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How to make your own Rheostat for less than $7! Detailed instructions.

snaky_05 said:
yea i got one of those day lights and those red lights...neither of them dim...i dont know..thanks anyway
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I don't think it will work on those lights. The last one I made was with the push On/off type dimmer's. I plug it in to one of my beardie lights to tell if it were on or off. When I pushed to turn on the light was fine, but when to turn the dimmer down (not off ) just a little bit the light would go off. Even when the dimmer was on.
 
the only bulbs that don't dim that i know of are florescent and metal halide i doubt you are using either of those ...
 
reptile_jones said:
I don't think it will work on those lights. The last one I made was with the push On/off type dimmer's. I plug it in to one of my beardie lights to tell if it were on or off. When I pushed to turn on the light was fine, but when to turn the dimmer down (not off ) just a little bit the light would go off. Even when the dimmer was on.
Click to expand...

huh ... that something i will look into ...
 
ok so i went 2 wal mart and got a new dimmer switch and man it works great...i must have messed the other one up..but it works now..thanks again everybody..
 
I've been using ranco etc111000 thermostats for a while now, and wouldn't go back, but it doesn't make sense if you have individual cages.

Back when I slapped together mine from a leviton 600w lamp dimmer, I used a kill-a-watt meter to measure flow to my flexwatt in a DIY rack, I calibrated the dimmer with a marker, making marks every 10 watts on the faceplate, the marks aren't where you think they're gonna be. If you want to turn it up a bit, this will help you turn it up a reasonable amount.

I have since switched to ARS and freedom racks with grounded heaters, double and quad ranco thermostats, and dual heaters.
No more worries.
 
Ideas?

So I purchased the Reptitherm UTH and after I let it warm up it was over 150 degrees. I built the rheostat with plug and dimmer together and I can not seem to get it dialed in to stay at a constant temp. It either slowly declines or increases. Any ideas?
 
Thanks for the design!

I put one together today and my UTH is running just where I want it.

I got a dimmer that looks like a normal light switch but it works the same.
 
Thanks

I just wanted to say thanks for posting this. It took me all of 5 minutes to put it together. The best part no blood:grin01:.
 
I can't believe I'm just now finding this! My thanks go out to all the OPs but also to jbot for making this thread show up :D Seriously great timing as I'm in the middle of making several vivs and was about to buy 3 rheostats. This is still verified safe tight? Cause if someone was going to manage to shock themselves or burn down a house over simple wiring, it'd be me lol
 
It's a pretty simple staight forward way to make a rheostat. Just make sure all your wires are in the proper spots and that you've put tape where you were supposed to before you plug it in and you'll be fine.
 
just make sure your wire nuts are tight and wrap them up nicely with electrical tape. I also taped the heck outta the outside housing to make sure the wires won't get accidentally yanked.

I just wish the dimmer was harder to twist. I thought about taking a piece of duct tape and putting it over the dimmer knob to keep it from moving so easy.
 
I just finished making two and the house is still standing ;)

I probably went a little over board with the electrical tape, but oh well. Yeah the knobs do turn really easy. At first I just made a mark with a sharpie on the knob and the plate behind it in case something bumped it but the dog's tail kept moving it so I taped the knob lol
 
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