Got my Hydrofarm thermostat; now what?

[Abaddon91]

just to point out this is a hydroponic t stat not a reptile. plants can stand the temp flux but so can balls 90-95 in dream temps. and yes very attainable but if a person cant afford to buy the big brands(helix herpstat ve) this is a very good cheap alternative. i been using a hydrofarm for 6 or 7 months and my temps do not have the massive temp gradient i set mine with an accurite temp reading to 93 and my temp flux between 89 and 95 some people this is to much but i haven't had an uti or any medical conditions since the switch from reostat to the hydrofarm. may not be good for some but for the less financially set people its good alt.

[kitedemon]

Doc, It is likely the glue and gun combo. I use a bostitch gun (dual temp) and a general purpose glue stick Arrow ap10bp I have never had a problem I need a scraper to break the glue free and the one time I used high strength I had a nightmare getting it free actually i broke the probe wires in the process.

[kitedemon]

just to point out this is a hydroponic t stat not a reptile. plants can stand the temp flux but so can balls 90-95 in dream temps. and yes very attainable but if a person cant afford to buy the big brands(helix herpstat ve) this is a very good cheap alternative. i been using a hydrofarm for 6 or 7 months and my temps do not have the massive temp gradient i set mine with an accurite temp reading to 93 and my temp flux between 89 and 95 some people this is to much but i haven't had an uti or any medical conditions since the switch from reostat to the hydrofarm. may not be good for some but for the less financially set people its good alt.

I'll agree on most of this but I'd not say a 'good' alt, but a mediocre one perhaps. The big issue is most whom cannot afford a better t-stat cannot afford a better thermometer either, or a failsafe. By the time you have a failsafe and good thermometer you have tripled the price of the hydrofarm... 30$ for the unit + 30 for the failsafe and then 50-100 for thermometer and you have 110-160$ in a poor grade t-stat, a basic herpstat is 100$ the same price. There is no savings at all.

(your temps if you are using an accurite could be 85-99º there is a potential 4º error as they are rated at 2ºC+/- (new specs) This is why an good thermometer is needed having two thermometers (part of the function of all T-stats is a thermometer) both with a 4ºF error possibility off true the best you can manage is a guess in a 8ºF range and IMO 4º on top of the swing they have under ideal conditions is too much and in less than stellar you can double that.