Hydrofarm thermostat WAY off...

I'd like to announce that I have three hydrofarm thermostats for each of my snakes. I discovered today that one of them is WAY off already, aka possibly broken.

I have the hydrofarm set at 93, and the temp gun gave me 83~85 just now on the hot spot! Wild. :s But yesterday, it gave me 93 on the hot spot, which is also higher than it should be. So basically there's now a VERY wide fluctuation range.

I thought that it was my temp gun that was off... But then I measured my other two, and those surface temps were accurate and the same as usual.

So guys, this Hydofarm lasted only three months... bad run.

Recommend a new thermostat? Maybe one that can control three UTH's, to prepare for when the other two Hydrofarms break? I'm not sure how the three plugs work into that.

Hydrofarm thermostat are notorious to do exactly what you describe, describe worse when they fail they also tend to fail wild open.

The herpstat 4 will control up today 4 setup at 4 different tempertures, well worth the money considering how long they last, I have some almost 10 years old herpstat still running.

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If all 3 heat sources are IDENTICAL you can plug them into a power strip and plug that one strip into a thermostat. Probe goes to one mat and fine tune with Temp gun.

I would double check that thermostat and make sure its not a heat mat problem. Any electrical item can fail, I don't care how much you spend on it. ;)

Hydrofarm is like your house thermostat, an on off thermostat, it is going to have fluctuations above and below the set point. Also probe temp can be different than heat tape temp for a period if the tape just turned off or on.

I'm not saying it's not broken, but with an on off thermostat you are going to have a lot of fluctuations

I have a Hydrofarm on each tank, and I haven't been impressed either.

I don't think the fluctuations are good for them. Been toying with the idea (gasp!!) of removing the T-stats. Originally I had the Ultratherm taped to a tile beneath the tank, not the tank itself, and elevated the tank to where the glass registered a good temp via temp gun.

(I wouldn't risk it for a ball or a boa, but colubrids are better at recognizing and avoiding dangerously hot temps.)

If you don't like the fluctuations, stay away from the cheap thermostats and get a proportional thermostat. Your idea of elevating the tank would only be reliable if the room temps stay consistent (which as I said before your house thermostat is generally on off) and then also no air flow cooling the under side of the tank. I'd use a dimmer before I would consider elevating the tank for regulation.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

The herpstat 4 will control up today 4 setup at 4 different tempertures

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X2 on the Herpstat 4. Have two of them that I bought used. Worth the peice of mind.



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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

Hydrofarm is like your house thermostat, an on off thermostat, it is going to have fluctuations above and below the set point. Also probe temp can be different than heat tape temp for a period if the tape just turned off or on.

I'm not saying it's not broken, but with an on off thermostat you are going to have a lot of fluctuations

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The thing is that the numbers shown on the thermostat were still giving me 89~92, while the temp gun gave me 83 at the same time (which is why I didn't find out until now... not sure how long this has been happening). While yesterday when I checked, the temp gun gave me 93 at one point when the numbers on the thermostat were showing something lower. So I guess I can assume it's more broken than it should be. :s

So the fluctuations are wide not because of the off-on in itself, but because something in the probe or temperature detecting function that turns it on/off is broken.

My other two Hydrofarms are offing and on-ing correctly, and though it has a wider fluctuation than a better quality thermostat, it generally stays within 88~92 on the hot spot and will show the correct temp accordingly on the thermostat.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

If all 3 heat sources are IDENTICAL you can plug them into a power strip and plug that one strip into a thermostat. Probe goes to one mat and fine tune with Temp gun.

I would double check that thermostat and make sure its not a heat mat problem. Any electrical item can fail, I don't care how much you spend on it. ;)

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I'm going to test this tonight... As a temporary fix, would plugging two UTH's into an extension cord, and plugging that into one Hydrofarm be too much to handle for the Hydrofarm? (I'm just assuming it's a weak thermostat...)

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

I'm going to test this tonight... As a temporary fix, would plugging two UTH's into an extension cord, and plugging that into one Hydrofarm be too much to handle for the Hydrofarm? (I'm just assuming it's a weak thermostat...)

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Depends on the wattage of your heat mat and the wattage that your t-stat can handle.

Also be very careful cheap extension cords have been known to overheat and cause fire hazard.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Depends on the wattage of your heat mat and the wattage that your t-stat can handle.

Also be very careful cheap extension cords have been known to overheat and cause fire hazard.

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Eep... Well, my heat mats are Ultratherms from reptilebasics. I'm not sure of the wattage.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Eep... Well, my heat mats are Ultratherms from reptilebasics. I'm not sure of the wattage.

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Should say on the mat itself if not contact Rich

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Should say on the mat itself if not contact Rich

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It probably does say on the mat then. I'll check when I get back! (I'm always on forums at work)

The easiest way is to look on the site.
I have the 6X11 inch model that uses 7 watts. The 11X11 uses 15 watts.
Not a big draw.

I re-did both tanks this morning, and put stryofoam (spell?) insulation on the bottom. Because the hatchlings are so small (23 and 21 grams, and about 13 1/2 inches long), I used a big hide to cover the whole heat pad area, and put a tiny hide inside. I took the thermometer probe off the floor, and now have is just a bit elevated inside the large hide, in order to get an ambient temp in there.

The temp gun has never measured anything over 90 directly on the glass (88 on paper substrate), and the snake has the option of laying on the top of the smaller hide within the warmer ambient temps (low 80's) of the big hide. My tanks are set-ups are identical. Will be checking frequently with the gun.

They are always active at night, and frequently during the day, but both have refused their last two meals, and I think that might have been because of the fluctuations.