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advice on Thermostats.

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  • 01-04-2011, 09:49 PM
    pinkeye714
    advice on Thermostats.
    I got a rheostat from petco called ReptiTemp Rheostat not to long ago and i just do not like it. The weather has been crazy and cold lately and bothersome so the heat has bounced up and down. I am looking into Thermostats and not sure
    which one to get, i was thinking this one
    Ranco ETC-111000 Pre Wiredl
    I wish i had the money right now to buy the Helix Control one. i hear good things about that one. I just need something to control my temps becuase i cannot look 3-4 times a day to check the rheostat temp since i am in college 40 hours a week. T_T

    Maybe any others you might know of?
  • 01-04-2011, 10:22 PM
    pinkeye714
    Or i might be able to get this one, any help people?
    Herpstat 1 Proportional Thermostat
  • 01-04-2011, 10:22 PM
    RichsBallPythons
    Either one will work great and then some. Go with your budget on either or and youll be happy
  • 01-04-2011, 11:06 PM
    daveadk
    i use a helix on my rack systems...but i also hear great things about the herpstats.
  • 01-04-2011, 11:39 PM
    LOSTCOAST_BALLZ
    herpstat is nice. I use ranco and johnsons i think is the other one. but what I do know lol is i like the ranco.
  • 01-05-2011, 12:29 AM
    Black_Shark
    While herpstat is the best imo, I have 2 reptitemp 500r's running my 3 snake rack and they work perfectly for 30 bucks each! Keeps the temps perfect and stable with no change as long as the room ambient temps dont fluctuate by more than 6 degrees. It is a proportional though.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ReptiTemp-500R-T...#ht_500wt_1156
  • 01-05-2011, 12:43 AM
    blackcrystal22
    Re: advice on Thermostats.
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Black_Shark View Post
    While herpstat is the best imo, I have 2 reptitemp 500r's running my 3 snake rack and they work perfectly for 30 bucks each! Keeps the temps perfect and stable with no change as long as the room ambient temps dont fluctuate by more than 6 degrees. It is a proportional though.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ReptiTemp-500R-T...#ht_500wt_1156

    The OP is looking for thermostats that help regulate temps in a fluctuating environment...

    Ranco and Johnsons both work well. They're not as high quality as a Helix, but they will do the job for you. :)


    P.S. Make sure to secure the probe from the thermostat DIRECTLY to the UTH. If you don't, you risk it being moved from the desired heating site and over heating the UTH. Don't put it in the enclosure with the snake! All it takes is one pee or spilled water bowl to fry your snake.
  • 01-05-2011, 12:52 AM
    pinkeye714
    Re: advice on Thermostats.
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by blackcrystal22 View Post
    The OP is looking for thermostats that help regulate temps in a fluctuating environment...

    Ranco and Johnsons both work well. They're not as high quality as a Helix, but they will do the job for you. :)


    P.S. Make sure to secure the probe from the thermostat DIRECTLY to the UTH. If you don't, you risk it being moved from the desired heating site and over heating the UTH. Don't put it in the enclosure with the snake! All it takes is one pee or spilled water bowl to fry your snake.


    so shall i un-peel the uth from the tank and put the probe right under it?

    i just bought the Ranco so i can get it somewhat soon and return the one from petco to get my money back.

    thanks!
  • 01-05-2011, 01:16 AM
    TomC
    Re: advice on Thermostats.
    I taped my thermostat probe to the bottom of my heat pad. I am not sure if this is perfect but it has worked well for me. I have the Helix and to get my hot spot to 92 I had to set the thermostat to 106. It does fluctuatte a little bit when the room changes temperature but not more than about +/- 2 degrees.
  • 01-05-2011, 01:36 AM
    BroknBusted
    Has anyone used or know any info on these type of thermostats? Any good?

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT
  • 01-05-2011, 09:57 AM
    el8ch
    Re: advice on Thermostats.
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TomC View Post
    I taped my thermostat probe to the bottom of my heat pad. I am not sure if this is perfect but it has worked well for me. I have the Helix and to get my hot spot to 92 I had to set the thermostat to 106. It does fluctuatte a little bit when the room changes temperature but not more than about +/- 2 degrees.

    I have mine the same as TomC. I taped my temp probe to the bottom of my UTH using foil tape and set me thermostat about 3 degrees higher than my desired temp. Works like a charm with my Herpstat.
  • 01-05-2011, 12:22 PM
    Black_Shark
    Re: advice on Thermostats.
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by blackcrystal22 View Post
    The OP is looking for thermostats that help regulate temps in a fluctuating environment...

    Ranco and Johnsons both work well. They're not as high quality as a Helix, but they will do the job for you. :)


    P.S. Make sure to secure the probe from the thermostat DIRECTLY to the UTH. If you don't, you risk it being moved from the desired heating site and over heating the UTH. Don't put it in the enclosure with the snake! All it takes is one pee or spilled water bowl to fry your snake.


    First off, congrats on the Ranco! Good choice. And I also noticed that she said fluctuations but she did not specify how much. With a rheostat of any kind, 1 degree of fluctuation= 1 degree of fluctuation of the heating element generally. It could have been 4-5 degrees and not greater than 6-10. Not knowing, I gave the best advice I could.
  • 01-05-2011, 03:16 PM
    TrpnBils
    I have six (I think) of that Ranco that was originally posted and I love them. They go down to a differential of 1 degree, which is good enough for just about any application. I even use one of them for my incubators and haven't had a problem.

    They're really not hard to wire yourself, so you can save yourself about $25-30 if you get an unwired one. Usually what I do is to get them unwired and then purchase a cheap power strip (although a $0.75 extension cord will work too, but it's only good for one or two things to plug into it). If you go this route, use this as a wiring guide (it's REALLY not that hard, even if you're not "electrically minded"): http://www.rcreptiles.com/blog/index...1000_thermosta

    Also, I've found that buying through a reptile supply company is usually more expensive than through other outlets. For example, I get my Rancos from Climate Doctor for $50 http://www.climatedoctors.com/Items/...ture%20Control rather than the $80 you have in your link from Reptile Basics...there is no way the 10 minutes it takes to wire this thing is worth an extra $30. If you think it's worth it for you, get ahold of me and I'll save you some money by doing it for $25...lol.

    The last Ranco that I bought was off of eBay. I got it for $40 and it works fine. It wasn't prewired, but after 10 minutes and about $3 worth of extension cord/power strip later it works great.
  • 01-08-2011, 04:07 PM
    TheWinWizard
    Re: advice on Thermostats.
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BroknBusted View Post
    Has anyone used or know any info on these type of thermostats? Any good?

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

    I have one that I don't use since getting a herpstat. Worked pretty well for the price. Set it, gets somewhat warmer then what it's set for and turns off, then gets somewhat cooler then turns on.
  • 02-01-2011, 06:21 PM
    LegitProblem
    Re: advice on Thermostats.
    Do You Tape The Thermostat Probe To The Sticky Side Of The UTH Or The Other Side.
  • 02-01-2011, 06:47 PM
    wax32
    Re: advice on Thermostats.
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pinkeye714 View Post
    so shall i un-peel the uth from the tank and put the probe right under it?

    i just bought the Ranco so i can get it somewhat soon and return the one from petco to get my money back.

    thanks!

    Yup!

    And you will love the Ranco, I have three...
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