Recommended thermostats?

[bonheki]

i wouldent spend any more the 80$ on a thermostat so i would go wit the Ranco $75 prewired

[tjteach14]

Thanks for the help.

I can get a hold of a zoomed reptitherm 500R. Any word on these? Otherwise I'll look into one of the other suggestions

thanks

[cinderbird]

Thanks for the help.

I can get a hold of a zoomed reptitherm 500R. Any word on these? Otherwise I'll look into one of the other suggestions

thanks

i just replaced my 500r because it was doing bad bad things. it would spike to 104, then drop to 78.

i now have a johnson and i love it. it dosent do any of that crazy stuff. i'd spend more money and get a better thermostat. they're important.

[addsdad]

I have been running two zoomed 500r's for about ten months. About a four degree fluctuation as it turns off and on. This has caused no problems for my snakes. That being said, I have a johnson controls and a herpstat on my christmas list. I plan on using the zoomeds as backups.

[West Coast Jungle]

There are alot of cheap(petstore) themostats that are made in China and are crap. Like someone just said they flucuate horribly. I now use herpstats and rancos and have never had a problem since. if it's $30-$40 from a petstore it is probably crap.

[kid_mustango02]

I have 2 500R's and I dont have one problem with them. I tape the thermostats temp probe directly to the heat pad and I get 2 degree fluctuations.... good enough for me!

Got them online for around 30 bucks a piece.

[Enve]

I've heard WAY too many horror stories about the zoomed thermostats. I had one when I first got my BP and after seeing some posts and talking to people at the herp show I got rid of it.

[NightLad]

Thanks for the help.
I can get a hold of a zoomed reptitherm 500R. Any word on these? Otherwise I'll look into one of the other suggestions
thanks

I bought a 500R as a temporary unit until I was able to get my hands on a HerpStat. It is fine as a backup, but I'd never want to use it as a full-time thermostat.

I had all the necessary gear for my snake before I bought him at a local herp show, except the thermostat. I figured that somebody at the show would have them for sale, so I confidently marked it on my 'shopping list' and didn't sweat it. Only at the show, after I got my snake (which was on the top of the list, of course!) I discovered that nobody had thermostats! I met a few other people who were looking for them and were none too happy.

Long story short; I contacted Spyder Robotics (fantastic customer support!!!) and was informed that there is only one 'official' dealer in Canada - but he was on vacation until the end of the month. I emailed him anyway and he promised to mail the unit I wanted as soon as he got back. (Greg West cornelsworld.com - more great customer support!)

In the mean time I bought a ZooMed 500R. I really didn't like it. You control the heat output via a little plastic knob without any digital readout, so you have to play with it and use a secondary temp-reader until you find the right surface temp. That in itself is a pain. Then the devise is little more than a glorified rheostat, constantly turning on and off to maintain (roughly) the heat level you wanted in the first place. Sigh.

I was SO glad when my proportional HerpStat unit arrived. *hugs his HerpStat* With the digital output, temp-gauge, and built-in memory in case of power loss, I'm happy as can be.

So, I'd vote for the HerpStat. Gooo HerpStat!

[drew5337]

I got a Helix DBS1000, because I've learned from my other hobbies (expensive rifles) that you never regret buying the best the first time.