Yeah it's terrible when that happens especially when it's due to the failure of a piece of equipment. I know I'm not the only one around here who's lost animals due to a ranco failure, there was a thread about it here some time ago and I remember that there were a few others with similar experiences. Funny thing is that I've also got several Johnson thermostats (which are very close to the same thing) which I got about the same time and THEY are all still working just fine. It's NOT just because we're using them in a way they weren't intended for, I really believe that the Ranco's are just an inferior product.