Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a thetmostat I got at petco for like 35 dolars. it sucked. it's broke now.

Can anyone suggest a GOOD thermostat?
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0.0.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 Checkard Garter Snake
0.1.0 Green Anole
0.0.1 Frog (of the bull variety.. I guess)
1.0.0 Red Eared Slider
0.1.0 Box Turtle
0.3.0 Love Able muts

R.I.P. Mr. Diggz, My late rusian cambells drawf hamster.

buy a ranco, there good thermostats. You can buy one for under (already wired) for a 100 bucks. Look on KS Classifieds.

Kyle

For a good proportional thermostat I would recommend the Herpstat. They have more options than most of the others and cost just a little over $100.

George

I have the johnson, and I am pleased with it.

.

Ranco is a good choice for heating cages. It's an on/off instrument that has a one degree variant ( Johnson has a two degree). For incubators a digital is a must. One or two tenths of a degree variant.
Herpstat (made in the usa; Helix, now made in Indonesia)
are two of the most preferred.

Mike

Johnson Control has a one degree differential just like the Ranco. And it has far more features and benefits than the Ranco. Ranco is alright but in my opinion Johnson Control/Penn makes better products and I almost always choose Johnson control over ranco when I deal with refridgeration.
Wil Combs
Captive Bred Creations

When I purchased my johnson from mgreptiles, I asked the fella about the differences. He said that there really wasn't much of a difference, except for the ranco was in a much larger casing, and the johnson had all the extra space taken out of the casing... Me, I was just trying to save a buck on shipping, but I have heard great things about both products and would not hesitate to order a ranco in a second.

~Johnny

Johnson controls has a sensor default which will display a sensor failure on the LCD. In the event of a sensor break or short you can set the thermostat to cut off the heat source. They have a better relay inside on the circuit board. And they have a feature that can be used to control a true night time drop. In my opinion, the only way they are the same is that both are On/Off, both are LCD, both control either heating or cooling equipment. I am only speaking from experience in working in the HVAC field for several years. I have seen more problems with Ranco than with Johnson Control.
Thanks,
Wil Combs

Thanks for sharing that! I have been very pleased with my johnson, and I hope who ever orginally posted finds this info very useful.

~Johnny

No problem, I am always happy to help when I can.
Thanks,
Wil Combs
Captive Bred Creations

np
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Kyle J. Stevens
Royal Variations Ltd.

Many a false step is made from standing still.

Wil, I know you work with these units in your line of work and I'll be the first to admit that I don't. That said, unless the Johnsons that you have are different from ours, when you set the temp differential to one degree, it has to drop two degrees before it cuts back on. With the Ranco, when you set the TD to one degree, it only drops one degree before it cuts back on. We use several Johnsons, along with a good many Rancos on our racks and all of our Johnsons exhibit this characteristic. I still prefer the Johnsons over the Rancos because of the extra features.
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Louis Kirkland
Cornerstone Reptiles

Louis,
The differential works of the set temperature. The temperature must drop one full degree. For example, if your set temp is 100 degrees than the temp will drop to 98 degrees which is actually one full degree. If a thermostat has a differential of zero than with the same settings the thermostat would turn off at 100 and back on at 99 degrees. When you see that 2 degree drop it is not actually 2 whole degrees. The 98 degrees displayed is very close to being 99 degrees. The differences between the Johnson and the Ranco may be how fast the probes process temperature change. I hope I explained this well enough, I know that it can be confusing sometimes.
Thanks,
Wil Combs
Captive Bred Creations

i have the ranco and its awesome...great thermostat

http://www.mgreptiles.com/WOW.html

$49

I have Johnsons on both of my cages, and I like them very much. I bought mine from MGReptiles.com, and I was pleased with my order.

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.