Quote Originally Posted by rmune0750
whoa, wait is a rheostat the same as a THERMOstat?
No. A rheostat is the same thing as a light-dimmer. It's a switch that you can use to control the amount of electricity flowing through an object such as a lightbulb or heating pad. It does not control the temperature, only the maximum heat that the pad can put out.

A THERMOstat will measure the temperature of the item it is controlling and adjust itself accordingly to maintain a specific temp.