What cheap thermostat do you recommend?

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Warning!!! When you use any thermostat with flexwatt, please note that you will need to tape the reader under the substrate of your choice on the inside of the tub where the heat tape lays.

Uh, Warning! This is completely and totally wrong. Ask any profesional rack manufacturor and they will all tell you the same thing... the probe should be taped directly onto the flexwatt (heat tape) ONLY.

Why? In many racks if the flexwatt is allowed to get to full temperature for even a short period of time, It can melt / damage / destroy the rack.

Lets say one day during the winter your power cuts out. The room and rack temperature drops to 60 degrees. You have your probe in the tub and not on the flexwatt.

Power cuts back on and your thermostat turns the flexwatt on 100%. It is VERY possible that the flexwatt will be running at 100% long enough to melt / damage / destroy the rack before the inside of the tub gets to temperature.

The WORST place you can put the probe is inside the tub. What do you think will happen if the probe is damaged in some way by the snake? What if he somehow gets caught on it and loosens the connection while you are on vaction? What if he spills his entire fresh water bown on it causing it to fail as you head to work for the day? What if a rat you throw in there gets one bite on the cord in the 5 seconds it is in there prior to getting struck then you go to bed for the night having no way of knowing the probe isn't working any more?