I have two reptitemps and have been using them for a year with no problems! Plug your uth directly in the wall and see if they get hot! Also you need to turn the dial of the reptitemp to the left all the way and when your uth gets to the right temp, you turn the dial back slowly until the green light turns off! You also must have the probe directly on the uth so it can read proper temps!
i have a zoomed thermometer to check the temps... the UTHs are fully plugged in as is the thermostat itself. Its in a power strip and the power strip is working fine. Theres a green light on the thermostat that is supposed to cycle to let me know that its working and ive only seen green.
I think the thermostat needs to be directly plugged into the wall outlet and not a power strip. I have been using several 500r's for years with no problems. I remember when I first got them I was going to plug the 500r into a power strip but read that it had to be plugged directly into a wall outlet.
When the green light is on it means the UTH is on. You need to turn the dial to a lower temp to make the green light go off and to turn off the UTH to keep it from getting too hot.