ZooMed ReptiTemp Rheostat?!? Queston!?

[ndizzleg]

Yeah. we have a super stable air conditioning/and heating system in our home. Its constantly set at 74 during this time of year. Never fluctuates. So i'm thinking once i figure out the niche on my rheostat and where to turn the knob to ill be good.

[West Coast Jungle]

Rheostats are more reliable than thermostats...at least in terms of safety. They are almost fail-proof, meaning they won't get stuck in the "on" position. The Barker's seem to prefer them in their book. Your ambient temps will affect the temp more though.

JonV

the reason the Barkers may prefer them is because they use ambient temps for the majority of their heating and that is controled by t stats. Most snake owners dont have climate controled snake rooms so rheostats could vary all over the place. I have use 5 t-stats (2 herpstat pros and 3 Rancos) and have never had a problem whatsoever. Now the cheaper pet store t-stats are horrific.

I would never use a rheostat myself and a Ranco is much cheaper than treating a sick BP.

[missi182]

Yeah. we have a super stable air conditioning/and heating system in our home. Its constantly set at 74 during this time of year. Never fluctuates. So i'm thinking once i figure out the niche on my rheostat and where to turn the knob to ill be good.

I have the repti-temp rheostat (I had to make sure it was the same one) and I could never set it lower than 100 degrees I was not happy and that was with a zoomed UTH 15-20 gallon size. The problem i found with them is that there is only four exact settings - off, low, med, high - and you cannot set it in between those settings. i hope you have better luck with it than I, but if you don't I would take it back to the pet-store and pick up a lamp dimmer from the hardware store instead.

Oh and I bought my Ranco on Ebay (unwired - which means you or someone handy with wiring needs to wire an extension cord to it for power) or you can buy that thermostat pre-wired from http://www.reptilebasics.com/Ranco-E...d-p-16172.html
or google ranco thermostat and see what you can find

[nevohraalnavnoj]

But that doesnt mean they wont get too hot or too cool. The safety feature has never given me any peace of mind, and I found them to be aggravatingly wild in range of temps.

I dont like rheostats, too much variability from one moment to the next. Mine was always either too hot, or too dang cold.

There only aggravatingly wild if your ambient room temps are aggravatingly wild.

[littleindiangirl]

There only aggravatingly wild if your ambient room temps are aggravatingly wild.

Hehe, that could be true.... I do like my rooms cold.

[nevohraalnavnoj]

Hehe, that could be true.... I do like my rooms cold.

I know, me too. I love cold, I grew up in Wisconsin. Now I sweat my butt off every night trying to sleep just so my snakes can be happy Ah the sacrifices we make for our children.

JonV

[ndizzleg]

I have the repti-temp rheostat (I had to make sure it was the same one) and I could never set it lower than 100 degrees I was not happy and that was with a zoomed UTH 15-20 gallon size. The problem i found with them is that there is only four exact settings - off, low, med, high - and you cannot set it in between those settings. i hope you have better luck with it than I, but if you don't I would take it back to the pet-store and pick up a lamp dimmer from the hardware store instead.

Oh and I bought my Ranco on Ebay (unwired - which means you or someone handy with wiring needs to wire an extension cord to it for power) or you can buy that thermostat pre-wired from http://www.reptilebasics.com/Ranco-E...d-p-16172.html
or google ranco thermostat and see what you can find

My temp just got set on the rheostat for my UTH, its at 92.2. The probe is under the fur bark under my warm side hide. The ambient temp is 87.3 and its been that all day. And since ive set that rheostat its sat right at 92.2 give or take a few .1 or .2 degrees. But ill give it the rest of the day and see how it fairs.

[nevohraalnavnoj]

keep in mind too it will take some time to get to fully warmed up temp...give it at least 24 hours.

JonV

[TheHabit]

Is the Rheostat reliable? Say if i'm at work and i have the stat set to like 92. I'd hate to come home after work and see my probe on the acurtie reading in the hundreds! ..I just hope this rheostat being around 30 bucks.. will be reliable for some time til i get my Herpstat.

I bought the same rheostat not too long ago and was EXTREMELY disappointed with it, enough in fact to return it. went back to my old lamp dimmer till I can afford a helix.

[kc261]

So you have your knob on your stat down to where it says low? Ok i'll crank it down to that. I just got an Acurite thermometer with the probe and i put the probe the taped it to the tank under the fur bark substrate. Will that get a good reading? Thanks

You got lots of good feedback on rheostats & t-stats. I'm a little surprised no one commented on the tape. Usually every time someone says tape, there are all kinds of comments about not using tape inside the enclosure. I think some people have said that some not very sticky tape (like that blue painters tape) are ok?