uth questions

[Annarose15]

Sorry if I missed it in the thread, but how are you measuring the temp and how do you have the UTH attached to the glass?

[cjhawkins1984]

Sorry if I missed it in the thread, but how are you measuring the temp and how do you have the UTH attached to the glass?

Im measuring it with a extech psychrometer. It take surface readings relative humidity ambient temps wet bulb dew point etc. I know its accurate it is used for my work and has to be calibrated every three months. And the uth is stuck directly to the bottom of the glass just using the peel and stick backing that was on it.

[Annarose15]

Im measuring it with a extech psychrometer. It take surface readings relative humidity ambient temps wet bulb dew point etc. I know its accurate it is used for my work and has to be calibrated every three months. And the uth is stuck directly to the bottom of the glass just using the peel and stick backing that was on it.

That sounds like a neat tool! It also sounds like you UTH is defective. Have you read the temp directly on the pad? Bear in mind that the UTH will NOT influence ambient temps, but it still doesn't make sense that the hot spot is so cold.

[cjhawkins1984]

That sounds like a neat tool! It also sounds like you UTH is defective. Have you read the temp directly on the pad? Bear in mind that the UTH will NOT influence ambient temps, but it still doesn't make sense that the hot spot is so cold.

Yeah it seems to be perfect for keeping reptiles we use them for checking conditions for painting water towers. Not sure of the price but I would recommend it to anyone. Not directly on the pad but I have pushed the substrate aside and checked the glass highest was 86. Im thinking its defective as well gonna go buy a new different brand tonight and see what happens. One more thing I know they dont do much for the ambient temps but say if you can mai tain a 90 hotside and 80 cool side surface temp do you worry with the ambient temps as much?

[Annarose15]

Yeah it seems to be perfect for keeping reptiles we use them for checking conditions for painting water towers. Not sure of the price but I would recommend it to anyone. Not directly on the pad but I have pushed the substrate aside and checked the glass highest was 86. Im thinking its defective as well gonna go buy a new different brand tonight and see what happens. One more thing I know they dont do much for the ambient temps but say if you can mai tain a 90 hotside and 80 cool side surface temp do you worry with the ambient temps as much?

Ambient needs to be 78-82. The cool side surface temp is pretty much irrelevant. The hot spot aids digestion, and the air in their lungs largely determines overall body temperature. That's why a BP will scorch itself hugging a heat rock when the air temps are too low.

Or think about it this way - if you sat on a 90deg stool in a 50deg room, would you feel like it was 70deg all over your body? Hyperbole, of course.

[cjhawkins1984]

Ambient needs to be 78-82. The cool side surface temp is pretty much irrelevant. The hot spot aids digestion, and the air in their lungs largely determines overall body temperature. That's why a BP will scorch itself hugging a heat rock when the air temps are too low.

Or think about it this way - if you sat on a 90deg stool in a 50deg room, would you feel like it was 70deg all over your body? Hyperbole, of course.

Lol good point but it does illustrate it well for me ha. So if I can get a uth to maintain somewhere around the 90 deg range I should have no need for the heat lamp except for occasionally to raise the ambient a few degress right?

[Annarose15]

As long as the room is in the high 70s, no need for the lamp. If it drops below that, you will need heat supplemental to the UTH like a lamp or CHE.

[bcr229]

Thats the thing, Im not using a thermostat on uth because it never got hot enough in the first place. If you push the substrate aside you get 83 84 ive seen it as high as 86 once directly on the glass. Ive got a rheostat but ive never used it because it never got hot enough to even use it. Ive tried letting just uth run by itself all day while im at work still never got up above the 82 83 mark and then the rest of the tank is mid 70s

Yeah sounds like a defective UTH. I'd get a new one... along with a thermostat.