ZooMed ReptiTemp Rheostat?!? Queston!?

I have a zoo med UTH and a zoo med rheostat for right now til i can get more money for a nice thermostat like a Herpstat or something of that nature. Does anybody have this combo for controlling the undertank heat? If so, what is your rheostat knob set to? Thanks ya guys! :)

Dial that bad boy to the lowest setting possible... it'll get HOT.
That's what I'm using.

So you have your knob on your stat down to where it says low? Ok i'll crank it down to that. I just got an Acurite thermometer with the probe and i put the probe the taped it to the tank under the fur bark substrate. Will that get a good reading? Thanks :)

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Originally Posted by ndizzleg

I have a zoo med UTH and a zoo med rheostat for right now til i can get more money for a nice thermostat like a Herpstat or something of that nature. Does anybody have this combo for controlling the undertank heat? If so, what is your rheostat knob set to? Thanks ya guys! :)

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You should have a thermometer probe to read how hot it is. Setting the rheostat for 90-95 F. Don't guess, just use your handy dandy thermometer to figure the best spot.

It's going to vary from house to house, and location to location. So it's seems kinda unproductive to ask others where to set your dial at no? ;)

Is the Rheostat reliable? Say if i'm at work and i have the stat set to like 92. I'd hate to come home after work and see my probe on the acurtie reading in the hundreds! :tears: ..I just hope this rheostat being around 30 bucks.. will be reliable for some time til i get my Herpstat. :)

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Originally Posted by ndizzleg

Is the Rheostat reliable? Say if i'm at work and i have the stat set to like 92. I'd hate to come home after work and see my probe on the acurtie reading in the hundreds! :tears: ..I just hope this rheostat being around 30 bucks.. will be reliable for some time til i get my Herpstat. :)

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Rheostats are more reliable than thermostats...at least in terms of safety. They are almost fail-proof, meaning they won't get stuck in the "on" position. The Barker's seem to prefer them in their book. Your ambient temps will affect the temp more though.

JonV

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Originally Posted by nevohraalnavnoj

Rheostats are more reliable than thermostats...at least in terms of safety. They are almost fail-proof, meaning they won't get stuck in the "on" position. The Barker's seem to prefer them in their book. Your ambient temps will affect the temp more though.

JonV

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But that doesnt mean they wont get too hot or too cool. The safety feature has never given me any peace of mind, and I found them to be aggravatingly wild in range of temps.

I dont like rheostats, too much variability from one moment to the next. Mine was always either too hot, or too dang cold. :mad:

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

But that doesnt mean they wont get too hot or too cool. The safety feature has never given me any peace of mind, and I found them to be aggravatingly wild in range of temps.

I dont like rheostats, too much variability from one moment to the next. Mine was always either too hot, or too dang cold. :mad:

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Agreed 1000%. I absolutely hate rheostats...I have used 3 different brands and NEVER had a steady/reliable temp...I would get home and the UTH could be 99 degrees but 89 when I left. Too much worry, I like my ranco:)

Where do you get a Ranco from?

Rheostats work fine if the room temp is completely stable. But if your room temp fluctuates, so will the heat pad temperatures. Thermostats, however, take into account all of these fluctuations and adjust accordingly.

I like those Lutron credenza dimmers much better than anything found in the pet store. They can carry up to 300 watts.

Yeah. we have a super stable air conditioning/and heating system in our home. Its constantly set at 74 during this time of year. Never fluctuates. So i'm thinking once i figure out the niche on my rheostat and where to turn the knob to ill be good.

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Originally Posted by nevohraalnavnoj

Rheostats are more reliable than thermostats...at least in terms of safety. They are almost fail-proof, meaning they won't get stuck in the "on" position. The Barker's seem to prefer them in their book. Your ambient temps will affect the temp more though.

JonV

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the reason the Barkers may prefer them is because they use ambient temps for the majority of their heating and that is controled by t stats. Most snake owners dont have climate controled snake rooms so rheostats could vary all over the place. I have use 5 t-stats (2 herpstat pros and 3 Rancos) and have never had a problem whatsoever. Now the cheaper pet store t-stats are horrific.

I would never use a rheostat myself and a Ranco is much cheaper than treating a sick BP.

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Originally Posted by ndizzleg

Yeah. we have a super stable air conditioning/and heating system in our home. Its constantly set at 74 during this time of year. Never fluctuates. So i'm thinking once i figure out the niche on my rheostat and where to turn the knob to ill be good.

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I have the repti-temp rheostat (I had to make sure it was the same one) and I could never set it lower than 100 degrees:O I was not happy and that was with a zoomed UTH 15-20 gallon size. The problem i found with them is that there is only four exact settings - off, low, med, high - and you cannot set it in between those settings. i hope you have better luck with it than I, but if you don't I would take it back to the pet-store and pick up a lamp dimmer from the hardware store instead.

Oh and I bought my Ranco on Ebay (unwired - which means you or someone handy with wiring needs to wire an extension cord to it for power) or you can buy that thermostat pre-wired from http://www.reptilebasics.com/Ranco-E...d-p-16172.html
or google ranco thermostat and see what you can find:)

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

But that doesnt mean they wont get too hot or too cool. The safety feature has never given me any peace of mind, and I found them to be aggravatingly wild in range of temps.

I dont like rheostats, too much variability from one moment to the next. Mine was always either too hot, or too dang cold. :mad:

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There only aggravatingly wild if your ambient room temps are aggravatingly wild.

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Originally Posted by nevohraalnavnoj

There only aggravatingly wild if your ambient room temps are aggravatingly wild.

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Hehe, that could be true.... I do like my rooms cold. ;)

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Hehe, that could be true.... I do like my rooms cold. ;)

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I know, me too. I love cold, I grew up in Wisconsin. Now I sweat my butt off every night trying to sleep just so my snakes can be happy :) Ah the sacrifices we make for our children.

JonV

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Originally Posted by missi182

I have the repti-temp rheostat (I had to make sure it was the same one) and I could never set it lower than 100 degrees:O I was not happy and that was with a zoomed UTH 15-20 gallon size. The problem i found with them is that there is only four exact settings - off, low, med, high - and you cannot set it in between those settings. i hope you have better luck with it than I, but if you don't I would take it back to the pet-store and pick up a lamp dimmer from the hardware store instead.

Oh and I bought my Ranco on Ebay (unwired - which means you or someone handy with wiring needs to wire an extension cord to it for power) or you can buy that thermostat pre-wired from http://www.reptilebasics.com/Ranco-E...d-p-16172.html
or google ranco thermostat and see what you can find:)

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My temp just got set on the rheostat for my UTH, its at 92.2. The probe is under the fur bark under my warm side hide. The ambient temp is 87.3 and its been that all day. And since ive set that rheostat its sat right at 92.2 give or take a few .1 or .2 degrees. But ill give it the rest of the day and see how it fairs.

keep in mind too it will take some time to get to fully warmed up temp...give it at least 24 hours.

JonV

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Originally Posted by ndizzleg

Is the Rheostat reliable? Say if i'm at work and i have the stat set to like 92. I'd hate to come home after work and see my probe on the acurtie reading in the hundreds! :tears: ..I just hope this rheostat being around 30 bucks.. will be reliable for some time til i get my Herpstat. :)

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I bought the same rheostat not too long ago and was EXTREMELY disappointed with it, enough in fact to return it. went back to my old lamp dimmer till I can afford a helix.

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Originally Posted by ndizzleg

So you have your knob on your stat down to where it says low? Ok i'll crank it down to that. I just got an Acurite thermometer with the probe and i put the probe the taped it to the tank under the fur bark substrate. Will that get a good reading? Thanks :)

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You got lots of good feedback on rheostats & t-stats. I'm a little surprised no one commented on the tape. Usually every time someone says tape, there are all kinds of comments about not using tape inside the enclosure. I think some people have said that some not very sticky tape (like that blue painters tape) are ok?

Does anyone know where i can pick up something cheaper to control my UTH..i odnt think this zoo med reostat is gonna cut it. Does walmart or any department store carry anything so i can control my tbasking temps from the uth?

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Originally Posted by ndizzleg

Does anyone know where i can pick up something cheaper to control my UTH..i odnt think this zoo med reostat is gonna cut it. Does walmart or any department store carry anything so i can control my tbasking temps from the uth?

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Lamp dimmer. $9 at Lowes. Home depot - $14.

I just picked up 2 lamp dimmers from Ace Hardware, 12 bucks a piece.