!!!Warning to those with cheap thermostats!!!

[ScottyDsntKnow]

I've had a $25 Repti Temp 500R for almost a year and 0 issues. Yeah its a little hard to set at first but get it close once and done. And yeah you would have to run the dimmer after the tstat with the tstat being at max power and the dimmer turning it down to whatever temp you needed it to be at.

Also plenty of other ppl with the 500R for years and no issues. I'd never personally use an on/off style on a rack or anything like some do but for a single animal in a viv they're fine.

[hoax]

....several people i know say that they are going to make the switch from helix to herpstat after trying one....

I have both Helix and Herpstat. Since I got my Herpstat I will never buy another Helix. Don't get me wrong I like the Helix I just like the Herpstat so much more.... To me you get more bang for your buck with the Herpstat then you do the Helix, just alot more options and Some other really nice features...

Mike

[JeffFlanagan]

I hope you get a dimmer It's worth it. I plan to keep them dimmer going even after I get a nice thermostat. I don't want to lose any snakes because of my temps sky rocketing! I'd rather everything shut off, they can live just fine in 70 degrees!

Just to clarify: Dimmers don't cut off your power. They limit it so you can set a max temp in case the thermostat fails in On mode. Your thermostat appears to have failed in Off mode, so your dimmer didn't do anything.

[Buttons]

I've had a $25 Repti Temp 500R for almost a year and 0 issues. Yeah its a little hard to set at first but get it close once and done. And yeah you would have to run the dimmer after the tstat with the tstat being at max power and the dimmer turning it down to whatever temp you needed it to be at.

Also plenty of other ppl with the 500R for years and no issues. I'd never personally use an on/off style on a rack or anything like some do but for a single animal in a viv they're fine.

I thought I ordered a 500R last week but somehow I ordered a ZooMed rheostat instead. I can still use the rheostat but will be ordering a 500R tonight.

[JD Constriction]

Or what fried the on/off also fried the dimmer

Just to clarify: Dimmers don't cut off your power. They limit it so you can set a max temp in case the thermostat fails in On mode. Your thermostat appears to have failed in Off mode, so your dimmer didn't do anything.

[Goodwin]

Take this as you wish....why would you pay the same amount of money for a thermostat that does less? The HERPSTAT is the ONLY tstat to buy...I'm not saying the Helix dosent work as well, blah, blah, blah, but the HERPSTAT costs the same, and has a ton more features than the Helix. When I purchased mine, I was not pleased with the customer service at Helix...So I was advised by somebody on here to get a HERPSTAT from SPYDER ROBOTICS. I had never heard of HERPSTAT before but decided to contact them anyway. The customer service there was SUPERB, Dion contacted me back, answered ALL my questions about the tstat, heat tape etc., and that was only an hour after I emailed him. I would recommed the HERPSTAT to anybody that needs a good TSTAT. Dont waste your money on those cheap, pet store, so called thermostats that require replacing every six months...No Johnsons, no Rancos, (these are homemade) No helix's...GO WITH HERPSTAT YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!

[SlitherinSisters]

I had that last time I picked up bins- the lady said "packing up for someone going to college?" Either I looked really young that day- like young enough to be heading to college, or really old- like old enough to have kids heading to college. Not sure- I'm right in the middle.

Lol that's a good story!

Every thermostat should have a backup thermostat or rheostat behind it, in my opinion.

JonV

Agreed!

Wouldn't you want it the other way around? Right now you are throttling the power that goes to your thermostat, doesn't a thermostat need a set amount of power to function? You want the thermostat functioning on full power, but if it ever melts ON, can only fire so much juice to the heat tape.

Wall---->Thermostat---->Rheostat(throttle)---->Racks

No?

-JonV

Yeah your right I forgot that John told me to plug it into the wall let the flex watt heat up to the desired temp then plug it into the thermostat. Right right.

Yep that's how it should be But I'm not 100% sure it matters.....

Another helpful tip is to keep the "cheap" thermostat well ventilated. If it runs in a hot/warm enviornment it will not last as long as when it is kept cool.

If I was going to buy something a step up from a "cheap" thermostat I would say a Ranco/Johnson Controls and a Rheostat (dimmer) is safer than just a stand alone Helix/Herpstat with all other things being equal.

Hope that helps

That's the thing that I don't understand, it was on top of my rack, which is about chest level to me and there isn't any sort of covering on top of it. There was no reason it should have gotten so hot!

Just to clarify: Dimmers don't cut off your power. They limit it so you can set a max temp in case the thermostat fails in On mode. Your thermostat appears to have failed in Off mode, so your dimmer didn't do anything.

Hmmm..... I think I'm understanding what you are trying to say....The thermostat possibly failed in the off mode, therefor no power was going to the dimmer to heat the flex watt. If that's the case I guess I'm lucky, but I still don't understand how the thermostat melted when it's in a 70 degree room sitting on top of my rack....

Or what fried the on/off also fried the dimmer

Hmmm......idk, do you think there is some sort of safety feature that trips the dimmer? I had to mess around with it a bit before it would even turn back on. It has an orange light that dims, I plugged it into the wall and the light wouldn't even come on. I unplugged it from the wall (and the flex watt) and messed with the switch, then plugged it back into the wall and the orange light came back on. It was really weird. I wish I still had the box it came in.

[deltaneutral]

I use a Ranco and have not had a problem.
I wired it to a power strip so that multiple UTH's or CHE's can run at the same temp.

Here's the picture...


And here's the link on how to wire it up...
http://www.rcreptiles.com/blog/index...1000_thermosta