What thermostat/ where to buy?

Ok, so I'm looking into thermostats and have heard that the Helix DBS-1000 and Hepstat are the way to go. What do you reccomend? Where should I buy one of these? Also, how would these work with a night cycle where temperatures come down?

EDIT: I'm on the herpstat website right now. looks like they have a nightdrop feature.

you would only use a night drop if you are breeding.

if you are just keeping snakes, with no plan to breed them, i would go with an on/off style thermostat. ranco or johnson control make some very good ones, and they are cheaper then the proportional herpstat and helix. there are many threads around this forum that talk about all the features and stuff about thermostat. i'm sure someone will be along posting some links.

i use johnson control A419 and i love them.

also check out reptilebasics.com, Rich offers thermostats at very good prices.

also mgreptiles.com sell them, you can also check out ebay but it's rare

hm. so proportional is not really necessary? I just want to make sure my captives are as happy and healthy as possible. I am used to keeping fish and temperature swings are very stressful for them. But if a BP doesn't mind, then an on/off thermostat might be the economical way to go.

Also, what do you recommend for heating? I see some with lights, some with the lightless ceramic heaters. What do you think?

temperature swings are not good for a ball python. but with a on/off thermostat the swing will be like 3 degrees. if you set it at 92 with a 1 deg differential, then it'll heat till 92 shut off, and when it drops below 91 it'll turn back on, so no swings. i use flexwatt for my ball's tank. i have a 75 watt red light that i use in the winter to keep the ambiant temps up. but right now i have on the warm side, flexwatt (from reptilebasics.com) on a johnson control thermostat set at 92 with a 2 deg diff. and on the cool side a 4" piece of flexwatt on a rheostat (dimmer) to keep it at about 82-84 degreese. i am thinking of putting an old zoo med thermostat on the cool side once i get my rack. hope that helps

I'm looking at the flexwatt now. Is that just like an UTH pad? You just attach it to the bottom of the tank?

HERPSTAT / BEAN FARM stay away from MG reptiles,he has a well documented history of poor customer service.

as far as a heat source, what are you heating ?

BTW the folks at the bean farm can recommend a heat source,they are very nice to work with and carry a complete line of heat sources.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by twh

HERPSTAT / BEAN FARM stay away from MG reptiles,he has a well documented history of poor customer service.

as far as a heat source, what are you heating ?

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I will be heating a glass tank with a juvenile BP, who will grow to become an adult.

ok, at this point, I am thinking about getting 2 on/off thermostats (One for warm side, one for cool side). Any preference between the Johnson Controls A419 and the Ranco ETC-111000?

they are both pretty much the same... the johnson control is a little smaller.

what i would do is but a johnson control ($75) for the warm side so you can get the temps EXACTLY where you want them. then buy a cheap zoo med 500r ($25-30) for the cool side since theres a little more room for error. or you can just two johnsons or rancos.

and yes flexwatt is a UTH it is just thinner, you can buy it by the foot, and it comes in different sizes (3,4,11").

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kagez28

they are both pretty much the same... the johnson control is a little smaller.

what i would do is but a johnson control ($75) for the warm side so you can get the temps EXACTLY where you want them. then buy a cheap zoo med 500r ($25-30) for the cool side since theres a little more room for error. or you can just two johnsons or rancos.

and yes flexwatt is a UTH it is just thinner, you can buy it by the foot, and it comes in different sizes (3,4,11").

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so for flex watt, does that come with an adhesive side to attach to the bottom of the tank, or how does that work?

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Originally Posted by clawlan

so for flex watt, does that come with an adhesive side to attach to the bottom of the tank, or how does that work?

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The flexwatt comes as a flat piece of plastic with heating areas embedded in it. It's quite a bit like the rear window defrosters on cars.

You will need to wire it up or buy it from someone that prewires and then use some aluminum foil tape (found at hardware stores) to attach it to the bottom of your tank.

I use it for all of my racks and love the stuff. It does require a thermostat or rheostat but it sounds like you're set there.

Flexwatt isn't "tape" the way you are thinking of it...the name is a little deceiving.

You would use something like foil tape to actually tape it into place.

Its basically a thin sheet of plastic with 2 wires leading into it.

with thermostats and flexwatt, i've had good service from reptile basics. rich is a good guy.


www.reptilebasics.com



vaughn

cool thanks. my next question. if i plan on using 2 pieces of flexwatt 11" (one for the warm side, one for the cool side), how much of the tank should each piece take up? 50/50? 33 warm/33 (nothing)/33 cool?

you'll have to set everything up and experiment. too many variables to account for.



vaughn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kavmon

you'll have to set everything up and experiment. too many variables to account for.



vaughn

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lol. well im trying to figure out how much to buy. Guess ill just have to experiment. I think ill order the flexwatt from reptilebasics because they will attach the connectors to it.

an extra inch or foot, ain't bad to have! :D




vaughn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clawlan

cool thanks. my next question. if i plan on using 2 pieces of flexwatt 11" (one for the warm side, one for the cool side), how much of the tank should each piece take up? 50/50? 33 warm/33 (nothing)/33 cool?

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Well it depends on the size of your tank what you need ( I don't know from volume as they are not measured that way over here).

As for the coverage I am planning on 33%hot and 66% cool.


dr del

i have two 1 foot pieces of 11inch flexwatt, one cool and one warm. i put them on opposite side of a 20L tank. the middle is where i have my water dish so belly heat there isn't that important.

i would just experiment. you could maybe get a foot piece of 4" flexwatt and use that for the cool side if you have a smaller tank.

just ask Rich when ordering if he can put the cord on the flexwatt and he will do it for free.

the "cord" that is put on the flexwatt is just a standard 2 prong plug that will go right into the thermostat right?