Let's talk thermostats

**millertime89** · 12-28-11, 06:42 PM

This is often a question many newcomers to the hobby ask, what's the best thermostat on the market (especially after being told the often much cheaper rheostats aren't worth it)? This is often accompanied by a request for a quality vs cost analysis, so I figured, why not start our own thread and discuss this here?

Here's my 2 cents:
The professional breeders and "professional hobbyists" seem to sing the praises of the herpstat line. The retic community especially seems to love them. The downfall is these get kind of expensive. For the basic grounded herpstat (I chose grounded over ungrounded simply for safety reasons, the extra 10 dollars seems worth it) is generally between 115 and 120. Its proportional, durable (longevity and extreme conditions) but doesn't seem to be directed towards the heat mat crowd (max temp is 110) or anybody keeping animals that need significantly higher temps. (looking at you Sav keepers). This minor drawback spans their entire rang as well. You can also order one with the nightdrop (ND) feature that allows you to drop temps at night for an extra 30ish dollars. Another drawback is the wattage output, the basic one only can handle 500 watts, and even the pro is limited to 400 watts per outlet (it has 4 outlets).

The vivarium electronics also seem to be a good alternative, but the basic model costs around $85. It looks good, is grounded, and is stackable for a nice display. It has a max temp of 140 but its an extra 25 dollars for the box that enables the night drop feature. The VE line ranges from a 700 watt max output for the lowest model to 900 for the top of the line one. Not bad, but not great.

Hydrofarm: I think I'm gonna order one of these and give it a try. For $26 dollars, why not right?
Hydrofarm Heat Mat Electronic Temperature Controller
max temp is a little low for my liking, but its higher than the thermostats I'm using now. (108deg) and are marketed specifically for heat mats. Max output is good at 1000 watts.

The Ranco units seems to be a decent option as well, and have been vouched for by several retic breeders. The basic unit ($50-60) seems like a reasonable starting point but it requires the purchaser to wire in a power strip on their own before its fully functional. For $80 you can get it pre-wired with a 6 outlet strip and you're ready to roll. Max temp is 220F (dunno what you would need that for) and max output is an astounding 1500 watts.
The Johnson A 419 is almost identical to the Ranco unit but requires more wiring than the Ranco. Its 100 dollars for the equivalent to the $80 Ranco (wired with a 6 plug power strip).

Lux WIN100 are the in home thermostats that I buy and extend the thermosensor cable on. They've been working well for me for the past few months (I've made 2 and sold a few others) but because of their limited max temp (90F) I have to have the thermosensor in the enclosure (not particularly worrying because I have a burrower and a hider) but to be completely safe I would like to have the sensor between the heat mat and the tub. Max output is the highest in the group however at a ridiculous 1800 watts To work it does require some work but its been reliable.

The Helix units are another unit that comes with a good reputation from the retic community as well. I can't seem to find the max temp on these units, but overall they're very similar to the herpstat units. Price for the basic unit is 130, grounded is 137 and you have to buy a night drop module for an extra 30 dollars to get that feature (similar to the VE series). Max output is 500 watts per unit. There are several other accessories available.

feel free to post up other thermostats out there that you've used along with what your experiences are and what you've read about.
hey Wayne, sticky?

Norm66 · 12-28-11, 07:18 PM

Nice post. Very informative. I went w/ the VE-100 because it seemed like it would do the job easily with minimum outlay. I'm not convinced the more expensive proportional units are worthwhile for rack applications where the probe is on the outside of the enclosures either. Sure the probe temp cycles 4 or 5 degrees but the temp inside the enclosure probably cycles much less than that depending on insulation, size, ventilation etc. For incubating eggs I can see where it would be more critical though.

**millertime89** · 12-28-11, 07:39 PM

Norms post in his thread about his 28qt rack build has convinced me to give one of the Hydrofarm thermostats a try, I'll post up my results.

shaunyboy · 12-29-11, 10:38 AM

i think these stats are one of the best out there,although expensive you can run 4 tanks,with with 4 seperate stat probs with these stats

MICROCLIMATE ADVANCED DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEM

i use individual microclimate pulse and dimming stats at present,but hope to one day get one from the link, to control my diamond python tanks

cheers shaun

spots · 12-29-11, 10:41 AM

Great info Kyle.
I'm needing to find a thermostat as I'm in the middle of building a rack for my BP's.

knox · 12-29-11, 11:25 AM

I have always loved the Herpstats. I have also used, with success, the Hydrofarm.

I also always keep a dimmer on hand for those "just in case" scenarios. They are great, inexpensive tools for stable temps. I don't worry about fluctuations from 5 - 8 degrees in my house. Snakes encounter this and more every day in the wild.

There isn't much difference between 84 and 89 degrees in the hot spot as long as the ambient temperature doesn't go much above 92 during the hottest part of the day. Generally, though, if the heat mat is at 90 because the indoor house temperature went up 10 degrees in the summer, it doesn't do much to raise the air temp from under the substrate. As long as the snake can get to a spot around 78 degrees for thermoregulation, dimmers work just fine.

I know they get a "bad rap", but a dimmer is a great, inexpensive alternative in a room that has temperatures that do not fluctuate more than 5 - 10 degrees year round. And it doesn't hurt to check them once or twice a week, either.

**millertime89** · 12-29-11, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

MICROCLIMATE ADVANCED DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEM
cheers shaun

link doesn't work bud.

Quote:

Originally Posted by knox

I also always keep a dimmer on hand for those "just in case" scenarios. They are great, inexpensive tools for stable temps. I don't worry about fluctuations from 5 - 8 degrees in my house. Snakes encounter this and more every day in the wild.

That's not a bad idea at all.

GarterPython · 12-29-11, 01:33 PM

Nice Info Thanks

**millertime89** · 01-02-12, 03:59 PM

ordered the hydrofarm, results to come.

shaunyboy · 01-02-12, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime89

link doesn't work bud.

i've tried seaching for another link but its looking like they don't make that stat anymore ?

it was a digital unit you could programme to run 4 seperate tanks,with their own probes

it was £165,which sounds a lot,but divide it by the 4 tanks it ran and imo it was good for the money

cheers shaun

**millertime89** · 01-02-12, 04:30 PM

yeah, that sounds like a good price, can you post a picture of what they looked like?

shaunyboy · 01-02-12, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime89

yeah, that sounds like a good price, can you post a picture of what they looked like?

sorry mate that link was all i had bookmarked from a while back

it resembled a cb radio,it was blue,with a digital read out,loads of buttons

you could programme each tank for 7 days day/night time temps

you could also recall old data,temps etc and get a last 7 days reading on each tank

i'll see if i can find an old site with a pic of it or something ?

cheers shaun

Strutter769 · 01-02-12, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knox

I also always keep a dimmer on hand for those "just in case" scenarios. They are great, inexpensive tools for stable temps. I don't worry about fluctuations from 5 - 8 degrees in my house. Snakes encounter this and more every day in the wild.

There isn't much difference between 84 and 89 degrees in the hot spot as long as the ambient temperature doesn't go much above 92 during the hottest part of the day. Generally, though, if the heat mat is at 90 because the indoor house temperature went up 10 degrees in the summer, it doesn't do much to raise the air temp from under the substrate. As long as the snake can get to a spot around 78 degrees for thermoregulation, dimmers work just fine.r.

I am completely ignorant to this topic (and electricity) and really need to learn more about it. I currently have a ZooMed HygroTherm® and it seems ok for my needs at this point in time, but I know I will need to upgrade when I reluctantly move to a rack system.

Can someone please explain (in PM if desired, so as not to waste others' time) how I would wire heat tape for example, to a stat and dimmer?

Thanks!

**millertime89** · 01-02-12, 05:53 PM

the hygrotherm actually looks like a decent little device for single viv set ups.
When I bought heat tape I just called up the guys at Reptile Basics and talked to them about my setup and what I wanted. The guy I spoke with had some great ideas and we both came to the same conclusion about what would be best. What I'm doing for my rack set up is I'm going to have the thermsensor attached to the center tub and have all identical sized tubs ran from that.

What EXACTLY do you mean by a dimmer? I got into this... lets call it a discussion, about them a few days ago.

Strutter769 · 01-02-12, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime89

the hygrotherm actually looks like a decent little device for single viv set ups.
When I bought heat tape I just called up the guys at Reptile Basics and talked to them about my setup and what I wanted. The guy I spoke with had some great ideas and we both came to the same conclusion about what would be best. What I'm doing for my rack set up is I'm going to have the thermsensor attached to the center tub and have all identical sized tubs ran from that.

What EXACTLY do you mean by a dimmer? I got into this... lets call it a discussion, about them a few days ago.

"Dimmer" is another name for a rheostat. I'd love to see your projest step-by-step if that's at all possible? I'll be needing to build racks soon. I've seen.some nice examples on YouTube but those don't seem to be very detailed when it comes to heat and temp regulation.