Thermostat Issue

[femmefalconer]

Hi!

I just set up 4 new PVC enclosures as well as my 2 brand new VE 300x2 to run them. The cages have RHP's and everything is plugged in correctly/correct placement of probes, etc to my knowledge. They are set to 88 and on proportional.

Since setting them up, I've heard very irritating clicking sounds from one of the thermostats. The other unit is fine btw - temps are perfect. But not only does the on/off clicking sound super weird and irritating, but one cage is running as high as 94 while the bottom is running at 86 consistently. Additionally, the LED light for Zone 1 (the top cage) is never on, presumably because it's too warm to be heated, but it's literally never been on to my knowledge. The LED light for Zone 2 (bottom cage) is always on, albeit it looks very dim and flashes extremely quickly compared to the other thermostat which has lights that pulse brightly and evenly when at 88.

I've quadruple-checked at this point that the correct probes and wires to the RHP's are in the corresponding cages (zones), and the whole unit itself is plugged straight into the wall.

Has anyone else encountered this problem with VE thermostats?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[jmcrook]

Could be that the lower enclosure is having a hard time reaching temps (being on the floor and thus cooler) and the effort the RHP is making to reach the set temp is causing excess heat to rise into the upper cage. It takes me a little while to dial in temps in new cages so I tweak everything for a few days before putting animals in. I haven’t noticed excessive upward heat transfer with my VE RHPs but my Pro-Heat panels do kick a decent bit of warmth to the cage above.

As for the clicking, that’s the relay cutting off/opening up power to the heat source. I know of other folks that have had noisy ones as well. I personally only have the hi-power thermostat from VE for my room heater and it makes a clicking noise, but not too loud and not too often as it doesn’t have to work very hard in the summer. Don’t know if there’s a solution to that, but it may be worth contacting RBI.

Hope this is helpful.


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[femmefalconer]

Could be that the lower enclosure is having a hard time reaching temps (being on the floor and thus cooler) and the effort the RHP is making to reach the set temp is causing excess heat to rise into the upper cage. It takes me a little while to dial in temps in new cages so I tweak everything for a few days before putting animals in. I haven’t noticed excessive upward heat transfer with my VE RHPs but my Pro-Heat panels do kick a decent bit of warmth to the cage above.

As for the clicking, that’s the relay cutting off/opening up power to the heat source. I know of other folks that have had noisy ones as well. I personally only have the hi-power thermostat from VE for my room heater and it makes a clicking noise, but not too loud and not too often as it doesn’t have to work very hard in the summer. Don’t know if there’s a solution to that, but it may be worth contacting RBI.

Hope this is helpful.


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Thank you! That does make sense (insofar as heating elements working overtime to compensate for being on the floor).

I guess what’s confounding to me is that I’m actually running my other “normal” acting thermostat with 2 stacked cages right next to it and both are heated perfectly and never make a sound. Essentially, everything is identical - cages, heating elements, thermostats. They’re just next to each other. So if this were the case, wouldn’t both thermostats click all the time and have difficulty holding temps?

Maybe a good experiment would be to switch the thermostats and see if that one is still causing trouble lol


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[Lord Sorril]

Hi!
But not only does the on/off clicking sound super weird and irritating, but one cage is running as high as 94 while the bottom is running at 86 consistently. Additionally, the LED light for Zone 1 (the top cage) is never on, presumably because it's too warm to be heated, but it's literally never been on to my knowledge. The LED light for Zone 2 (bottom cage) is always on, albeit it looks very dim and flashes extremely quickly compared to the other thermostat which has lights that pulse brightly and evenly when at 88.

Has anyone else encountered this problem with VE thermostats?

The clicking noise you are hearing is probably the 'alarm' when your temperature is more than 5 degrees off what the thermostat is set to target. You can disable this alarm by hitting 'Enter' then the '-' button until you reach the screen below and then hit 'Enter' again to disable.


I am running many VE's on my pets (Not a 300x2 though) . I have never had an LED appear dim--I would definitely check the temps to confirm it is working properly--the VE-300 also has a compartment in the back that comes with a spare fuse: If all else failed I would change that fuse to see if it made a difference...

Over the years I have noticed an issue with some of their LED's malfunctioning: they will stay on consistently (as opposed to blink) even if the thermostat has reached its target temperature. I have cross-checked their readings with my own temperature measuring equipment and it seems the LED light display is not accurately displaying the output to the heating elements (thankfully). I have temporarily (months) resolved the issue by unplugging and then re-plugging in the thermostat and they will usually return to normal function when they 'reboot'.

[bcr229]

The clicking is the thermostat turning on/off. The alarm is a beeping noise.

From what you observed with the lights it sounds like the bottom thermostat is set to proportional and the top is set to cycle on-off. Try setting the top thermostat to proportional and make sure the variance is +/- 1*F.

[femmefalconer]

The clicking is the thermostat turning on/off. The alarm is a beeping noise.

From what you observed with the lights it sounds like the bottom thermostat is set to proportional and the top is set to cycle on-off. Try setting the top thermostat to proportional and make sure the variance is +/- 1*F.

That’s what it sounds like, that it’s turning on/off. It’s series of 10-15 clicks back-to-back, always in a pattern. Both are set to proportional though…. which makes it extra weird. I’m gonna try to reach out to Reptile Basics again. If this one is just messed up/confused, hopefully I can get a replacement. I’ll update!


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[jmcrook]

That’s what it sounds like, that it’s turning on/off. It’s series of 10-15 clicks back-to-back, always in a pattern. Both are set to proportional though…. which makes it extra weird. I’m gonna try to reach out to Reptile Basics again. If this one is just messed up/confused, hopefully I can get a replacement. I’ll update!


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Any luck in getting temps dialed in or get in touch with Rich at RBI about the thermostat relay?

[femmefalconer]

Any luck in getting temps dialed in or get in touch with Rich at RBI about the thermostat relay?

Yes, forgot to update - after a couple days of troubleshooting, Rich ended up sending me a replacement and it’s been working great. Temps are steady and no clicking sounds. Sent the old one back. All good now


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[jmcrook]

Yes, forgot to update - after a couple days of troubleshooting, Rich ended up sending me a replacement and it’s been working great. Temps are steady and no clicking sounds. Sent the old one back. All good now


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Fantastic!


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