Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We bought a Ranco Thermostat to control our incubator that has our Ball eggs in it. We bought it because it was recommended as a cheaper alternative to a Helix and many liked it even more.

Twice now, it has malfunctioned. I just walked into our ball room and the temp reads 76* when It should be set at 89*. What gives witht his thing? Did I just get a bad egg, so to speak?

Not a happy camper.

Anyone know of a number to contact Ranco about this?

who did the wiring?
-----
robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Not I says me!

Bought it pre wired from reptilebasics.com. I just spoke to them and they will be getting back to me in an hour.

Ill try and explain whats going on a little better. We have a spare room set up for our reptiles. Its kept at around 77* with a space heater. We have the thermostat pluged into a wall socket by istelf, and the incubator hooked up to the Ranco. The incubator is the only thing being run by the Ranco.

Today, for the second time since we bought it, I went into the room and the Ranco was reading 76* on the screen. I checked to make sure everything was hooked up right and it was. I turned off the switch to try and reset it, nothing happend. I pulled the incubator plug out of the strip and plugged it back in, nothing. I unpluged the Ranco from the wall and back in real quick, nothing. I plugged the Incubator directly into the wall and the incubator heater turned on immediately.

I unplugged everything and let it sit for 3 min and plugged it all back in and it seems like its working now. This I have had to do twice. Whats up with it?

Is this typical of this thermostat? Maybe I should have went with a Helix? Right now we only have 1 clutch of normals in there, but Im really not feeling comfortable when i have to put my higher end eggs in there in a month or so.
-----
Bearded Dragon Custom Cage Design

Custom Acrylic GTP Cage!

I use Ranco's exclusively and I've had no problems with them to date. You could have one that's defective and it's wise to replace it as soon as possible, especially if it's managing temps in your incubator.

I wouldn't discourage you from using the Ranco product just because your unit might be defective. It happens to large and small companies alike that sell products. It's just unfortunate if we're one of the people to buy a product that happened to be defective.

Good luck.
-----
RC Reptiles
http://www.RCReptiles.com

I did.
I have also responded to Daniels email. Apparently he couldn't wait for my response to post? From the sound of it he has a lemon. I sent him an email a few minutes ago explaining to him I like the proportional thermostats better for incubators to start with ( I don't think they ever asked me) and will be happy to fix him up with a Helix for the price difference if he wants to send the Ranco back, or I will just replace the Ranco for him. His choice.
-----
Rich Goldzung
Reptile Basics Inc
www.reptilebasics.com

while were on the subject is it okay if I go off the subject a little? lol I was wondering if you could do a night drop application on a ranco simular to the helix unit. Pound for pound which thermostat and acessories would you recommend? I need one soon because the one I have is acting up so I've been using my back up space heater lol
-----
we're here because a hobby became an obsession... if only every one had this much fun

some days your the dog, some days your the hydrant...don't know who started this saying but it's the truth

No on the Ranco but you can on the Johnson Controls.
-----
Rich Goldzung
Reptile Basics Inc
www.reptilebasics.com

out of all the thermostats you carry what thermostat and accessories would you recommend
-----
we're here because a hobby became an obsession... if only every one had this much fun

some days your the dog, some days your the hydrant...don't know who started this saying but it's the truth

depends on the application. I have had about the same "lemon" rate on the Helix, Johnson, and Ranco, about 2%-4% or so. Johnson and Ranco have the power capacity for room heaters and other large power draws but have about a 3 /- degree slop. The Helix is about dead on most of the time, or atleast close enough it isn't relevant, but has only a 500 watt capacity. For incubators I really like the rock steady Helix and not the Ranco or JC. Otherwise I like the JC or Ranco just fine and in reality they are generally more than close enough for cages and racks. If it is of any consequence, everything I have on a thermostat is on a Helix.
-----
Rich Goldzung
Reptile Basics Inc
www.reptilebasics.com

ok i'm in the market for a thermostat or several.... I'm still undecided due to mixed reviews. I understand the margin of "lemons" and with any product there is that chance.

I have a 4 level melamine leopard gecko rack with (3) soon to be (4) 4 foot sections of flexwatt and was thinking of putting 2 hovators on it as well) would the thermostats be able to handle that load?

I will most likely need a new one for my ball rack too (once I finish it.)

Based on that information is there any thing you can reccommend over the other? when you really look at price differences it really isnt that much so im open to any ideas

-----
we're here because a hobby became an obsession... if only every one had this much fun

some days your the dog, some days your the hydrant...don't know who started this saying but it's the truth

you'll want to run the hovabators on a separate thermo from the racks.....you have differences in heating elements, space, air flow..etc... either the rack or hovabator would be the right temp and the other would be way off.

sounds like any of the thermos will handle your rack load

i use helix on my incubator and rancos on my racks just to give you an idea how others are running them
-----
Stu
www.2amCreations.com
Not even remotely close to the most extensive collection of ball python morphs in captivity!

My way of thinking is the Helix will offer you the most versatility. It easily will do the 4 -4ft sections (320 watts) and if you want to move it to an incubator at another time, not a problem. You never know what you will need next week, month or year.
Just my thinking on it.
-----
Rich Goldzung
Reptile Basics Inc
www.reptilebasics.com

as long as you can maintain your desired ambient room temp, all you need to do is plug your ranco into an appliance timer and set it accordingly. thus in effect giving you a night drop. thats how i cycled mine.

That isnt a drop, it is turning it off. It will also require a thermostat for the room heater. It can also work equally well but I dont think that was what we were after.
-----
Rich Goldzung
Reptile Basics Inc
www.reptilebasics.com

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Rich, I had posted this thread before I had even talked to you the first time. Before I even knew I had bought the unit from you (my GF had purchased it actually). In no way was I inferring that you were responsible for anything or were not handling the situation! I had origonaly contacted you just to get the number for Ranco, and you went out of your way to get the number for me. I then talked to my GF and found out we had ordered it through you. You are correct we never asked you which item would be better as we were trying to save a quick buck. O)

I had figured we had just got a *lemon* and posted just to confirm my belifs. Kingsnake has alot of valuable information, so I like to hear as many opinions on something as I can get. Thats all my post was. O)

I just got off work and I will give you an email right now about what we want to do. After reading all the replies here we might go with the Helix just for the added protection, but I have to talk to the GF about it. haha

Thanks again for the help Rich! And thanks everyone for the replies.
-----
Bearded Dragon Custom Cage Design

Custom Acrylic GTP Cage!

I would have just gotten the Helix DBS 1000. Not that the ranco's are bad, I have them and use them with NO problems, but I don't like to use them on Incubators because they are a ON/OFF thermostat, where the Helix is proportional. But back to your problem it sounds like you may have gotten a bad one. But is your probe in the incubator? I am sure it is, so the next thing is to re-set the temp setting and then see if that works, If it doesn't you probably need to get another one until you can figure out what is wrong with your. I always have 2-3 back-ups because I know if it can happen it will happen. At this time I have 2 Incubators with Helix DBS 1000's on them and 4 Spare Helix DBS 1000's and 2 Helix Basic systems that I just have sitting around just incase. Just the way I do things....I got to have a back-up. Thanks hope you solve your problem. see ya

sorry to hear about your problems.

like RC reptiles, I use Ranco's only, and have not had any problems with them yet.

I know people who have got faulty helix units too, it is not the norm in my opinion, but it happens occasionally with all manufacturers.

I trust my Rancos on my incubators, use what your comfortable with.

TomChambers