How do i get low on heat dial lower?

[rabernet]

Good point Argentra, where would u suggest finding these "Johnson or Herpstat, they look slick

Johnsons and Rancos are both on/off thermostats, so they turn off once they reach a certain degree, and turn back on when they drop to a certain degree (I have a 1 degree variable on my Rancos). They work like your thermostat in your home does that cuts your heat on and off and your air on and off. When your home cools to a certain degree, your air cuts off, when it warms to a certain degree, it turns back on.

Herpstat and Helix are proportional thermostats - so they always stay on, but regulate the amount of power to keep the temps right where you set them, only varying by a fraction of a degree. I'm sure I just did a horrible job explaining proportional thermostats, so hopefully someone will come behind me and do a better job explaining them.

Edit - from the link below explaining the Helix:

This proportional controller mimics nature by continuously adjusting the amount of power delivered to the heater, as opposed to simply turning ON and OFF as done by other manufacturers.

You can purchase Johnsons, Rancos and Helix thermostat at http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostats-p-1-c-250.html - be sure on the Johnsons and Ranco to order the wired, not the raw unit.

[Abby_The_Python]

You explained that perfectly, all responses to this were totally appreciated.

You all just made my bps lives a little happier

[spaceturtle]

Dont forget to raise the tank/tub up off the UTH as well. The UTH should have at least one side not touching any surface. Raise things up with those sticky furniture pads they sell in hardware departments at places like Walmart. This will reduce the heat given a bit and will keep the surface more steady. If you just have it sandwiched between 2 solid surfaces then expect some hot spots.

[missi182]

I didn't catch what kind of rheostat you have, if it is zoomed, I know that mine would never go below 100 degrees. I find lamp dimmers I can adjust a few degrees at a time but the zoomed goes 10 degrees between settings, the lowest being 100.

edit- I just saw in the pic it is a zoomed, I use that same zoomed fine on a lamp now but I gave up on it with a UTH after 12 hours of not getting it under 100 degrees. As mentioned, a thermostat is your best bet

[Argentra]

Sorry, I was out this afternoon. Thanks for answering the question so well, Robin!

But yes, make sure the tanks are raised up with little feet or you can use those chair leg felt pads as well. The air flow is necessary to avoid overheating.

Get the best thermostat you can right from the Go. I recently got my first Herpstat...and I have 5 ZooMed stats. Spend as much as you can for the good stuff first!

[Abby_The_Python]

I`ll have to order them online, Petco & Petsmart have nothing on the shelf in my city.

In the meantime I went back to Aspen to hold them over until UPS arrives, and Yes buying the Best 1st is great advice!

[rabernet]

I`ll have to order them online, Petco & Petsmart have nothing on the shelf in my city.

Petco and Petsmart do not sell the Ranco/Johnson's (on/off thermostats) or the Herpstat/Helix (proportional thermostats), so yes, they are something you need to order online.

I don't know the user name - but I did see that we have a member who's selling some Johnson's right now - you may want to cruise to the for sale section forum and check out their ad (probably 1/2 way down).

I can't speak for the user as a seller, since I've never purchased from them, but wanted to point them out as another potential source as well.

[MAballs]

I had the same problem when I was using the zoomed rheostat (those things are terrible) I will be ordering another Ranco but till then I got a lamp dimmer from home depot for like $11 and it works wayyy better than the zoomed (it actually goes lower than 100 degrees)

[Argentra]

Hmm, I have some of those white slide dimmers. I'll have to try them out if they really can go lower than the crap ZooMed rheostats.

The only way I ever got a rheostat to work for me was to observe how long it took to heat to where I wanted it and turn it off, then see how long it took to cool before I had to turn it back on. Then I used those times and set a timer for it. Worked surprisingly well until I could get my first ZooMed t-stat.

And yeah, no pet store...not even the reptile special stores, sell the GOOD thermostats. Petsmart ONLINE sells the ZooMed, but it's much cheaper to get that one at ReptileSupply.com.
I find this to be strange and unfair...since the thermostat is actually an extremely important piece of eq! I suppose that it would be hard to retail sell something that involves work (i.e. it must be wired by the buyer or the seller) that you can't just sell straight from a package. Oh well...

[JeffFlanagan]

Hmm, I have some of those white slide dimmers. I'll have to try them out if they really can go lower than the crap ZooMed rheostats.

Any light dimmer is much better than the zoomed junk. I'd tried them with my first BP, but quickly discovered the zoomed allowed adjustment between 70% and 100% power, rather than 0-100% with a real dimmer.

I've completely switched over to herpstats since.