Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a used ranco thermostat. Ive never used one before and Im having a little trouble figuring out how to set it. I have it for a yearling rainbow boa, a heating pad plugged into it and the thermostat plugged into the wall. Im having trouble maintianing the temps, it wont go over what i set it for but it doesnt keep it warm enough. I set it for 83 degrees and its stays around 72. any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Eryk

Eryk,
....Is that a Model 111000 Ranco? If so I do not think it is a proportional thermostat and so even if it working right it will have that heaing pad either full on or full off. Not ideal for a Rainbow Boa. Oftentime people think they are having a thermostat problem when in actuality they have the probe for the thermostat too far from the heater and so it takes a very long time for the heat from the heater to reach the thermostat probe. As a test try setting the thermostat right on top of the heater and use a thermometer to see if the thermostat is accurate. Ideal setup for a Rainbow Boa would be with most of the cage in the 70s and a small spot over the heater pad in the low 80s.
Jeff

>>I bought a used ranco thermostat. Ive never used one before and Im having a little trouble figuring out how to set it. I have it for a yearling rainbow boa, a heating pad plugged into it and the thermostat plugged into the wall. Im having trouble maintianing the temps, it wont go over what i set it for but it doesnt keep it warm enough. I set it for 83 degrees and its stays around 72. any help would be appreciated, thanks.
>>
>>Eryk

yes thats the model. what would you recommend to replace it thats more ideal for the brb? also I do have a thermometer in there to double check temps. and for the most part the cage is in the 70's, I just wanted to acheive a warm spot of 82 with the thermostat, and I cant figure out to set it. thanks for your advice, any further help is also appreciated. thanks again,

Eryk

Two ways to solution your problem...

1) Get a solid state proportional thermostat. IMO the only way to go, safest for the animal and most reliable. No mechanical contactors to get stuck, no full on to the heat element unless need be. I have both Helix DBS 1000 and Herpstat Pro units and both seem to work just fine. Advantages of the Herpstat Pro is four channels with built in night drop along with ery long probes (12'). They do have other units with fewer channels, not sure on the exact specs on those. Helix DBS1000 is s single thermostat and is great for 24/7 applications. Night drop can be achieved with a seperate night drop cord. The probe length is much shorter at 4' but can be ordered with longer probes for a nominal increase.

2) Use a dimmer inline with your mechanical. Still have the inherent on/off with possibility of failure stuck on but the dimmer allows you to adjust the amount of power reaching the heating unit. Effectively letting you turn down the wide open stuck on temp. Not the best solution but probably the least expensive.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Eryk,
I have 2 Ranco's (same model) as yours. I have not had problems with either of them....but I do like my Herpstats better. I had to insulate the temp cords on both Ranco's by winding up the wire as much as possible and using a meat packing styrofoam cover Like the little black styrofoam trays that hamburger meat is sold on) to the back of the cage with electrical tape for wire for the probes. Try placing the unit as close to the cage as possible. I do have to set the temp higher on the thermostat for the Rancos than the Herpstat. For example the temp on the unit is set for 94 degrees /- 1 degree to achieve the desired temp of 80 degrees where the probe is located inside the cage. I check the temp where the probe is located with a temp gun. Once I figured out how much deviation there was in the warm spot to the setting I could easily adjust the thermostat. I use Flexwatt on the those enclosures with no dimmer. Try not to use extension cords as they too reduce the amount of power needed to deliver the proper current. For future purchases of thermostats I will choose Herpstats.
Linda

thanks to everyone that replied, I got the info I needed and more. I kinda knew that the ranco was bottom line but its what I could afford now. In the future I will move to herpstats as my collection grows. but fo now I think I have it figured out, thanks again,

Eryk