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  1. #11
    BPnet Veteran Luvyna's Avatar
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    Re: Heating system alarm/failsafe devices?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    They sell (some, like VTech) baby monitors that beep to alert you if a room is too hot or too cold...would that work? That's all I know
    about them, I don't use anything like that.
    Thanks, will look into that brand and type of device!
    Last edited by Luvyna; 07-13-2019 at 02:10 AM.

  2. #12
    BPnet Veteran RedRabbit's Avatar
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    Re: Heating system alarm/failsafe devices?

    Quote Originally Posted by Luvyna View Post
    Thankfully he is, took him to the vet to be sure but man was it scary. Walked in to find ambient temps over 110F in the enclosure and it was very lucky that I noticed in time and that Noodle wasn't in those temperatures any longer than he was.

    Glad to hear Herpstats have those features! A very worthwhile investment indeed, especially since I've read that other thermostats can have electronic failures after a year.
    110F!! Gosh, that's scary indeed. I'm glad he's none the worse for wear, probably because you caught the issue quickly.

    Unfortunately, it does seem like most of the budget-friendly on/off thermostats have a high chance of failure within their first 1-2 years of use. Also, inherent to their design, they tend to have a wide range of temperature fluctuation around the desired target temp. That was my biggest frustration with the Exo Terra thermostat I used for a brief period before getting a Herpstat. It would vacillate +/- 5 degrees around the target temp on a good day; if it was unplugged and then plugged back in, it would be +/- 10 degrees for a while before stabilizing! Shooting up to 100 F when it's meant to cap out at 90 F? Very NOT good.
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  3. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to RedRabbit For This Useful Post:

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  4. #13
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    This is the most worrisome part of snake-keeping, especially those of you keeping BPs & other kinds that need the most warmth, with cages that contain heat
    the most. And I don't know what 'baby monitors' cost compared to other options discussed here, so I just tossed that idea into the ring as a potential option.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
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  5. #14
    bcr229's Avatar
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    An inexpensive alternative is to put a dimmer switch between the thermostat and the heating appliance, set so that if the thermostat fails wide open the dimmer won't let the heat go above something like 95*F. You'd have to play with it and your snakes will be uncomfortable for a while, but they won't have injuries or die from overheating.

  6. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to bcr229 For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (07-13-2019),John1982 (07-13-2019),Luvyna (07-13-2019)

  7. #15
    BPnet Royalty John1982's Avatar
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    Re: Heating system alarm/failsafe devices?

    Quote Originally Posted by bcr229 View Post
    An inexpensive alternative is to put a dimmer switch between the thermostat and the heating appliance, set so that if the thermostat fails wide open the dimmer won't let the heat go above something like 95*F. You'd have to play with it and your snakes will be uncomfortable for a while, but they won't have injuries or die from overheating.
    I do this but instead use on/off style VE100 thermostats to back up my proportional units.

  8. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to John1982 For This Useful Post:

    bcr229 (07-13-2019),Bogertophis (07-13-2019),Luvyna (07-13-2019)

  9. #16
    BPnet Veteran Luvyna's Avatar
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    Re: Heating system alarm/failsafe devices?

    Quote Originally Posted by RedRabbit View Post
    110F!! Gosh, that's scary indeed. I'm glad he's none the worse for wear, probably because you caught the issue quickly.

    Unfortunately, it does seem like most of the budget-friendly on/off thermostats have a high chance of failure within their first 1-2 years of use. Also, inherent to their design, they tend to have a wide range of temperature fluctuation around the desired target temp. That was my biggest frustration with the Exo Terra thermostat I used for a brief period before getting a Herpstat. It would vacillate +/- 5 degrees around the target temp on a good day; if it was unplugged and then plugged back in, it would be +/- 10 degrees for a while before stabilizing! Shooting up to 100 F when it's meant to cap out at 90 F? Very NOT good.
    Yeah, it's going to stay with me for a long time. It scares me to think that if it had just been maybe 30 mins longer, the temp could have gone up even more and the result could have been very different. I have a similar fluctuation with the Jumpstart thermostats I currently use, looking forward to having more reliable temperatures with a Herpstat.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    This is the most worrisome part of snake-keeping, especially those of you keeping BPs & other kinds that need the most warmth, with cages that contain heat
    the most. And I don't know what 'baby monitors' cost compared to other options discussed here, so I just tossed that idea into the ring as a potential option.
    Agreed wholeheartedly, if an animal doesn't belong in the climate it is being kept in, the responsibility to ensure it has the right equipment, safety measures, and living conditions is that much greater because it can do a lot of harm if things go wrong. Baby monitors seem to be a pretty good option so far since they are very reasonable price-wise and get the job done as an independent alarm system.

    Quote Originally Posted by bcr229 View Post
    An inexpensive alternative is to put a dimmer switch between the thermostat and the heating appliance, set so that if the thermostat fails wide open the dimmer won't let the heat go above something like 95*F. You'd have to play with it and your snakes will be uncomfortable for a while, but they won't have injuries or die from overheating.
    This is a great idea! I have an extra thermostat so I will test this out.

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