I am about to buy flexwatt and got to thinking, am I going to buy a Helix or save the money and use a 10 dollar dimmer. This is where I got the conclusion a Helix might be pointless in a small DIY rack. Maybe I'm wrong and please tell me if I am but this is my thought....

With a thermostat you are taking the probe and taping it to the heat tape. Well this is outside the tubs, so your thermostat is not adjusting with the temp inside the tubs. It seems like once the Heat tape hits the certain temp you are looking for, its not going to adjust at all since your probe is taped to the flexwatt. For instance if your house temp goes up and down 6-8 degrees your helix will prob not recognize this change since its taped to the heat tape and not inside the tub.

With a dimmer it seems all you have to do is tape a thermometer probe to the heat tape and adjust the dimmer once to the desired temp. Also with this, if you have different sized tubs and want different sized flexwatt for each, just by a dimmer and thermometer for each different size. Unlike a thermostat, if your running 4" and 11" flexwatt and trying to heat a 15 quart and a 32 quart off the same unit your going to have unreliable temps.

One more thought, you also don't have to worry about the thermostat failing, probe falling off and so on. Well let me know your thoughts. Thanx.