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Brand new UTH- barely reaching 85

M

minithreat

New member
For the past few days my snake's viv thermometer has been reading 75 degrees flat. I turned the lamp dimmer its attached to up.. and up.. and up until it was on full power, and it barely hit 82. I figured something was wrong with it, and bought a new one a few hours ago. I'm testing it before i stick it on so i can adjust the lamp dimmer accordingly, and without the lamp dimmer its barely reaching 85. I know 85 is the perfect temp for corns, but I was under the impression unregulated UTHs could reach 110 degrees? I'm just scared to stick on the heater at a happy 85 and check it tomorrow morning to see 110 and a potentially burned snake.. does anyone know whats going on? :/
 
What brand, wattage heat pad? Is it a particularly cool room? What kind of thermometer are you measuring temperatures with?
 
It's a zoo-med reptitherm, 120VAC 60Hz 8W. I'm using a digital thermometer with the probe under the hide right above where the heating pad is on the underside of the tank
 
To start with, I'd double-check the thermometer. Is there any other thermometer in the house that you could use as a double check? Bit of a basic check, but when you put your hand on the mat, or on the floor immediately above the mat, would you describe it as cool, lukewarm, warm or hot?
 
I put my hand on the mat, it felt lukewarm in some places and cool towards the ends of the pad. I held the thermometer in my hand really tight and the temp went up, so I don't think its a thermometer issue. I remember my old UTH used to burn my hand if I tested it without a dimmer, I just thought it was really strange that a brand new one wasn't getting heinously hot
 
It does sound like the UTH isn't performing as expected. Can you take it back for a swap as faulty? Maybe get a different make/model in case there was a glitchy batch (not that I've ever heard of this happening)?

Whilst 85 is perfect for the warm end, if the UTH is malfunctioning I wouldn't trust it in case it decided to fail completely or "blip" in the other direction.
 
I'd take it back. Those little 8 watt units are supposed to get the hottest of all.
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Still 115-120 isn't near hot enough to burn your hand, nor should a UTH get that hot! I am a lot more comfortable with the medium 16 watt units. At my shop anyway, they are only 4 dollars more, and have a lower temperature and greater surface area. Good luck!
 
My old burnt-out one seems to be working fine now, so I'll be using that one while I figure out whats going on with the new one/replace it. Thanks guys! :3
 
That's odd in itself. Any chance there's a problem with the mains socket that you're using?
 
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