wondering about a t-stat controls

[mechnut450]

Ok i had a failuer of my dimmer controls and only saved my collection because i was in and out the room and seen the huge temp spike. so I am gongio t order a better t-stat control. I know ther the ranco, Johnson, and helix are the 3 top brand ( i found) .

I was wondering about 3 things. I want to make sure I have a lowest possible chance of this happening again with a almost cooknig of snakes.
I want to know . ine people person experience .
The rough failure rate ( if any for your stat ) brand, and number of them.

The temp teading ( how far off roughly ) if possible .and were the cheapest place to get one ..

I am running over 220 watts right now of flexwatt and i saying closer to about 350 watts to be safe.
that a 5 shelf rack and 3 snake cages which all sit in the same room and have about the same temp for background temps. I will be replacing the cages with a second rack later this summer and it will run about a 400--600 watt range ( and will have it own t-stat controls) .

[kc261]

Herpstats also seem to have a pretty good reputation. I believe all 4 of those brands have a very low rate of issues when everything is set up properly.

To be the safest, you should run 2 t-stats. One is a back up that you set a few degrees higher than the first. If the first fails, the 2nd will turn off the heat before your animals get cooked.

This also gives you the possibility of putting the probes on different sections of the heat tape, which increases your safety also. If the section of heat tape that happens to be where your t-stat probe is stops producing heat, then the t-stat will still be working perfectly, but won't know how hot the rest of the heat tape is, and that can cook your animals. The same thing could happen if the probe gets out of position somehow.

Those are both unlikely scenarios if you have a quality t-stat and your flexwatt is wired properly. But "unlikely" still means it can and does happen sometimes.

[dsirkle]

The Ranco can be found for the least money and will handle 1500 watts. Johnson Controls are virtually the same but cost more. Some prefer the Johnson because the probe is replaceable as a plug in. Herpstat and Helix are great if you feel that a proportional is what you want. Any of them have a low failure rate and are reliable. Nothing is foolproof. The best odds to protect from failure would be to have a proportional plugged into an on/off as a backup.

[mechnut450]

ok that great guy nowe anthoer question which is more efficent when comes ot electric bills and such I know right now I running about 100-150 more a month between the flexwatt and the space heater ( which just keeps the room about 80 )

[southb]

The Ranco can be found for the least money and will handle 1500 watts. Johnson Controls are virtually the same but cost more. Some prefer the Johnson because the probe is replaceable as a plug in. Herpstat and Helix are great if you feel that a proportional is what you want. Any of them have a low failure rate and are reliable. Nothing is foolproof. The best odds to protect from failure would be to have a proportional plugged into an on/off as a backup.

The Johnson Controls cost me the same amount. About 59.95 + shipping. I love those things.

[snakedork]

If you are wondering the cost difference there are several issues to address. running a proportional thermostat means it is sucking power all the time. It is a steady amp draw. The Johnson controls turn on and off. You would have to know how frequently they cycle on and off and time from on to off. Some say it is more efficient to run the on off. I found that I saved about 20 bucks a month running my herpstat. So i say it is cheaper to run proportional. It also does not spike your heat tape. An on off spikes giving full power till the temp is satisfied. I think its a personnal choice but thats just me.

[muddoc]

I am operating about 12 Helix DBS-1000's right now., and have been running Helix's for 6 years now. I have only had one failure, and that was due to a lightning strike within 50 feet of the snake building. The lightning only knocked out 1 DBS 1000 and 1 1500 watt Helix.

I did have one Ranco, but it lasted 2 years and completely died.

My loyalties are with Helix. (Although they tend to be the most expensive of the three).