Hi,

It might be possible to put the rheostat you have in-line with either the lamp or flexwatt and adjust it that way to get both ends balanced and working on the thermostat.

Fom my limited understanding of it you need to know which one needs throttling more.

If getting the heatlamp to keep the cool end warm enough means the flexwatt overheats the warm end then put the rheostat between the thermostat and flexwatt and dial it down slightly.

If the heatlamp overheats the cool end when the flexwatt gets the warm end temps perfect then put the rheostat between the heat lamp and thermostat and turn it down.

This method is not foolproof though as sometimes you have to dial them down so much the heat source stops functioning all together - at that point it may be possible to make it work with a lesser wattage heater.

I would also make sure the heatlamp isn't heating up the mesh or lid of the tub enough to cause problems - if it is you could try raising it slightly and turning it up to compensate for the increased distance. Probably will be fine but it's best to check.

But once you have it adjusted it is a good idea to use the min/max functions of the acurite to see what variations you get over an extended run with different conditions (overnight definately and over a couple of days if you can ).


dr del