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Has anyone here had trouble with the ZooMed ReptiTemp 500R?
I have a small rack (5 shelves) to house my B.P.'s and Corn Snakes.
We wired 12" sections of 11" Flexwatt to each shelf... each to its own power cord... for belly heat. We placed the thermostat probes ON the flexwatt, taped with foil tape.
Two shelves are controlled by one ReptiTemp 500R, for the B.P.'s... and the other two have a seperate Reptitemp 500R for the Corn snakes. I did this so I could regulate the temps, since the corn and B.P.'s have different requirements.
Well, I have had a heck of a time regulating the temps! I have the B.P.'s on the top 2 shelves, in case you're wondering (since heat rises). I have 3 hides in each box (warm, middle, cool), a water dish, a humid hide... and I use aspen substrate. I keep track of temps with a indoor/outdoor thermometer with a probe. (Whew!)
I have large rubbermaid tubs, thank goodness... so, if the temps fluctuate too much, they CAN escape. I had the rack regulated before I moved my snakes into it... but, it seems the ZooMed products are going haywire!!!In fact, the one is so wacky, I've resorted to plugging the flexwatt into a dimmer.
Any suggestions? (I know, I know... buy a better thermostat!)Also, I've gotten conflicting info as to where to measure temps... should I measure on the surface of the aspen, or on the plastic itself?
Thanks, in advance for your help!
Mindy

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The way that thermostat works is that it keeps that power on 100% until the temp probe gets to the selected temperature and then it shuts off. So it should turn on and off on its own. If it's directly on the heating device, perhaps it gets hot real quick which turns off the thermostat, and then cools real quick which turns it back on...over and over.

I use the same thermostat and haven't had any problems with it, but I don't use it in a rack system.

You should be checking the temperature of the surface of your substrate...air temps aren't that important.

Let me know what you meant by "going haywire" and I might be able to help you out a little better.

Jeremy

Hey, thanks for responding...
By going "haywire", I mean... at one minute, the temps are "right on", and then 1/2 hour later they're in the 100's... and a half hour after that they are cold!!! Even adjusting the tiniest bit makes a HUGE difference. Sometimes, it's set on low, and the temps are blazing.
The thermostats do turn on and off... MOST of the time... but, sometimes the green light won't even turn ON. I don't understand how I could have TWO of these thermostats, and have BOTH of them go crazy on me at the same time. I have to be doing something wrong.
I placed the probes on the heat tape, because that is where I read you were supposed to put them. If I put them in the containers, how do I keep the snake from moving them around?
Man, I wish I could fix this, because I'm so afraid I'm going to burn one of my snakes!
I appreciate you trying to help! I need all the help I can get.

Mindy

Ok, they're going haywire because of the reason I said above....probably. Put the sensor IN the container, directly above the heat tape, and bury it under your aspen. If you have to, you can tape it in place.

This should put the sensor in a better spot allowing you to control a more reasonable temperature range. Turn the thermostat up so it is on, and then turn it down exactly to where it turns off. It should come back on within a few minutes.

Let me know how its working...I'll be online for a while.

Jeremy