Boaphile ranco thermostats?

[The Serpent Merchant]

Are there other affordable options available for novice herpers?? I know most of the people I talked with before I got Mycroft didn't mention thermostats, so my parents freaked out when they heard I would need a thermostat for the UTH

In that price range there really isn't anything good. You have the zoo-med/exoterra thermostats that are junk. The hydrofarm is probably the best at its price point but that really isn't saying much. These devices aren't cheap to properly design/manufacture. Personally I view the herpstat intro + to be a really good deal for what you are getting. From an electrical engineering perspective I can see how complex of a device it is and I am all too aware how much time/effort goes into a product like that. I also know from working in the electronics industry how expensive high quality low volume manufacturing is. From my perspective as a reptile keeper I can see how important a good thermostat is, for a number of reasons. I listed a few in my post above. All that said I can see how somebody looking in from the outside wouldn't understand why a good thermostat costs so much, or why it is worth the price, especially when parents/others who aren't a part of the hobby are involved in the decision process.

I do think however that improvements can be made on the budget thermostats. They would need to cost a little more for development and higher quality components/manufacturing, but could still be kept reasonable. For instance the rancho thermostat that this thread is about was designed for the AC/heating industry and industrial manufacturing. It's designed to handle far more power than most reptile keepers will ever need and is built to withstand conditions that a reptile keeper will never need it to. These things add cost for no added value to us. I think that a high quality on/off thermostat could be manufactured in low volume in the $40-$60 range.