Is this a good and reliable thermostat for a ball python rack system

The Vivarium Electronics VE 300 or the ve200 people who own them are they great and reliable if so why?

The VE thermostats are good thermostats, I prefer herpstats myself, but the VE will work great if that's what you want to go with

Here is a video on them: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...eo-comparison)

I have the VE-300 and I love it, had it for 2 months now and it never failed, its accurate, has audible alarms if temps get too high or low. I am currently using it for my green tree python vivarium but I am going to buy another one when I get my rack. Id recommend going with the VE-300x2 its only $60 more but you get another probe which can control another rack if needed in the future.

I have the VE-200 and so far it has done its job perfectly. I'd purchase another VE if I were to get another rack.

So I'm confused.. when used with heat tape, how many plugs can be plugged into the thermostat? Say I have 3 lengths of heat tape so three cords... can 1 thermostat support that? Sorry to jack this thread but just came across it trying to do research :rolleye2:

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Originally Posted by SnakeKittyFishy

So I'm confused.. when used with heat tape, how many plugs can be plugged into the thermostat? Say I have 3 lengths of heat tape so three cords... can 1 thermostat support that? Sorry to jack this thread but just came across it trying to do research :rolleye2:

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Well it depends on a few things.

1. the cages/tubs that the heat tape is heating must be the same

2. the heat tape must be the same size/wattage/length

3. total you cannot have more electrical load than the thermostat can handle (Watts)

Those are the main concerns, but not the only concerns.

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Originally Posted by SnakeKittyFishy

So I'm confused.. when used with heat tape, how many plugs can be plugged into the thermostat? Say I have 3 lengths of heat tape so three cords... can 1 thermostat support that? Sorry to jack this thread but just came across it trying to do research :rolleye2:

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You can use a power strip to plug in multiple cords if the thermostat has only one plug in. I don't have a Vivarium, so I don't know what the capabilities are. But in general, you can plug whatever number of flexwatt cords into a power strip, then plug that strip into the thermostat.

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Is there a thermostat that has 3 plug in spots? I like the powerstrip idea though... I want to do three 3ft strips of heat tape. It's the 11" tape and I think it said it is 20watts per foot

I think I'm gonna go with the VE200 :)

The Herpstat 4 has 4 outlets, it is literally 4 separate thermostats in a single box.

The herpstats have a extra safety feature that the ves do not the ability to turn on or off if you with an over shut down (common to all) but also an under shut down. If the probe gets pulled free for what ever reason the unit detects a sudden temp drop and shuts down the heat as well. The makes the need of a failsafe questionable.

I too would recommend a herpstat over all others my personal second choice is the ecozone thermostat I have only seen the herpkeeper a few times and the VE series only once but based on features I'd go herpstat especially as the cost of the two are so close it makes no difference.

3 foot strips of 11" tape is a lot of heat. In my homemade rack, I use 1 foot lengths of 11" tape to heat 41 qt bins and it's pretty much overkill. What's that for?

Any of the better thermostats on the market will get the job done. In many cases it comes down to features and ease of use. I've used both Herpstats and VE's, and find them both fairly easy to set up and use.

Ultimately I chose to go with the VE's, but you really can't go wrong with either.

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Originally Posted by MrLang

3 foot strips of 11" tape is a lot of heat. In my homemade rack, I use 1 foot lengths of 11" tape to heat 41 qt bins and it's pretty much overkill. What's that for?

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After watching videos on installing it, it looked like they did the entire bottom of it whether it was 4" or 11" if I don't need that much then that'd be great since that would save me $ lol I planned on using 41q bins, so I just need to order 3' of heat tape?

No more than 1/3 of the bottom should be heated to the hot spot temp. The room heat provides the cool and ambient temps of 80º in most rack set ups.