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BPnet Veteran
Household thermostat?
I'm sure others have had this thought and most likely someone has tried it out already. Has anyone had any success using a household thermostat to control your rack heating? Not the room temps, but the flexwatt temps.
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Registered User
Re: Household thermostat?
I have made a homemade rheostat with 2 dimmer switches and 2 electrical plugs that worked great until I bought my thermostat. Allowed me to dial all the way down to "0"
Took a couple of days adjustment and then marking temps and hashes to get it set but after initial trial and error I could get temps right on the money.
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Registered User
Re: Household thermostat?
Unfortunatly I couldn't find one that would run the temps I need (95F)... Also the probe is built into the unit and would have to be modified and tested for accuracy.. perhaps recalibrated due to resistance in the wire.
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BPnet Veteran
Re: Household thermostat?
i used to work for a plumbing and heating company (managed the warehouse) and i had talked with a few people about the possibilities... basically there's only one type that would work and that's a low-voltage heating only thermostat. they're cheap, but it'd be much harder to use and have it work correctly unless you can figure out a way to attached an external or remote probe.
Colin Vestrand
long time keeper and breeder of carpet pythons and other snakes...
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BPnet Veteran
Re: Household thermostat?
Well I guess from the sounds of it it just makes more sense to simply buy one that is made for the job at hand. Oh well thought it might make a fun weekend project but it seems more pain than it is worth.
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Registered User
Re: Household thermostat?
Originally Posted by bsd13
I'm sure others have had this thought and most likely someone has tried it out already. Has anyone had any success using a household thermostat to control your rack heating? Not the room temps, but the flexwatt temps.
The only purpose that would be served by using a household thermostat is the unnecessary complication of a rather simple application. Household thermostats are low voltage controllers that control relays. They are not full load controllers and cannot work alone to control your rack heating without a relay circuit in place.
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BPnet Veteran
Re: Household thermostat?
Originally Posted by Desert
The only purpose that would be served by using a household thermostat is the unnecessary complication of a rather simple application. Household thermostats are low voltage controllers that control relays. They are not full load controllers and cannot work alone to control your rack heating without a relay circuit in place.
Thanks...
I think I kinda reached that conclusion in a round about way already. Thought I didn't concern myself with the technical details to be honest, but at least now I know why I reached that conclusion.
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Re: Household thermostat?
Industrial Thermostats can be used and are currently in use. The Ranco and Johnson controllers are perfect examples. The big thing with these is they use a remote temp probe. By the time you were to modify a basic household unit to work you could buy a raw Ranco and be way ahead!
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BPnet Veteran
Re: Household thermostat?
Originally Posted by Gloryhound
Industrial Thermostats can be used and are currently in use. The Ranco and Johnson controllers are perfect examples. The big thing with these is they use a remote temp probe. By the time you were to modify a basic household unit to work you could buy a raw Ranco and be way ahead!
Yeah that's what I started to realize as I was doing research on them.
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