Eco Zone controller

Hey has anyone used one of the eco zone vivarium controller? Any thoughts on it?

http://ecozonevivarium.com/products.aspx

Looks like an over priced Herpstat pro to me

That is what I thought but the bloody thing is grounded!

Hi there kitedemon,

My name is Tony, I am the designer/creator of the EcoZone Vivarium Controller.

Sorry I don't get around to the message boards very often, but am always happy to answer questions about the EcoZone controller.
You can always email me at tony@ecozonevivarium.com, or call 408 960-1069.

I created the EcoZone Controller to advance the hobby in providing a more natural environment for herps, with seasonal settings, advanced dimming and proportional control, and added web/internet access for remote monitoring, control, and email alerts. One unique feature of the EcoZone Controller is that the day/nite temperature set points can be programmed to slowly ramp up/down rather than jump to the new setting, as well as lighting outtput levels, etc. for a much more natural environment. There is so much more, like 12 mo seasonal settings, etc. that is unique to the hobby, hard to point it out here, but there is some great info on our website, and very detailed user guides, FAQ, etc. that give a better picture. I realize that all of this functionality may not be necessary for Ball Pythons, but cool stuff nontheless :>)

You can actually remotely connect to one of my test/demo units and play with it over the web if you like (there are no animals in that enclosure, so no harm):
Just go to this link in a browser window and you can play around with the GUI interface:

http://www.myecozone.com

Also on the functionality and construction side of things, each unit has 4 dimmable proportional grounded outlets (as you noted), the unit is heavy ruggged steel construction, includes heavy duty 15A power cords, large bright LCD display, and sturdy temperature probes. A bonus is the I/O input and output contacts, alllowing for alarm triggers, and control of DC acessories (like DC fans) without taking up an AC outlet.

Also I would like to point out that Herpstat controllers are also very high quality, and an excellent value. Dion takes as much pride in supporting his customers and products as I do, and either of us will bend over backward for a satisfied customer. So either way, you get a quality product designed and built in the USA, by hobbyists and for hobbyists, with passionate support! So you can't go wrong, your choice just depends what you are looking for in terms of functionality and features!

Hope this helps,

Regards
Tony, EcoZone Vivarium

I gotta say...that's one damn cool (and thoughtfully designed) piece of work. Definitely for the completist, but I must say this - as a guy who owns a grand total of one (1) Ball Python, and who believed that anything less that a Herpstat Pro wasn't good enough, I commend you for your design.

I know lots of snakes get along quite well with a tub, some flexheat strips, and a Johnson thermostat. But to me, simulating the snake's natural environment as closely as possible can only enhance the animal's welfare.

Thanks for the props, Eracer!
I take a lot of pride in my work and the prodcut.

You are absolutely right, most snakes are very forgiving.
As kids we kept Kingsnakes in plastic tubs, with absolutely no supplemental lighting or heat, and they did just fine :>)

I have a customer attempting to breed Latin American Gopher Snakes (from mountains of Costa Rica), that have not been bred yet in captivity, as far as we know. He is using the EcoZone controller to replicate the natural environment and seasons with lighting and temperature variation as part of that breeding project. Hope he is sucessful! Others use the controller for large tree snake display cages in living room or office, with dimable lighting, lunar, the works, and also for piece of mind when away from home (with the web and email monitoring).

The nice thing about the herp hobby is it can be fun an interesting from beginner to advanced, and it doesn't take much to get started....a simple tub or aquarium can do! I surely started that way!

Best regards,
Tony

Tony,
I must say I think my favourite feature is the web monertering. I have been away over the hoildays and always had that small worry, did the power go out? I have been off and on thinking of a design for a heat back up (battery powered) to take over in a power failure...

The unit looks quite good I currently have Herpstat pros and an ND but I am planning on adding a pair of enclosures and well... It is a way off yet but I am just planning a head.
Alex

Hey Alex,
I have had troubles with circuit breakers tripping in my home (lots of reptiles and aquariums, etc.), so have thought allot about that as well. So this is what I had been thinking about setting up as a trial, to send an email alert if the power goes out:

The Ez400 has a programmable I/O relay output, and an I/O relay input.

The I/O relay input can trigger an alarm and send an email alert, also you can set it up to send an email alert when it restarts again (plus in the probe log page see when the last restart occurred).

So the application to send an email on power failure would use a UPS to keep the unit alive after power failure long enough to send an email alert. A power failure detector is used on the circuit to trigger the Ez400 IO input on power failure. I bought the power failure device shown here:

http://www.smarthome.com/7154/Power-...0-1022-/p.aspx

I still need to get the UPS, and get a feel for how much juice is needed to keep things up for at least 10 minutes or so, because this power failure device triggers 3-8 minutes after power goes down. I would prefer one that triggers immediately, but have not found it. The power failure trigger I/O could optionally be configured to shut down the Ez400 AC outlets during power failure to conserve UPS time.

In addition, for this to work, your 'NET connection modem and wifi router etc. also need to be on a UPS, so that the email/text alert can go out when the power goes down. Usually the phone and cable companies have battery backup after a power failure, but if you live in a rural area there is a chance the phone companies are also down, then you are pretty much in the dark till power is restored. My network devices and computer are already on a UPS, so I got that covered.

I haven't gotten to it setting this up yet, it has been on my todo list for a while.
Once I replaced my problematic breakers the problems diminished for the time being.

Regards,
Tony

It deffinatly sounds cool,and has a lot of features.... but for bp's you just dont need all that......Dont get me wrong, It sounds amazing....but I wont be trading in my double ranco

Tony how does your unit respond to modified sein wave input or like the others does it really need pure sein wave? I am looking into designing a backup heat source for my set ups.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Tony how does your unit respond to modified sein wave input or like the others does it really need pure sein wave? I am looking into designing a backup heat source for my set ups.

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Modified Sine wave (like you get from a UPS) shouldn't be an issue for the dimmers in the EcoZone. My dimmers are a bit different, and do not use Triacs. But you bring up a good point, I will check it out though.

Thx for the inputs.

Tony

awesome product

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EcoZoneTon

Also I would like to point out that Herpstat controllers are also very high quality, and an excellent value. Dion takes as much pride in supporting his customers and products as I do, and either of us will bend over backward for a satisfied customer. So either way, you get a quality product designed and built in the USA, by hobbyists and for hobbyists, with passionate support! So you can't go wrong, your choice just depends what you are looking for in terms of functionality and features!

Hope this helps,

Regards
Tony, EcoZone Vivarium

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Thanks Tony! I am glad you feel that way. I've seen your controller and think its a pretty solid device. Actually, I was/am in the process of a new model Herpstat Pro style device that is grounded and had written in some features that I thought would be new only to come across your device which had some of them. :D Small world. I've got a few other tricks though so stay tuned. :P

About the modified sine wave issue. Some of the modified sinewave inverters I've looked at don't drop completely to zero volts or reverse polarity too quickly. This can cause problems in the zero crossing detection in some circuits. For your mosfet control you might still get proportional out of it although it would be a different output than normal since you would be outputing the full voltage in the beginning of the cycle. Good luck with your testing. Always neat to experiment!

Dion Brewington
Owner, Spyder Robotics

Pretty cool to see competitors sharing notes. Proves that the reptile community is indeed blessed with forward-thinking individuals.

Tony and Dion,
Thank you! I own 3 Herpstats (soon to be four, thanks Dion for the fast site fix! ) I am still looking at the Eco as well. I feel at this point that the eco is a great device and is well suited for my purposes to control much of the over all set up. Lighting for everything with seasonal variations and the cool side temps, humidly. The web reporting function is wonderful as well. I will likely continue to use herpstats for the hot side temps as they are so bloody good at it. I am still a little a head of myself I always plan ahead.
Thank you both!
Alex

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