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Heating a Reptile Closet

manog

manog

Closet Creation Herps
I just wanted to find out from those of who you have experience with a reptile room or 'closet' how you heat it. I have a pretty good little space heater that i am going to use. It has a built in so-called thermostat but it isn't exact nor is it trust worthy. I am thinking of hooking it up to a thermostat like an ALIFE BAH 1000 watt thermostat. Any other suggestions as to thermostats of heating a small closet would be great. Oh, and i just don't have the cash for a Helix so any suggestion besides that :)

Thanks
 
As a back-up thermostat (because of the unreliability of your built in one), you could use one of these:
Plug-In Line Voltage Thermostat
Basically, just plug in your space heater into the outlet on this thermostat and set the temperature on the unit. You can use an extension cord on the space heater (plugged into the thermostat) if you have a larger room (in order to place the heater in one corner and the thermostat in the opposite corner). These work great for space heaters, not so for uth's, but should suit your needs at a relatively inexpensive price tag. Hope this helps.
 
That is a great idea. Can you actually set the exact temp. that you want the in line thermostat to shut off the heater? I read a little bit about it on line, do you have any experience with it? Does it keep your temps constant?

Thanks
 
I agree with danvega, that stat woudl be perfect for your application. With that type of thermostat the temps cannot be "zeroed" in like with a proportinal thermostat.. But it will probably keep it within 3 degrees(not sure it does not say what the differintal is). Never use an alife thermostat on something like that, bad news:)
 
Thanks Just Cage, I appreciate your input. You seem to be the resident heat expert and I appreciate your help. Just so you know as well, i looked at mgreptiles and if i do decide to go proportional i will be going to you. Thanks again
 
manog said:
That is a great idea. Can you actually set the exact temp. that you want the in line thermostat to shut off the heater? I read a little bit about it on line, do you have any experience with it? Does it keep your temps constant?

Thanks
Click to expand...
I personally do not have any first-hand experience with the unit. I actually saw it posted in another thread about 2 months ago; the person (I can't remember who right now) wanted to use it with a uth. I read up on it and concluded it could not be used [practically] with a uth, because the vents on the upper left side measure ambient temperature. At the same time though, I thought it was a great idea to regulate a reptile room. I currently house my herps indoors in a room not solely devoted to them, but when I move soon, I am going to have an extra room that will be solely devoted for them (yay, I can start my breeding projects). I too was looking for a thermostat that would work with a space heater/air conditioner. I went to Home Depot, talked to a few people, who all said they work great (I take anything a salesperson says lightly)---that most people are using them in greenhouses (serving the same purpose that we are looking for). The unit can be mounted to a wall, set for either hot or cool (so in conjunction with an a/c unit or fan, will work well for brumation too ---yeah, I live in NC), and then set to shut off when the temp reaches the preset temp. Once I get one, I will use a thermometer in the room to measure how accurate it is (the salespeople said in was very sensitive) because the dial to set the temp is analog and not digital. Seems good to me, plus at a price that does not break your pocket.
 
I agree with you. The price is almost too good to be true for a reliable thermostat. I did Google it and there was a lot of input used for greenhouses. Just what we need! Thanks :cheers:
 
Why not a Ranco or Johnson controls?? Both are switchable to heat and cool and both handle 1500 watts..
 
I have looked at those and am still really considering it but the price is almost 3 times as much. No doubt you're getting quality but it is a budget issue.

Someday i will have lots of money then i will have a ' Reptile House' instead of a "reptile closet" well ...... and i would have to find a new wife ... :)
 
Would a reptile closet be worth it? i could understand if it is walk in but just for a nomal one? It just seems to me that too much heat would escape, not to down on your plan, just a thought.
 
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