Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Alright people Thanx for the input on the panels. Now, it has been brought to my attention that its necessary that one uses a thermostat w/ rhps and I can see the reasoning behind this. Now how do the cheaper themostats, 30 dollar range compare with the say helix brand thermos 100 dollar range. Also, can I operate two cages w/ one thermo which I think would require a dual sensor
I think you can see the obvious advantage to this. Although from a manufacturing stand point this would be a disadvantage. Well thats it for now I'll think of more later. Ireally appreciate the replies. Thanx, Clint

>>Alright people Thanx for the input on the panels. Now, it has been brought to my attention that its necessary that one uses a thermostat w/ rhps and I can see the reasoning behind this. Now how do the cheaper themostats, 30 dollar range compare with the say helix brand thermos 100 dollar range. Also, can I operate two cages w/ one thermo which I think would require a dual sensor
>>I think you can see the obvious advantage to this. Although from a manufacturing stand point this would be a disadvantage. Well thats it for now I'll think of more later. Ireally appreciate the replies. Thanx, Clint

This is news to me... I once met a professional breeder who had tens of thousands of dollars worth of snakes in his garage. RHPs in every cage and not a thermostat to be found! He just had everything on dimmers and would periodically check the temps with a heat gun and adjust the dimmers. The one caveat here is that all of his cages were fairly long and low, so there was quite a good heat gradient and the temps in his garage were relatively constant.

The main difference between a Helix and a $30 thermostat is how tightly the temperature is controlled. The last time I had eggs, I ran my incubator with a Helix and the temps didn't change by more than a half-degree in either direction. In a normal cage, I might get a bit more movement, say plus or minus 1 degree. My cheap $30 thermostat, on the other hand, will often let temps swing 2-3 degrees. Depending on how sensitive your species are, this may or may not be a problem.

You can operate two cages on one thermostat or two, depending on how tightly you want the temperature controlled. GCS is the only company I know of making thermostats with multiple probes. In most cases, you'd setup one cage with the probe but plug two (or more) identical heaters into the thermostat. In theory, if the cages are the same size and in the same location you should end up with identical temps. In practice, temperature may be off by a couple of degrees.

One controller can control any number of cages up to the wattage limit of the controller. The problem is this: say you have cage #1 and cage #2 and both are plugged into one controller. Say the probe is in Cage #1. That is what the controller sees as the temperature. If you turn off the heater (or it burns out) in cage #1, the controller sensor sees a low temp and the controller goes ON full. Cage #2 then gets full power to the heater while the controller sees the lower temp in cage #1. An overheating accident just waiting to happen.

A dimmer plus a cheap thermostat is a functional yet low-cost solution for each cage. The output of the thermostat goes thru the dimmer and to the heater. This way, you have overtemp protection via the thermostat and some fine-tuning with the dimmer. Costs less than a proportional unit for each cage, yet you are protected. Also, turning off the heat in one cage will not affect the other.

As mentioned, GCS does make a 4-channel controller (proportional) which will give tighter control. Or, buy 2 proportional controllers. Up to you. I would at the least go with dimmers and the cheaper T-stats. Super easy to wire. Just wire the dimmer in-line with the cord from the heater. Plug the altered cord into the T-stat output.

Dimmer and t-stat?? how is this wired. are you talking about a home depot thermo or is relavant herp equipment. I appreciate your time. The cages in question are roughly 16 cubic ft. and are for a pair varanus acanthurus (ackies), and a single young varanus panpotes (argus). These are not what you would call fragile species so a varience of a few degrees I feel is acceptable. All I'm really tring to do is keep the cool side of the cages at roughly 80 degrees or so day and night. With basking lites provided during the day.

I'm talking the $30-something analog thermostats sold for herp husbandry. Big Apple, LLL, Herpsupplies.com, Creative Pet Supply, etc etc all have them.

These analog thermostats have a receptacle to plug in a heating device. You get an extension cord, wire a rotary or other dimmer of your choice in-line with the HOT wire of the cord (the wire going to the narrow spade of the plug), plug that into the output receptacle of the thermostat, and plug your heaters into the extension cord receptacles. If you are unfamiliar with wiring, get an electrician to help. You should use a utility box to house the dimmer and wire connections for safety.