Spyder Robotics Herpstat

I wrote to Spyder Robotics with some questions about setting up my new cages with the Herpstat thermostat, specifically, how to change the Power Matching setting- whether to put it on LOW or HIGH because my cages were holding heat really well.

I think it's an excellent example of customer service that I had an e-mail answer from the owner of the company less than 30 minutes after submitting my question on the website.

He also offered two different solutions in case just changing the Power Matching setting wasn't enough.

Cool, huh?

Nanci

Cool enough to warrant us using 3 Herpstat IIs.

I've just this morning ordered the Herpstat ND for my new rack that should be arriving this week.

I'm curious about the power matching feature, what is it used for? how does it work exactly?

Power Matching allows the user to increase / decrease the proportional power output curve to match the enclosures efficiency.

Nanci

Found the discussion in the other thread about power matching.

I too am a big herpstat fan. I own a herpstatIII, a herpstat II, and 5 herpstat I. Needless so I am quite satisfied with the company and the product. I use them in a very basic way and have not begun to understand allt he proportional and specialized settings such as what you mentioned. One of these days I will figure that stuff out too!

It's very easy to access that menu, and simple to figure out how to change the settings.

The Herpstat really appeals to my electronic gadget-loving nature.

Nanci

When I first got my Herpstat II, one of my probes was recording a really whacky reading.

I ran a series of calibration tests to determine the root cause of the problem and let Dion know the results.

Here was his reply:

Steve,

Good work! I have had animals that have chewed through probes, crimped probe wires, this is the first sensor failure I have seen. :^) Email me your full shipping address and serial number on the bottom the herpstat and I’ll send out a replacement probe in today’s mail.

Dion

Click to expand...

This is from ONE customer who only owns ONE of his products…I can’t really think of a better example of customer service than what Dion showed me.

Regards,
Steve

Nanci,

I'm curious as to what Dion told you.

Regards,
Steve

I bought a bicycle pump, digital, really cool, for my ex. Despite many threats, he kept leaving it out in the rain and the LCD eventually failed. I wrote to the company (Topeak) just to inquire about how to purchase a replacement gauge, and they just mailed one out free! _And_ I was able to remove the old gauge and install the new one without tools!

Last spring I bought a programmable thermostat (Rite Temp) based on what the guy at Home Depot told me to buy. (I was confused about if I had a furnace/AC unit or a heat pump- being from up north and not knowing what a heat pump was. All I knew was there was a box out in the yard that alternately blew cold or hot air.) So it ran the AC fine all summer, but when winter came and I switched to heat, it wouldn't shut off. I called customer service on a Saturday, was warned about a long wait (four minutes) got some guy on the phone who had me remove the thermostat and describe the colors of the wires to him, who then informed me I had a heat pump, not a furnace, and to take the thermostat back to Home Depot and tell them the tech said I needed XXXX model instead, and it would be $20 more, and then wire it like this- (he had me label what wires went to what thing in the thermostat) and if I had any problems, here was his direct number. Home Depot took it back, no questions asked, no receipt, I installed the new one, following the guy's instructions, (he even told me what page of the owner's manual to find the wiring diagram on!) and it worked perfectly.

Good customer service is out there.

Nanci

Thank you for contacting Spyder Robotics. Sound like those are nice
enclosures! I would say set the power matching to low2 and give it a couple
of hours to regulate. The problem is that the becaue the plastic is doing a
good job of insulating its also insulating your heat from the UTH from
getting in. By the time the heat does come through the floor the outside is
much hotter and even with the heat off the floor continues to transfer heat
from the outside in. There is no perfect answer for this but if the low2
mode doesn't cut it you could try:

1. Putting the probe on the heat source itself (outside) so that it
regulates and never gets too hot. You will see much wilder swings in
temperature displayed on the Herpstat but if you put a probe inside the
enclosure it will be more stable but of course a lower temp due to heat loss
so you may need to set the Herpstat a couple of degrees higher than your
desired temperature.

Or

2. Keep the probe off the floor so its measuring the ambient air inside the
enclosure. The floor will be hotter than the desired temperature initially
but it should regulate well after the first couple of hours. Something you
would want to experiment without animals in the enclosure.

Hope that helps!

Dion Brewington
Owner, Spyder Robotics

I know a Herpstat II is overkill for my setup...but given the fact I lost my first corn snake in January I was determined to provide the best possible environment for my next snake.

I read so many good things about Dion and Spyder that I thought I'd give him a try...needless to say I'm not looking back.

Top notch products and top notch service.

Good luck with your new "toy"

Regards,
Steve

I'm testing out the LOW2 setting right now!

Drat- I got my day/night powerstrip, (bought on eBay Friday!! That's fast!!) and the plugs on my lights are not normal- they are sideways, (I had to install them- the lights were shipped, installed, but with the clamp-on plugs unattached) so only one will fit- the other outlet is too close. I guess I can either replace the plugs or I don't know what, get something to plug the plugs into...

Nanci

Of that doesn't work you should try taping the stat probe with foil tape to the UYJ putside the enclosure.

That seems to be how its done with racks and some enclosures. Should also be safer because ultimately, probes inside the viv end up getting moved and then the thermostat won't be accurate or work at all in some cases.

Sorry about the typos, didn;t check as closely as I should have.

If that doesn't work you should try taping the stat probe with foil tape to the UTH outside the enclosure.

That seems to be how its done with racks and some enclosures. Should also be safer because ultimately, probes inside the viv end up getting moved and then the thermostat won't be accurate or work at all in some cases.

I think the LOW2 setting is going to work. The top cage is still 2 degrees warmer than the bottom one, most of the time. I've worked it up from 78F to 82F this morning, watching how much past the setting the temp gets. At 81F the upper viv was getting to 84.5 on its thermometer, which is 1.1F warmer than the Herpstat's thermometer, so it could be as low as 83.5. I changed the setting to 82F and left it alone for the day- I'll get to see what the max is when I get home. Watching it last night, it seemed to go the most above the setting the first time it heated to that heat- subsequent times didn't go as far over.

Nanci