Herpstat not working?

[sekaiNdobes]

I must be doing something wrong...

My herpstat isn't exactly doing its job - I'm getting huge temperature fluctuations. I have it *set* to 91 degrees, but I'm getting temp readings anywhere from 88-97 degrees.

The temp probe is taped directly to the UTH (and plugged into Herpstat). UTH is plugged into the Herpstat, Herpstat is plugged into wall.

Am I doing something wrong? Did I miss some sort of important step? I read the instructions, but they were pretty vague, so I may have screwed up somewhere along the way.

Arrrgh this is frustrating...

[JasonG]

sounds like youre doing everything right... its hard to diagnose the problem on the net...

Have you called them to find out if they can troubleshoot with you?

[sekaiNdobes]

Not yet - I will though, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something totally stupid before I bothered them.

I'll see what they have to say, thanks!

[kid_mustango02]

Do you have anything wrapped around the probe instead of the tape used to attach it to the UTH?

[glkherp]

What you are experiencing is normal when you attach a thermostat probe directly to the heat source. The heat source has the ability to heat up quickly overshooting your target temperature at which point the thermostat turns off the heat. Then the heat source cools down quickly and undershoots the target temp. During this “teeter totter” effect the enclosure itself is not actually getting up to temp and the fluxuations on the thermostat can look wild. By placing the thermostat probe inside the enclosure over the heat source it will buffer that effect and although all thermostats initially will require some regulation time it will be much smoother. In some enclosures giving a couple of inches of space between the probe and the hot spot ends up being the proper placement. In any enclosure the probe placement will be the #1 key to having a smoothly regulated environment. Every enclosure is unique and will require some small experimentation on the owners end and for safety its always best to set up new enclosures without the animals in them until you achieve regulation.

George

[filly77]

my herpstat is doing the same thing as yours!

just mine doesn't spike that high. mine reads anywhere from 86-89. i emailed spyder robotics a few mins ago. whats strange is ive had it for about 3 months (bought it from beanfarm) and its been fine up until now... might have to take the rack apart and check the connections to the flex, tho I dont think the connections are the problem as I soldered them and the tubs can't touch the connections.

it's set at 94, i will raise it a tad to see if that helps but its just so strange that it was holding the temps perfectly. with my luck,,,, it will randomly start to work perfectly and the hot spots will be too warm..

i dont know tho, im racking (no pun intended lol) my brains trying to figure mine out, maybe its because its getting a little cooler in my room now that summers almost over. does this sound like it could be whats causing it? I wonder if people have to raise their herpstats in cooler months? doesn't make sense to me tho as it should still no matter what keep the temp it's set at, right??? and i heard if its more than 6 degrees off, its usually a broken thermostat? (dunno how true it is?)

blah im confused lol i guess I'll try calling spyder robotics tomorrow..

(hope im not hyjacking your thread, just figured since they are similar problems, maybe we both can learn from eachother.. ill let you know how it goes on my end)

[glkherp]

Which model Herpstat do you have? If you have the original Herpstat is the LED to right of the temperature readout staying consistently red? If this is the case then the power is being applied full on and your heat device is unable to reach your target temp. This could be because of the room getting cooler, the temp probe slipping off the hot spot or the heat tape going bad. Same would apply if you have one of the other models and the power is constantly reading 100%. Full voltage is being applied but the heat device isn’t putting out enough heat. To test that you could always unplug the heat device from the Herpstat and plug it directly into the wall leaving the temp probe from the Herpstat in the same place it is so it acts as a thermometer and see what it gets up to. If it still only comes up to 89 degrees you know it is not being affected by the thermostat.

George

[spyderrobotics]

Georges posts are correct. I would also like to add that aluminum tape can throw things off for a couple of reasons. First aluminum transfers temperature quickly. Thats why we use it for our probe. Aluminum tape is transfering temps from a wide area. Which means when the heat tape turns on it can heat up the probe very quickly but the actual tubs remain cold as the thermostat shuts off power. On the other side of things, when your room cools it also transfers this quickly to the probe including every little draft. So you can get some mixed results. Plus of course aluminum can conduct electricity which is no good sitting on top of a what is technically a bunch of wires running 120 AC. If the heat tape ever gives up (and it happens more than you think) you could double your safety hazard with that tape. I would just use packing tape if necessary but also I would put the probe either in a tub over the hot spot or taped to the back of the tub over the hot spot but not directly on the heat device.

If after you have that setup and the temps are not making it to your set temperature then the issue is the heating device is not enough. You can either add more heat tape, change to a higher wattage or larger size heat tape, or increase the ambient room temperature. Setting the temp higher on the thermostat will not make the difference unless its getting within 1 degree of the target temp and its dimming the voltage but for that you can try out the different power matching modes on the Herpstat.

Hope that helps!

Dion Brewington
Owner, Spyder Robotics

[filly77]

i will try all the above when I get home.. thanks George and Dion!!

[clipclopclip]

I have basically "killed" a herpstat this year because I plugged directly into the wall. Some places (like my apartment) have bad fluctuations in electricity that can "kill" electrical appliences like herpstats, helixes..etc ...etc

It started out as my temps were a little off, then way off, then I was gonna cook my snakes. Scary!

I have my thermostats (new ones, after spending over $300 on the ones my electricity killed) on a power surge protector.
Good investment.