Zoo Med 500R Thermostat

[lyoto]

Hey I need some info on the Zoo Med 500R Thermostat.

1. Does it work on all heat pads and heat tape?
2. Can I rely on it to stop my snake from getting burned?
3. If you've ever owned one what are the pro's and con's of it?

[cinderbird]

Hey I need some info on the Zoo Med 500R Thermostat.

1. Does it work on all heat pads and heat tape?
2. Can I rely on it to stop my snake from getting burned?
3. If you've ever owned one what are the pro's and con's of it?

1. it will work with any heat tape or pad, but it is an analog thermostat, (actually, its a glorified reheostat since it has a dial and not an actual number setting). I started off with one and switched because if your room temperatures swing even by a few degrees its going to need to be adjusted.

2. Maybe.. If you watch it like a hawk you should be ok. But, the point of a thermostat is to set it and forget it.. Reptitemp isn't like that.

3. See above for cons. The only pro was the price but it wasn't worth it. I ended up buying a johnsons controls within a month. I would have rather just spent the 80 on the johnsons the first time.

[lyoto]

1. it will work with any heat tape or pad, but it is an analog thermostat, (actually, its a glorified reheostat since it has a dial and not an actual number setting). I started off with one and switched because if your room temperatures swing even by a few degrees its going to need to be adjusted.

2. Maybe.. If you watch it like a hawk you should be ok. But, the point of a thermostat is to set it and forget it.. Reptitemp isn't like that.

3. See above for cons. The only pro was the price but it wasn't worth it. I ended up buying a johnsons controls within a month. I would have rather just spent the 80 on the johnsons the first time.

wow i thought it was a digital one like the spyder robotics one :/ nvm than i guess ill just buy a normal therostat from spyder robotics instead.

and if you've had expierence with this thermostat does it come with 3 sensors or just 1 than you gotta buy the extra 2?

[cinderbird]

wow i thought it was a digital one like the spyder robotics one :/ nvm than i guess ill just buy a normal therostat from spyder robotics instead.

and if you've had expierence with this thermostat does it come with 3 sensors or just 1 than you gotta buy the extra 2?

Reptitemp has 2 plug in spots and one probe.

If you buy from Rich at reptile basics (ranco, johnsons or helix) he prewires them to outlet strips so you've got 6 slots. However, they still only come with one probe so if you're going to use multiple heating elements (flexwatt pieces, heat pads, lights, etc) you want them to all be the same wattage.

[nicolexdisaster]

1. Does it work on all heat pads and heat tape?
yes
2. Can I rely on it to stop my snake from getting burned?
not really. you can not set it to a set temperature. its a dial with a probe. the probe with go inside your tub or tank and you set the dial to how ever high you want it. you have to be extemely careful.
3. If you've ever owned one what are the pro's and con's of it?
pros - can use it if youre in a bind but its important you keep a very watchful eye.
con - it can cause temps that are too high and too low

honestly its better to save your money and get a thermostat that you can actually set the temp on.

[lyoto]

ok im just gonna get a spyder robotics one instead. do you guys have any expierence with these?

[mommanessy247]

i actually have one right now and i have noticed that i do have to adjust it from time to time to either raise or lower the temp on the warm side but really i dont mind so much right now cuz i have the time to monitor the temps closely which i do. the dial control is kind of annoying but with my budget this was the best thing i could go with at the time. i do plan on upgrading to a digital eventually but i'm not in a big rush. i'm satisfied that it's working how i need it to work considering the fact that i have to monitor it so closely which again i dont mind doing.

[nicolexdisaster]

i do have a couple of these that ive aquired throughtout the years... just in case some thermostat desides to break, i keep them on hand. they work well, you just have to watch them closely. i would just spend the extra money to buy a nicer one which you can just set to a temp and leave.

[Black_Shark]

Hey I need some info on the Zoo Med 500R Thermostat.

1. Does it work on all heat pads and heat tape?
2. Can I rely on it to stop my snake from getting burned?
3. If you've ever owned one what are the pro's and con's of it?

They work great with the UTH but poorly with Flexwatt. With flkexwatt I was constantly adjusting but with my UTH I never have to touch the dial unless I have a temp swing in the 6-10 degree range which never happens thanks to my space heater. But flexwatt... yeah the reptitemp will not hold a steady temp.

Yes, you can rely on it. I have left my guys for over a week with it and when I came back, the temps were exactly like I left em.

Pros-cheap, reliable, easy.

Cons- Cheap, not digital, may have to be adjusted once in a awhile.