I've used them for a few years, never had any issues. Now that I've got my hands on some helix's, i'll be phasing them out. But really, they're really great for beginners. If you're worried about it, I know herpstat or VE has a beginners one for like....$50 or less. (I don't remember which one it is, heh). I've also heard pretty good things about the one you can get at petco, oddly enough.