Thermostat Help

[robb4565]

i was wondering if anyone can help me out with a little issue i have ran into. i just built a bunch of cages out of melamine that stack on top of one another for my snakes and lizards. they are heated with radiant heat panels in each different enclosure. the problem i ran into is i want to hook the cages up to a thermostat but they only have one probe and i have 5 different cages stacked. do i need to buy a thermostat for each cage or is there one out there that has multiple probes i can control the whole set up off one thermostat? all the reptiles i keep need the same heat range so maybe there is away around it. if anyone has any knowledge on the subject please let me know it will really help me out. and also if anyone has any suggestions on the placement of the probe, weather i should put it on the hot side, in the basking spot, or in the middle i would really appreciate it.

[reptiledude987]

The t-stats I use only have 1 probe. there may be other models that have multiple probs but I'm not sure what brand it would be. For the probe placment you want it on your warm side as thats what the rhp is heating therefore thats the temp that needs to be regulated. Where its placed depends on the size and shape of the enclosure. IE a taller unit with branches for climbing you would want to place it near the top basking spot to give your basking temp. for lower enclosures you want it around an inch over the substrate so its the proper warm side temp where the animal will be.

[jjhill001]

Put the probe directly on the heating element. If they are all the same wattage you adjust the thermostat to where you get the desired temp in all the cages.

[pet_snake_78]

Personally I'd use at least two tstats for the 5 cages. Look at it this way, it's an extra 50 bucks and it's cheap insurance. I would run probes at the bottom and top enclosure and put a digital therm in each cage to keep an eye on the temps and humidity. Plug one tstat into the other one and plug all the devices into a power strip. Set one tstat 5 degrees or so higher than the other one. If the first tstat sticks "ON" the second tstat will still shut it off. If the second tstat sticks on, the first one will still shut the power off.

I use a proportional tstat for the one set lower and the backup tstat (the one set higher and should always be on unless the proportial sticks in the on position) I usually use a cheaper one either a precordered ranco or hobby stat. I used to use hydrofarms and while they will work, I just think the aforementioned brands are better. All of my proportionals are herpstats. Note that all the RHPs have to be indentical or this won't work. You'll need another set of tstats for each one that's different.

Should look like this

Wall Outlet | Ranco 100 F| Herpstat 95 F | power strip | 5 RHPs

[Princess-dad]

electronic t stat $16.00 USA dollars cover plate $2.50 outlet $3.50 common cheap plastic 2 switch box $3.00 . How to and where to get videos all over internet . U Tube roughly $ 25.00 + soldering skills

[prairiepanda]

electronic t stat $16.00 USA dollars cover plate $2.50 outlet $3.50 common cheap plastic 2 switch box $3.00 . How to and where to get videos all over internet . U Tube roughly $ 25.00 + soldering skills

Where'd you get such a cheap tstat??? I haven't been able to find one for less than $50 and yes I've looked online :(

[lady_bug87]

Where'd you get such a cheap tstat??? I haven't been able to find one for less than $50 and yes I've looked online :(

amazon.ca has them,

Edited to add: I just bought a hydrofarm jumpstart for 44CAD

[lady_bug87]

electronic t stat $16.00 USA dollars cover plate $2.50 outlet $3.50 common cheap plastic 2 switch box $3.00 . How to and where to get videos all over internet . U Tube roughly $ 25.00 + soldering skills

I saw these and was curious. What's been your experience with them?

[Princess-dad]

They seem to work fine . This model has both a cooling relay and a heating relay . Say you want your enclosure at 30° c you set the temp for shut of at 30°c then the next setting is the how many ° drop you want between heat shut of and restart I chose 2° , now when the temp reaches 28° the heat relay comes back on .If how ever say room is hot and the heaters are off and the temp climbs from shut off at 30° to 32° a cooling relay is activated and that can be attached to an exhaust fan to pull heat out of the enclosure . Fan will turn off when temp reaches 30 again .And yes amazon.com ebay .com l purchased to they were less than $16.00 each Im currently working on the other t-stat set up it is going to have a dimmer installed between the t-stat and my flex watt heaters . The dimmer will drop the top temp of the flexwatt to what temp I chose and that will keep the t-stat from constantly turning on and off

[Princess-dad]

I broke my cover plate when I was cutting the opening for the t-stat placement . Ill get the dremil out when I attempt the next cut .

[prairiepanda]

amazon.ca has them,

Edited to add: I just bought a hydrofarm jumpstart for 44CAD


Okay, it looks it Amazon has gotten waaaay more variety for tstats since I last looked! That jumpstart one was the cheapest I could find back then(it came to $50 with tax...I should have ordered it shipped to my moms house in Alberta to save on tax lol)

There's a lot of cheap ones on there now(one is even $12! And I did see the one princess-dad uses for $20), but most of them don't appear to have probes? How does that work?

[Princess-dad]

The temp sensor needs to be fixed to your heating pad mat flexwatt , if you are using to control your under tank heater , If being used to control a ceramic heat emitter or a heat lamp it should be mounted a close to the area you are heating .ie basking spot . Ok thats the under side of the corns house . That is the sensor bulb taped to the center of a commercial UTH . The idea is to never let the pad itself get above target temp you set on t-stat .The other pic is just the back of the t-stat set up I built it sjows the sensor wire coming out the back. . That way the warming spot never gets hot enough to burn your buddy , or burn itself out . I recently had to replace a commercial heater that had detached itself from the tanks bottom it got so hot it cracked the tank and burned a hole in itself . I have seen many opinions on the proper way to attach sensor to heat pad . This is how I am doing it at this time I am using Nashua 322 foil tape tape the same that I have seen recommended to attach flexwatt to tanks .

[Princess-dad]

Sorry I miss read if the dont have probes listed as in the package see if they are trying to sell u a sensor . I have had several of these t-stats on order from China they dont have a cooling relay in them just a heating relay . when if they come in ill contact you if you are interested I am only mentioning this beacause I ordered these that are coming and well they took way to long getting here I assumed that the vendor had cheated me , so I ordered two more from Amazon . I wont really need the other eight temp controllers when they finally get here .

[lady_bug87]

Okay, it looks it Amazon has gotten waaaay more variety for tstats since I last looked! That jumpstart one was the cheapest I could find back then(it came to $50 with tax...I should have ordered it shipped to my moms house in Alberta to save on tax lol)

There's a lot of cheap ones on there now(one is even $12! And I did see the one princess-dad uses for $20), but most of them don't appear to have probes? How does that work?

They're compatible with different types of sensors for the 20 dollar ones you'd be doing all the wiring.

[Albert Clark]

Hey guys , just be careful with the cheap stats. Make sure you are wiring correctly bc the triac modules may be suspect. Just a IMO. Watch out for the possibility of sparking and FIRES! Please be careful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vivarium electronics, Herpstats, Ranco's are all safety rated.

[Princess-dad]

Ok yes u need to wire these controllers and if you do not have the required skills and confidence needed to,perform the build dont . I have included a link to one of the shorter how to videos on utube . I believe that a person should tin the end of the wires were they are installed into the controller and all the connections also . Tinning is when u twist the end of the bare wire and apply solder to the end . All of these products are designed with solid wire connections in mind , so tinning the ends makes the wires solid . If you are not sure about ( tinning ) look it up on utube . also when installing tinned wires in conntroller be sure to trim the ends until they are just long enough that they hit bottom with no exposed wire I am including a few pics of tinned and untinned wires and a close example of how they should look short exposed short end typical for controller install hooked end typical for install around plug end screws . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMRT2Z_-vJU AGAIN IF YOU CANNOT SOLDER DONT BUILD CONTROLLER IF YOU ARE NOT SURE OF YOUR WIRING CONNECTIONS DONT BUILD .

[Princess-dad]

Side note the controller I purchased and most all of the controllers I have researched have short protection built in .

[millertime89]

If you guys don't want to (or, like me, don't know how to very well) soder you can spend a bit more money and buy one of these. I've been using them for years and haven't had any problems, although I've been told a few people have.
Amazon.com : Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat for Heat Mats : Plant Germination Heating Mats : Patio, Lawn & Garden (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPRTC-Digital-Thermostat-Heat/dp/B000NZZG3S)

[Princess-dad]

Thanks millertime89 I cant agree more if you can not already solder ,this is not a project you should be learning new skills on . The attachment of the wires at the controller . The connections are very close together . I personally have 30 years
of automotive repair mostly in the electrical repair end . So I am very comfortable around wiring and soldering repairs . The only main advantage to the build your own as apposed to commercial product is you can design placement and length of the wires and componants . also the temp sensor can be removed and replaced or more easily installed because of the hole size needed to install sensor if it is not an in tank install no problem how large the sensor is . If you have a need for an in tank install though , sensor size is a consideration .