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Upgrading thermostat - which one?

azhketh

azhketh

New member
I'm currently using the ZooMed 500r thermostat.

The thermostats I'm looking at are: Big Apple's BAH, Herpstat 1, Vivarium Electronics VE-200, and Helix 1000.

I'm leaning towards the BAH, since it's the cheapest, but I wanted other opinions. Is the BAH cheaper for a reason (something wrong with it)?

Is one any better than the other, or do they all do a pretty good job?
 
I'm running a ton of Herpstats, mostly NDs, but one Herpstat one, my original. For five years, with zero failures. The owner of the company, Dion, is a member here and is available for fast support via e-mail or here. You might want to consider a ND because even though you won't use the ND feature, it has various other upgrades like high/low temp alarms and a replaceable fuse.

Herpstat always runs a sale the week of Thanksgiving. Watch the Spyder Robotics website.

The only time I had to contact Big Apple for support, (for a thermometer) they were like, it's your fault, it will still work without the back cover on, okay FINE we'll exchange it, but not graciously...
 
I'm currently running 3 herpstat originals and I love them! Totally a set it and forget it! No adjusting at all! They were definitely worth the money!
 
If you're going to upgrade, then spend the extra money on a quality proportional thermostat like a Herpstat. It's the only brand i have, so i can't comment on the others, but i've been very pleased with my Herpstat II.

Depending on your heating setup, you may want a tstat with multiple probes. For example, if you're using an 11" flexwatt and a 4" flexwatt, then they run on different wattages, so both should get their own probe and you will get better control and more precise temperatures.

I am so happy with mine that i wish i spent the extra $120 and bought a Herpstat 4 instead of the Herpstat II.
 
I have a Herpstat 1 and a Vivarium Electronics VE-200. The Hepstat is controlling six 8watt heat mats attached to aquariums/zilla cages. The VE-200 is controlling the heat on a six tub rack. The Hepstat is much more compact. The VE-200 is about three time larger in dimensions and looks kind of like a modem. They both do a fine job at keeping the temps + or - 1 degree.
 
The BAH is cheaper becasue it's a less high-tech, even lower-quality thermostat. With thermostats, the saying "you get what you pay for" definitely applies! The cheaper thermostats tend to be much more basic units... i.e., the 500R, the cheapest t-stat on the market (that I know of), is so basic it doesn't even have temperatures on a dial, has to be played with and adjusted to keep temps right, and has a reputation of failing in the first couple years of use.

Then you have the more expensive thermostats, i.e. Herpstat. This one is a digital, set-it-and-forget-it thermostat. Gives you temp readings within .1 degree (or, at least, the Herpstat II does--haven't used the I), and is VERY good at controlling temps, usually within 1 degree of the set temperature. The high/low alarms on the higher end Herpstats that Nanci mentioned are extremely helpful, too. There's been more than one occasion that the high/low alarm has saved my and my snakes' butts--especially since my big corn girl loves to knock her t-stat probe off the mat if it isn't anchored down. I can't count how many times, before I finally glued the thing down, the alarm woke me up in the middle of the night, just to find big girl dragged it off the heat mat while cruising for food--and under the bedding, of course, so I wouldn't be able to notice without digging around in the aspen.

If you have the money, spring for the Herpstat. Heck, spring for the Herpstat II or Pro... Definitely worth it, especially if you plan on expanding!

I am DEEPLY in love with my Herpstat II, and am in the same mindset as LostInstall. I wish I'd sprung for the Herpstat Pro when I got my II! (Especially since my parents paid for it... Lol! :p)
 
Floof said:
I wish I'd sprung for the Herpstat Pro when I got my II! (Especially since my parents paid for it... Lol! :p)
Click to expand...

Lol, how do I get in on THAT deal?! ;)

Thanks for the feedback guys, knew you were the right people to ask.

The Zoomed has worked fine so far, so I might just wait until near Thanksgiving to see if the Herpstats go on sale, as Nanci mentioned. I like the idea of an alarm, even though my snakes can't move the probe around. I've got it taped to the flexwatt on the outside of the tank, with a thermometer probe hot glued to the inside bottom directly over the heat.

I went and looked a little closer at the Herpstats, I kinda want the pro version now. Four probes?! That's awesome.
 
Is Ranco decent? I was gonna order that with my new vivs.

I want to run 4-6 vivs on it, they would all be heated identically.
 
I like the Johnson Controls over Ranco. I did HVAC for over 20 years and found Johnson Controls just a better product in general than Ranco.
 
The thing I like about the Herpstat ND is it's small and you can hang it up. I've looked at the Pro, and it looks nice. But it would have to sit up on top of the rack.

I like the grounded plugs so you don't have to use adaptors. And the green LCD and the blue LCDs are both pretty.
 
I dont think anyone has mentioned that Ranco and Johnson controls are on/off type thermostats, whereas Herpstat and Helix are proportional. The on/off are exactly that. They turn on and off when needed to reach the desired temperature. Proportional thermostats adjusts the power output needed to stay at your temps, which means the temp on the heat are almost always perfect, no fluctuations from the heat turning on and off. Any of the cheap thermostats are on/off, and the more expensive ones are proportional.

I have a herpstat and a ranco and like them both. The ranco is my backup and it works great as well! Just that the temps fluctuate several degrees throughout the day. Not a big issue, but something to think about.
 
where is the best place to get Helix? I'm getting setups that I want to run at least 4 vivs with all heating identical in the vivs. Can I do this with these?

I was gonna just get Ranco from the guy I'm ordering vivs from. it's 75 or so and I won't have to pay extra shipping if it comes with the vivs. I might have to go with that for now and order the better ones later on. I notice with my BAH the temp goes up and down all day too.
 
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