Let's talk thermostats

[red ink]

No worries Kyle,

Well I might add a thermostat then into the pile IMIT Ta3 analougue wall mounted thermostat (there should be an equivalent on your side of the pond).

Works on measuring air temps with gas filled bellows all analouge no electrical parts (though you will need to wire them or by a qualified electrician). They have been a staple in the Australian herptoculture for as long as I can remember and 90% of us use them.

They are basically the thermostats you see on old houses mounted on the walls controlling your heating.

[millertime89]

I gotcha, most hardware and home improvement stores have those over here, not nearly as nice looking though. I would have to buy one to figure out how to wire it up though. Price is hard to beat at under $15 US.

for anyone who cares.
IMIT TA3 Thermostat - Aussie Pythons & Snakes

[red ink]

Originally Posted by millertime89

I gotcha, most hardware and home improvement stores have those over here, not nearly as nice looking though. I would have to buy one to figure out how to wire it up though. Price is hard to beat at under $15 US.

for anyone who cares.
IMIT TA3 Thermostat - Aussie Pythons & Snakes

Yeah their not the best looking of things but they'll pass for what they are and the price. you can easily hide them by just placing some fake plants in front...

Here's one in my JCP enclosure



Behind the perch and fake vines

You can see them in the back walls of this enclosure

[knox]

I am a bit surprised that the temperature in peoples' homes fluctuates so drastically. I am in an apartment and never get more than a 5 degree fluctuation in my living room where my snakes are (the sunny side of the bldg), and no more than 10 degrees in my bedroom opposite the sunshine.

I would feel perfectly safe using a rheostat for my rack. 5 degrees is nothing to a snake.

Now, I DO use a Herpstat proportional thermostat. But if I didn't have the money to purchase that, a rheostat and $15 temperature gun is all i would really need. A bit more work, checking the temps every day, but not too much.

[knox]

Here's more fodder for the debate.

I just took some measurements of my Flexwatt. It is a single run, snaking throughout my Animal Plastic rack. The probe is on the middle shelf. Controlled by a Herpstat Thermostat set at 89 degrees F.

Top Shelf - 84 degrees
Second Shelf - 103 degrees
Spot by probe on middle shelf - 88.6 degrees
Fourth Shelf - 102 degrees

AND... These temperatures vary depending on WHERE I point the temperature gun along each shelf.

There are no exact temperature controls on Flexwatt, no matter what device you use. Forget 10 degree temperature fluctuations, I have spots along the run of Flexwatt that vary about 20 degrees. And I have 10 degree fluctuations within a foot on one shelf.

This has always been the case with Flexwatt in my experience. Depending on where I take the temperature, I never get consistent temperatures.

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by knox

I am a bit surprised that the temperature in peoples' homes fluctuates so drastically. I am in an apartment and never get more than a 5 degree fluctuation in my living room where my snakes are (the sunny side of the bldg), and no more than 10 degrees in my bedroom opposite the sunshine.

I would feel perfectly safe using a rheostat for my rack. 5 degrees is nothing to a snake.

Now, I DO use a Herpstat proportional thermostat. But if I didn't have the money to purchase that, a rheostat and $15 temperature gun is all i would really need. A bit more work, checking the temps every day, but not too much.

the building that I'm in is older than I am, probably 30 years old at least, single pain windows on the south side. My room gets loads of sun during the short day, but the temps drop noticeably when the sun goes down.

[Norm66]

I'm actually having trouble with my flexwatt heating evenly. I'm getting 5 degrees higher on my 2nd and 3rd shelf versus the 1st, 3rd and 5th. I'm actually considering pulling up the two strips of 3" I bought and buying the 11" wide. I had almost gone that way originally but I thought this would be more flexible for summertime. It won't be wasted though since I'll be able to use it elsewhere down the line.

Plus even with towels covering the front of the rack I have the thermostat set at 108 Deg. F to maintain around 90 F hot sides in the tubs. Still, like Red Ink says I think the animals are fine as long as there's a gradient of some sort and they can self-regulate their temps. I've read where several large breeders don't use heat of any kind in their racks, just heating the room to 82-84F and having no problems at all. It makes sense to me, but all the literature out there says 90 hot side and 80 cool side so that's what I'm trying to accomplish.

Heating fish tanks is a lot easier.

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by Norm66

I'm actually having trouble with my flexwatt heating evenly. I'm getting 5 degrees higher on my 2nd and 3rd shelf versus the 1st, 3rd and 5th. I'm actually considering pulling up the two strips of 3" I bought and buying the 11" wide. I had almost gone that way originally but I thought this would be more flexible for summertime. It won't be wasted though since I'll be able to use it elsewhere down the line.

Plus even with towels covering the front of the rack I have the thermostat set at 108 Deg. F to maintain around 90 F hot sides in the tubs. Still, like Red Ink says I think the animals are fine as long as there's a gradient of some sort and they can self-regulate their temps. I've read where several large breeders don't use heat of any kind in their racks, just heating the room to 82-84F and having no problems at all. It makes sense to me, but all the literature out there says 90 hot side and 80 cool side so that's what I'm trying to accomplish.

Heating fish tanks is a lot easier.

Good to know Norm. The retic breeder near me does it that way, heats the room to 80, he gives basking spots for the bigger ones, but anything much less than 10 feet or so gets 80 almost all the time.

[beardeds4life]

I have had great luck using this with heat bulbs but I imagine it will also work well with heat pads/mats. The only complaint I have is it doesn't have a visual output D: but this can easily be fixed by adding a digital thermometer to the mix.

Zilla 500 Watt Temperature Controller

[FLAWLS1]

This is a great thread! Thanks for posting this

[spots]

Originally Posted by beardeds4life

I have had great luck using this with heat bulbs but I imagine it will also work well with heat pads/mats. The only complaint I have is it doesn't have a visual output D: but this can easily be fixed by adding a digital thermometer to the mix.

Zilla 500 Watt Temperature Controller

Does this item have a heat probe with it? I'm looking for something for my snake racks that I'm about to build.

[beardeds4life]

yes it does the probe is kinda bulky though but would work great for a snake rack if you duck taped it to the ceiling thing of a hide then put it a few degrees lower so that it will be the optimal temp. One thing though it is an on off thermostat meaning that instead of reducing power it turns everything off or it is on at full power so there will be quite a bit of turning on and off if you use something like heat tape which gets very hot. If you are using heat tape you might want to consider using this instead. I have never used that though, so I can not tell you anything about it.


Kane heat mat rheostat

[millertime89]

well the hydrofarm finally showed up 9 business days after I ordered it... and only one showed up, I ordered two, I tried calling the place I ordered from, but apparently they close at 4 eastern. I called at 4:30 eastern, or 3:30 here. Grr... opinion on thermostat to follow.

[spots]

Originally Posted by millertime89

well the hydrofarm finally showed up 9 business days after I ordered it... and only one showed up, I ordered two, I tried calling the place I ordered from, but apparently they close at 4 eastern. I called at 4:30 eastern, or 3:30 here. Grr... opinion on thermostat to follow.

Where did you get it from and let me know how it is kyle.

[millertime89]

I posted on the first page the place I got them from, but you can find them for the same price from other places, which I would encourage you to do because even though I ordered (and they charged me for) 2, I only received 1, I need to call them here in a bit.