Lesson learned.. get your proportional thermostats!!!

When I first started out I used a on/off switch thermostat for Sammy. I bought a heat temp gun and checked the hot spot temp. 77 DEGREES!! That thermostat didn't do anything! I'm glad it stayed lower at a lower temp than at higher temp, burns are nasty!! Just found a barely used Herpstat 1 for just $75. Moral of the story, please get GOOD PROPORTIONAL thermostats.

I'm going to slightly disagree with you on this one Daniel. I've used multiple hydrofarm on/off thermostats without any issues for the last 5 years. I'm upgrading some enclosures and equipment soon and I'll probably get the Herpstat 4 or 6 because the enclosures will all be stacked but I found the hydrofarms very reliable. Granted they don't have the nighttime temperature drop and other bells and whistles that you get with the higher end Herpstat. I do agree that a good temp gun is a necessity.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I'm going to slightly disagree with you on this one Daniel. I've used multiple hydrofarm on/off thermostats without any issues for the last 5 years. I'm upgrading some enclosures and equipment soon and I'll probably get the Herpstat 4 or 6 because the enclosures will all be stacked but I found the hydrofarms very reliable. Granted they don't have the nighttime temperature drop and other bells and whistles that you get with the higher end Herpstat. I do agree that a good temp gun is a necessity.

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I agree with you, but I didn't mean to target the hydrofarms. I've heard they are really really good. This is mainly targeting the others. My on/off thermostat was a (I think this is the name of it) apollo thermostat. At the time I wasn't aware of the hydro farm. I regret for not looking further more for the hydro farm.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I'm going to slightly disagree with you on this one Daniel. I've used multiple hydrofarm on/off thermostats without any issues for the last 5 years. I'm upgrading some enclosures and equipment soon and I'll probably get the Herpstat 4 or 6 because the enclosures will all be stacked but I found the hydrofarms very reliable. Granted they don't have the nighttime temperature drop and other bells and whistles that you get with the higher end Herpstat. I do agree that a good temp gun is a necessity.

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Well then I'm just unlucky.

I bought one and it failed within two months. In the on position.

Im with the OP. It's a good tstat for me or nothing.

Great job OP.

I have a bunch of hydrofarm clones that I'm using, they do fail in the on position, I found out just last week! Also, I'm using temp probes that record high and low temps. The on/off hydrofarm thermostats have a range of about ten degrees, I set them at 88F and they range from 82F to 92F. I also have a VE-300, its proportional and the range is only about 3 degrees from the high to the low temp. I actually just ordered a couple Herpstat 4 thermostats so I can dial in each row in my rack and keep the temps real accurate with a probe on each level, also can vary from row to row if I have a different mix of snakes. I actually tried to run the whole stack with my VE-300 and there were huge differences between levels (with the probe on just one level).

I have 2 hydrofarms and they work well. I'll def be upgrading when my rack is done, but I'm impressed with them so far. They aren't sexy but they do their job.

I have several hydros that have been in use for a long time and still working.
Too many people think an on/off will hold a set temperature, that's not how they work.
I also have a Helix and a bunch of VEs that are still running strong too.

I bet yall wouldn't feel that way if one tried to cook your snake. I'll leave the Hydros for the plant people.

I realize all things have a point of failure but the point where mine failed left me with a terrible feeling that I never care to have again. I now enjoy knowing I have good equipment controlling my heat, especially when I leave them for over a week like I just did.

I will never again risk one of my snakes by using one. I'm also adding a WiFi camera to that room so I can check on things while I'm away. I already have some but it never dawned on me to put one in that room until this last trip.

I wish yall luck and hope yours continue to work without issue.

I think the low temp was on the users error, not the t-stat. I have Hydrofarms too and they have worked for a year fine. I only use them as backup though. The only real downside I see to them is they fail open. But for $35, hard to beat the price. With that said though, I only use Herpstats as my main t-stats. Have 2 Herpstats 1 and 2 redlines and 2 Herpstat 1 and 2 normal.

Thanks for your story, i'm starting and i think i can learn something here

Every thomostat is different and every thermostat can fail. There are cases of herpstats failing in the on position, there's not one brand with a 100% reliability record.

However I bet herpstats fail at a far less rate than a hydrofarm. When it comes to cheap thermostats, it seems hydrofarm fail at a far less rate than all the others. Even the clones which obviously is not the same thermostat. There is a reason they are the recommended cheap thermostat.

The OP is attacking the wrong thing. You can get crap proportional stat as well. There are on offs that have good track records, there are people who run multi thousand dollar collections off rancos. Did you know any modern herpstat can be turned into an on off in the settings?

It's tough but it's also not a good idea to base how good a product is based off of your experience alone. There people who think herpstats are garbage from having problems, just like there are people who think the Amazon specials are awesome because they never had a problem.

Get a thermostat with a track record you are comfortable with is what it comes down to. Personally I wouldn't run anything but herpstat or Helix, far too much money time and energy invested in this hobby to not use what has the best track record.

I used a Hydrofarm for a couple years and still have it as my back up/quarantine/portable. Upgraded to a herpstat 2 for my main collection as soon as I had some change to spare, but for a $35 piece of equipment, the Hydrofarm does fine, and I'll probably continue to find use for it. I imagine since plants have growing seasons, hydrofarms aren't meant to be used year round 24/7, so you can probably extend the life by upgrading to something else and just using it as a back up.

I thought Herpstat was designed so it could NOT fail on the On position?

One of my VE's turned out to be a lemon. Ticked about that, and had to use a spare HydroFarm in its place.
Waste of money!

Would like to get another snake, but need to upgrade the three I have to Herpstats first. I don't like the Hydro temp swing, but it has proven to me to be the more reliable t-stat.

I've heard of chaining two for a backup, but never done it.

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Originally Posted by distaff

I've heard of chaining two for a backup, but never done it.

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The back up thermostat has to be on off type. The heat source plugs into the main thermostat, its temp is set. The main plugs into the backup, which is set for a higher temp but still not unsafe 5 degrees or so. That plugs into the wall. So your back up should always be on, but in the event the main fails on it should eventually get cut by the back up.

Thanks. Makes sense.

I e-mailed Herpstat about the possibility of failing while On. Will see what they say. Acc to the site, the Herpstat1, at $119 (or so) doesn't have the "safety relay." I am ordering one this week - which one, depends on what they tell me. Just need this one to regulate one UTH for the rosy boa.

I'm super paranoid about cooking a snake. I ran a dimmer type thermostat when I first got my ball, ended with a slight burn at one point, not a risk I am willing to repeat. I have herpstats with the alarms set running on all my cages, each cage has both a rhp and flexwatt so I could run either or both as needed and the room itself is heated (controlled by another thermostat) so the cage heat doesn't have to work as hard or at all in some cases, just providing a hot spot usually. Digital thermometers on both sides of cages to quick check and a temp gun to directly double check all areas. Snakes checked on 2x a day. I have controllers running most of my aquarium heaters at this point too since I've had a couple of those stick on or die and cost me livestock.