,

What is the best, and the cheapest thermostat available?

Good:http://www.bigappleherp.com/BAH-1000...=2&category=15

Better: Ranco or Johnson from reptile basics but their site is down right now.

Best:http://spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstat.html

Keep in mind, "cheap" and "best'" are not two words that go hand in hand. You need to pick two out of the 3 following:

Price
Quality
Time

and depending on what 2 you pick then you'll have your price lol.

low end :
dimmer -- not extremely reliable.

reptitemp 500r -- not extremely reliable in unstable room temps

Middle:
Ranco or Johnson controls thermostats -- great for the price, basically plug and play if you get them from Rich at reptillebasics.com he has AMAZING customer service. I thought my johnson control was malfunctioning, i sent it back to him and he replaced a few pieces on it free of charge and shipped it back.

High:
Helix (currently using)
Herpstat

the herpstats are great from what i hear, they come with a lot of different features and stuff.

when it says "grounded" next to the thermostat what does grounded mean?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TylerxToxic

when it says "grounded" next to the thermostat what does grounded mean?

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it means it has the third prong.
http://www.fdsons.com/images/elect/5275739920.jpg

regular just has 2 things.
http://www.kpao.org/blog/2008/12/29/ungrounded.JPG

images found via google search.

A lot of people the the BAH-1000's aren't reliable. But those are the only thermostats Al Cortiz(viperkeeper) uses. He says they're simple, reliable and inexpensive.

I use the BAH-1000 to regulate my racks. When used in cunjunction with the heat rope its really stable. Its not a constant temp though. It will cycle off and on every few minutes. But my temps never drop more then a couple degrees and thats still way better temps then a ball python would recieve in the wild.

You can get unwired Rancos here for $49.99...$10 cheaper than RBI.

http://www.climatedoctors.com/Items/...ture%20Control

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tbowman

A lot of people the the BAH-1000's aren't reliable. But those are the only thermostats Al Cortiz(viperkeeper) uses. He says they're simple, reliable and inexpensive.

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I have no experience with that thermostat. Al Cortiz has a room specifically for his snakes that has AC. I would assume that the temp in the room doesnt fluctuate very much at all so maybe that is why he can use that thermostat while some other people don't have very much success with it.

I have used it in a regular room with no problems.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moonshae

You can get unwired Rancos here for $49.99...$10 cheaper than RBI.

http://www.climatedoctors.com/Items/...ture%20Control

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the reason they're cheaper is because Rich wires his. They are ready to use right out of the box, just to let you know :)

I recently replaced my Reptitemp 500R with a couple of Ranco units from ReptileBasics. The Reptiltemp 500R did the job, but it had a 4-5 degree temp swing. It worked for over a year, but I feel better using the Ranco units. They're commonly used by the more experienced snake keepers on this board; that's peace of mind...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

the reason they're cheaper is because Rich wires his. They are ready to use right out of the box, just to let you know :)

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He's got the pre-wired ones for 79.99, and the unwired for 59.99. :)

I don't mind paying more for quality, but $30 (vs the climatedoctor.com price) for a $10 power strip, a $0.50 romex connector, and 15 minutes of time isn't worth it for me. The wiring is so easy to do yourself, all you need to be able to do is use a screwdriver and wire snips and follow a simple diagram. I'm about as unhandy as they come, and I did it with no problem.

Is $20 a big deal? Not at all, really, but heck...that'd almost buy a normal to put in there!