Hydrofarm thermostat WAY off...

[redshepherd]

I'd like to announce that I have three hydrofarm thermostats for each of my snakes. I discovered today that one of them is WAY off already, aka possibly broken.

I have the hydrofarm set at 93, and the temp gun gave me 83~85 just now on the hot spot! Wild. :s But yesterday, it gave me 93 on the hot spot, which is also higher than it should be. So basically there's now a VERY wide fluctuation range.

I thought that it was my temp gun that was off... But then I measured my other two, and those surface temps were accurate and the same as usual.

So guys, this Hydofarm lasted only three months... bad run.

Recommend a new thermostat? Maybe one that can control three UTH's, to prepare for when the other two Hydrofarms break? I'm not sure how the three plugs work into that.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Hydrofarm thermostat are notorious to do exactly what you describe, describe worse when they fail they also tend to fail wild open.

The herpstat 4 will control up today 4 setup at 4 different tempertures, well worth the money considering how long they last, I have some almost 10 years old herpstat still running.

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[PitOnTheProwl]

If all 3 heat sources are IDENTICAL you can plug them into a power strip and plug that one strip into a thermostat. Probe goes to one mat and fine tune with Temp gun.

I would double check that thermostat and make sure its not a heat mat problem. Any electrical item can fail, I don't care how much you spend on it.

[OhhWatALoser]

Hydrofarm is like your house thermostat, an on off thermostat, it is going to have fluctuations above and below the set point. Also probe temp can be different than heat tape temp for a period if the tape just turned off or on.

I'm not saying it's not broken, but with an on off thermostat you are going to have a lot of fluctuations

[distaff]

I have a Hydrofarm on each tank, and I haven't been impressed either.

I don't think the fluctuations are good for them. Been toying with the idea (gasp!!) of removing the T-stats. Originally I had the Ultratherm taped to a tile beneath the tank, not the tank itself, and elevated the tank to where the glass registered a good temp via temp gun.

(I wouldn't risk it for a ball or a boa, but colubrids are better at recognizing and avoiding dangerously hot temps.)

[OhhWatALoser]

If you don't like the fluctuations, stay away from the cheap thermostats and get a proportional thermostat. Your idea of elevating the tank would only be reliable if the room temps stay consistent (which as I said before your house thermostat is generally on off) and then also no air flow cooling the under side of the tank. I'd use a dimmer before I would consider elevating the tank for regulation.

[Mr. Misha]

The herpstat 4 will control up today 4 setup at 4 different tempertures

X2 on the Herpstat 4. Have two of them that I bought used. Worth the peice of mind.



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[redshepherd]

Hydrofarm is like your house thermostat, an on off thermostat, it is going to have fluctuations above and below the set point. Also probe temp can be different than heat tape temp for a period if the tape just turned off or on.

I'm not saying it's not broken, but with an on off thermostat you are going to have a lot of fluctuations

The thing is that the numbers shown on the thermostat were still giving me 89~92, while the temp gun gave me 83 at the same time (which is why I didn't find out until now... not sure how long this has been happening). While yesterday when I checked, the temp gun gave me 93 at one point when the numbers on the thermostat were showing something lower. So I guess I can assume it's more broken than it should be. :s

So the fluctuations are wide not because of the off-on in itself, but because something in the probe or temperature detecting function that turns it on/off is broken.

My other two Hydrofarms are offing and on-ing correctly, and though it has a wider fluctuation than a better quality thermostat, it generally stays within 88~92 on the hot spot and will show the correct temp accordingly on the thermostat.

If all 3 heat sources are IDENTICAL you can plug them into a power strip and plug that one strip into a thermostat. Probe goes to one mat and fine tune with Temp gun.

I would double check that thermostat and make sure its not a heat mat problem. Any electrical item can fail, I don't care how much you spend on it.

I'm going to test this tonight... As a temporary fix, would plugging two UTH's into an extension cord, and plugging that into one Hydrofarm be too much to handle for the Hydrofarm? (I'm just assuming it's a weak thermostat...)

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I'm going to test this tonight... As a temporary fix, would plugging two UTH's into an extension cord, and plugging that into one Hydrofarm be too much to handle for the Hydrofarm? (I'm just assuming it's a weak thermostat...)

Depends on the wattage of your heat mat and the wattage that your t-stat can handle.

Also be very careful cheap extension cords have been known to overheat and cause fire hazard.

[redshepherd]

Depends on the wattage of your heat mat and the wattage that your t-stat can handle.

Also be very careful cheap extension cords have been known to overheat and cause fire hazard.

Eep... Well, my heat mats are Ultratherms from reptilebasics. I'm not sure of the wattage.