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Thermostat Recommendations

R

RAWright

New member
Does anyone have any recommendation as to what type of thermostat to use to regulate the temp of my repti-pad UTH?

I am looking for something under $100. It is just for one tank.

Thanks,
Richard
 
If you're wanting to keep it cheap and simple, and you're not looking at using it for egg incubation, etc. you can consider just using a rheostat. keep a probe on it and adjust the rheostat till its your ideal temp. it will keep it steady (just check it on a daily basis to be sure it's still a good temp and no one bumped the setting). Just my opinion, but it works well for us.
 
I use rheostats/dimmer switches on mine and they work fine. Like kandicke said check the temps daily and make sure to watch as the seasons change cause you will have to adapt to that probably even if your house is kept at a specific temp by the A/C/heat pump thermostat. Mine are kept in the living room so the traffic through the front door affects it quite a bit. :)
 
I recommend the Alife thermostat, from The Bean Farm, for under $30 if you want a cheap thermostat.
 
Anyone have any pictures or links? I'm not really sure what to look for, something that can control a heating pad. I browsed Walmart today which only seemed to have wall-type thermostats. Would those work? Would you have to splice/solder in the wiring? But maybe they only sense local temperature near the device, and for a snake environment you'd need more like a probe?
 
If you use a rheostat or light dimmer switch, you need to have a thermometer probe to monitor the temp, then you make adjustments to your rheostat to bump the power up or down to your heater. if you are getting a thermostat, you will want to get one made for reptile cages, not a room thermostat at the hardware store. you will need also a thermometer probe with the thermostat (i believe they all come with a probe) so that it knows when to turn on and off. cheap thermostats work by turning the heater on and off to keep the temp correct. good thermostats are proportional, meaning they work by adjusting the amount of power sent to the heat pad until the perfect temp is achieved, keeping the temp constant and steady, rather than turning the heater on and off as the temp gets too high or low. a rheostat essentially does the same thing, adjusting the power flow to the heater, and is less expensive. the downfall is you can't just program the rheostat to a specific temperature - you have to use a thermometer to monitor the temp and adjust the rheostat until you find the right power setting.
 
I have found the HydroFarm an excellent product. Set up and setting is easy and I've been monitoring the temperature with an external thermometer's probe right next to the probe for the HydroFarm and it's staying with a degree. This will be the thermostat I'll get from now on for my snakefriends' homes.
 
To add to my original post about hydrofarm, I got mine not too long ago and its amazing! it comes with a temperature probe you put in the tank on the glass where the heating pad it, and you just plug the heating pad into the main part, set your preferred temperature, and then voila. it stays like hat the whole time. You dont have to check on it often like i had to with my rheostat.
 
I recommend that you get Mitchbills thermostat, cheap, and it's effective, it works as a temperature controller, keeps the temperature 2-3 degrees above or below the set temp, set it to 85 for corns, and your set.
 
Hexadeci said:
Any recommendations/experiences about the Zilla product?
http://www.petco.com/product/108340/Zilla-Temperature-Controllers.aspx?CoreCat=RepAmpFC_Heating
Click to expand...

I really advise not to get that, i bought one of those a little while ago, and I've decided to get the hydrofarm, works as a rheostat(controls the temperature) and it works as a thermostat, the Petco rheostat is only one part, and it cost $50, the hydromat is $30 and it has the other part to it(2 in 1). Here's a link to the hydro mat that I've ordered, http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTP...ZG3S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311519889&sr=8-2

-Ahmad Rahim
 
Ahmad Rahim said:
I really advise not to get that, i bought one of those a little while ago, and I've decided to get the hydrofarm, works as a rheostat(controls the temperature) and it works as a thermostat, the Petco rheostat is only one part, and it cost $50, the hydromat is $30 and it has the other part to it(2 in 1). Here's a link to the hydro mat that I've ordered, http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTP...ZG3S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311519889&sr=8-2

-Ahmad Rahim
Click to expand...

What second part? They both look like 1 part to me (temperature controlling devices with probes attached). What is the difference between a rheostat and a thermostat? In embedded systems I learned them as a matter of intent: rheostats simply have variable resistance, while thermostats are specifically for controlling temperature. So a thermostat could use a rheostat, but not necessarily (like mechanically turning off a switch instead of varying the resistance of a resistor), while a rheostat could be used as a thermostat, but also not necessarily (like a dimmer switch for lights).
 
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