Cheap but Reliable Thermostat?

Title says it all.(:

The best herpstat u can afford.I have a intro and a 4 both do there job great.
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What do you consider cheap?

How much are those, usually?

Check out spyder robotics and reptile basics. Any of their products are going to be legitimate. Stay away from the petco Zilla thermostats. They can work in a pinch but are not reliable.

You can usually get a reliable model for around 100$.

Will do!

http://www.spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html

http://helixcontrols.com/

http://www.vivariumelectronics.com/

Thank you for the links!

Herpstat intro will be the most affordable and reliable t-stat I would recomend.

Remember a thermostat is the single most important piece of equipment you will need.

I have some of my herpstats that have been running for 9 years now, so when you look at it this way $100 is a really good deal.

Oh yeah, a hundred is a good deal. I just don't want to buy a $200+ plus shipping thermostat, if a hundred dollar one would work just as fine.

Herpstat 1 basic seems to be a pretty solid workhorse from what I've heard and read.

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Originally Posted by Fraido

Oh yeah, a hundred is a good deal. I just don't want to buy a $200+ plus shipping thermostat, if a hundred dollar one would work just as fine.

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In terms of the Herpstats, their more expensive versions are simply multiple thermostats packaged into one unit.

A $100 Herpstat controls one probe, a $200 Herpstat controls two probes, etc. You don't get better quality when you spend more money for these - just more flexibility.

I love my intro never had a problem and dose exactly what you need and be reliable and safe.

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I've had (4) Hydrofarm thermostats for the last three years and never had any issues. They're inexpensive but they've been very reliable. I'm only looking into the herpstat 4 now because I'm upgrading (4) enclosures and
want one unit to control them all. For the price and quality you can't beat the hydrofarms.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...arm+thermostat

Thanks guys!
That Hydrofarm is so cheap, perhaps because it's so cheap I will buy it and see how it works out. Might as well, right? If it doesn't do it's job well for me, I'll get one of the more expensive ones that others have suggested.

Problem with hydrofarms are when they fail they usually fail on full bore. At the end of the day you get what u pay for

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fraido

Thanks guys!
That Hydrofarm is so cheap, perhaps because it's so cheap I will buy it and see how it works out. Might as well, right? If it doesn't do it's job well for me, I'll get one of the more expensive ones that others have suggested.

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Depends what you are using it for. The problem with using a cheap t-stat and a rack is that if it doesn't work out, you can end up with a destroyed rack, injured animals, or worse. Do a little searching. T-stats really do fail and this can have serious results:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Failure-story

I only use herpstats or VEs and never just one unless it's an enclosure where an "on" fail won't cause havoc, such as my dragon enclosures. Have your primary proportional and then a secondary on/off in case the primary fails. Some things are not worth skimping on and the thermostat is one of these. Even if you can't afford a primary and a backup right now, at least go with the Herpstat as others have mentioned (or the VE). Both companies have great customer service too if you run into any issues.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jabberwocky Dragons

Depends what you are using it for. The problem with using a cheap t-stat and a rack is that if it doesn't work out, you can end up with a destroyed rack, injured animals, or worse. Do a little searching. T-stats really do fail and this can have serious results:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Failure-story

I only use herpstats or VEs and never just one unless it's an enclosure where an "on" fail won't cause havoc, such as my dragon enclosures. Have your primary proportional and then a secondary on/off in case the primary fails. Some things are not worth skimping on and the thermostat is one of these. Even if you can't afford a primary and a backup right now, at least go with the Herpstat as others have mentioned (or the VE). Both companies have great customer service too if you run into any issues.

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This is slightly off topic, but... How do you set up a backup thermostat?
I have a herpstat 2 on my rack, and the heat tape is wired to a lamp cord, which plugs directly into the T-stat. Where does the second T-stat come in?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KitaCat

This is slightly off topic, but... How do you set up a backup thermostat?
I have a herpstat 2 on my rack, and the heat tape is wired to a lamp cord, which plugs directly into the T-stat. Where does the second T-stat come in?

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Both probes go into the same place against the heat tape. The heat tape gets plugged into the first thermostat, which is set for your ideal temp (let's say 90F). That thermostat gets plugged into the backup thermostat instead of the wall outlet, which should be set to on/off mode and have a temperature a couple of degrees above the first thermostat (93F).

Since the probe won't read 93F while the first thermostat is working, the backup will give the first thermostat full power. The first thermostat will keep the temperature at its ideal setting. Should the first thermostat break in the "on" position the backup won't let it have enough power to heat the tape past 93F.

I'll find an expensive one, that I know works then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KitaCat

This is slightly off topic, but... How do you set up a backup thermostat?
I have a herpstat 2 on my rack, and the heat tape is wired to a lamp cord, which plugs directly into the T-stat. Where does the second T-stat come in?

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At risk of derailing the thread (though it looks like OP made their decision), here's a diagram I created at work because I'm a huge dork:

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...6738286a03.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chkadii

At risk of derailing the thread (though it looks like OP made their decision), here's a diagram I created at work because I'm a huge dork:

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08...6738286a03.jpg

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Hahaha, that's brilliant. I'm a huge dork too, no judgement here. ;) Thanks for the explanation/visualization!

So if the goal is to have the backup T-stat on on/off mode, could you get away with using an on/off T-stat rather than a proportional one? Just for the backup, not the main T-stat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KitaCat

Hahaha, that's brilliant. I'm a huge dork too, no judgement here. ;) Thanks for the explanation/visualization!

So if the goal is to have the backup T-stat on on/off mode, could you get away with using an on/off T-stat rather than a proportional one? Just for the backup, not the main T-stat.

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Right, you should always use an on/off t-stat for the back-up.

Step 4 of the How-To-Guide for setting up a tank (found here - http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-With-Pictures!) lists thermostats for 3 price range. i myself got 2 Hydrofarms running since i only have 1 tank and 1 tub so far. once i set up a rack, i'll get the Herpstat to run the heat tape.

I use Hydrofarm with a lamp dimmer. The lamp dimmer is set 5 degrees above my ideal temperature.