Proportional thermostats are really nice www.Bigappleherps.com has really good thermostats, Herpstat which is make by Spyder Robotics are the two I would recommend. I think weather you go with an off/on thermostat or a Proportional it is really important to get a quality thermostat to run heat tape. Heat tape can be a very dangerous thing if not done correctly. It needs to be wired correctly and more so it should not be overheated. This is were a quality thermostat comes into play. Everything electrical could cause a fire and burn down you house so I am not saying heat tape and not other forms of heat have a level of danger. Heat tape has burned down a lot of home though so be careful. Doing your homework and investing in a good thermostat goes a long was to minimizing your fire risk.


Chuck