do you think there is something wrong with my thermostat?

[jarobin]

i have a zilla thermostat that i got from petco. it was the only one they had. i've posted before that i had some problems regulating the temperature.
there are 2 lights on the thermostat.... red lights up if its heating up, and it turns off once its reached the max temp i have it set for, otherwise there is just a green light, which just means its on. right now, only the green light is on. basically right now i have the thermostat set to around 80, but the digital thermometer (where the probe is next to the heat pad on the bottom of the tank, on the glass) reads anywhere between 98-120. i have newspaper and substrate down, and my temp gun reads between 89 and 92

the bulb for my lamp went out a week or so ago and i haven't gotten a replacement. i tried putting in just a regular bulb today in the meantime. plugged it in to the wall and it lit up...so i know it works

the thermostat has 2 outlets attached to it. i have the heating pad plugged into one, and plugged the lamp into the other. but the light doesnt turn on. i tried it in the wall again, it turned on.... tried switching which outlet to plug it into on the themostat...still nothing.



is my thermostat broken? should i bring the thermostat back to petco and ask for a replacement? what else could be wrong with it?

[Generationshell]

Is it for your bulb? Or A UTH?
I am not sure it would work with a Bulb to be honest because unless a probe it attached to the bulb and able to measure the temp of the bulb it won't be able to register the temp to be able to heat up or turn the heat off therefore it wont work.

[jarobin]

Is it for your bulb? Or A UTH?
I am not sure it would work with a Bulb to be honest because unless a probe it attached to the bulb and able to measure the temp of the bulb it won't be able to register the temp to be able to heat up or turn the heat off therefore it wont work.

its measuring the UTH.... the bulb is for me to view, and also because sometimes the cool side temps get too cool so i turn it on for a little to regulate. the probe for the thermostat is under the tank, on the glass where the UTH is, as is the probe for the thermometer.

i feel like something has to be wrong though when it won't turn on my lamp. makes me wonder if its not regulating the UTH, which is also plugged into it.

[Generationshell]

Okay thank you for the clarification lol

To be honest I don't trust anything they sell at Petsmart or Petco...etc. There are so many better products out there. The one's they sell such as the thermostats are expensive and hardly work properly-- basically crap

I would definitely return it. Explain to them you cannot get it to work and see if you will give you a refund. Then take your money and invest in something like the Hydrofarm Thermostat on amazon. I had a dinky Thermo I had bought from Petsmart prior and I got so fed up with it.

The Hydrofarm is definitely a good product, inexpensive, and a great investment.

Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...1546007&sr=8-1

[Maixx]

To test a thermostat put the probe in cold water, plug a lamp into the thermostat, and heat the water up, using a thermometer check the water temp when the lamp shuts off and compare it to the settings.

[jarobin]

i dont have a receipt. i called petco and told them about the problem and they said it sounds like the thermostat is malfunctioning and to bring it in. but without the receipt, or packaging, i can only get store credit. i wish petco had more options for thermostats. i am really new at this and i paid $50 for the thing and found it for wayyy cheaper online. I wish i could just take a refund and buy a new one somewhere else. =/

a little update - the lamp turned on at one point, was on for an hour or so, and then it shut off again. a few hours later, i walked in the room and it was on again. i know its not the lamp itself though because it works in any other outlet.

[kitedemon]

This is the way the zilla T-stats work I own one that I retired to back up duty. It is a very slow response to the probe. They seem to check and change the temp every 2 maybe 3 mins so it is to lows it runs 100% power for 2-3 min then checks again. On/off t-stats basically are an average temp between maxed out (around 120) and off. The villa is slow to respond, which compounds the problem it also over shoots a lot. Mine would shoot up to 120 in a plastic tub and then down to 78 or so them back up.

There are a few ideas what to do next.

Get something else.
Add something to provide thermal mass, a sheet of glass or tile perhaps that is slow to heat and slow to cool so the spikes you are seeing are buffered some.
Add a small air space between the heat and tank.
raise the ambient room temp to 80 it simply will not cool off so fast so the spike is smaller

I dislike on/off in the hands of people just starting for this exact reason. In a controlled temp room with indirect heating (no attached to the enclosure) they work fine but in a cool room with direct heat they always swing some times quite dramatically. Good luck.

[TheWinWizard]

Okay thank you for the clarification lol

To be honest I don't trust anything they sell at Petsmart or Petco...etc. There are so many better products out there. The one's they sell such as the thermostats are expensive and hardly work properly-- basically crap

I would definitely return it. Explain to them you cannot get it to work and see if you will give you a refund. Then take your money and invest in something like the Hydrofarm Thermostat on amazon. I had a dinky Thermo I had bought from Petsmart prior and I got so fed up with it.
The Hydrofarm would be my choice as well.
The Hydrofarm is definitely a good product, inexpensive, and a great investment.

Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...1546007&sr=8-1

[kitedemon]

I cannot for certain say a hydrofarm will solve your problems. It might, when you have conditions that cause one on/off to swing another brand that works in a similar fashion may swing as well. If I was to offer one that I KNOW will solve the swing issue I'd have to say a purpose built porportional T-stat like a herpstat, helix, VE, ecozone, herpkeeper, or habistat.

I do not own one yet I have ordered one to test out of curiosity. I have emailed with Nicholas Rossi one of the tech support guys at hydrofarm and was told that the probe accuracy is +/-3% of the set point. "Very accurate for seedlings" I don't think that just under +/-3ºF is very accurate and that is the new improved accuracy version...

A hydrofarm may solve all your issues it may not as well. I cannot say I know a herpstat or the others will however. Just a word of caution.

[CatandDiallo]

A hydrofarm may solve all your issues it may not as well. I cannot say I know a herpstat or the others will however. Just a word of caution.

I can. I have one (herpstat), and although it was pricey, it was well worth it. Mine stays at my EXACT set temp 99.9% of the time, and when it doesn't, it's only when I see it flicker to .1 of a degree, usually higher. I think its supposed to be accurate to +/-0.3 of a degree.

It may seem like a lot of money to spend, but in the long run you have a durable, extremely reliable thermostat, that will ease any worry you've ever had about burning your snake.