I just bought several of the 500 Watt, direct-contact thermostats that LLL is selling for $12.99. I didn't realize they would be probe-free. The package says you can use it w/ a UTH, but also that it measures the air temp to keep the temps stable. How do I use it to keep my UTHs at a consistent temp? It's bulky, so I can't mount it underneath (it's supposed to be mounted on the glass near the heat source). Will they not work for what I want? I'm having trouble keeping my 3 snakes' UTHs at the temps I want, despite using a rheostat...
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1.1 Corn snakes Snake Plissken & Abby
0.1 Hog Island Boa Isaboa
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Thermostat advice, please
Replies (1)
Yeah, you're stuck. Without an external probe, it is not possible to control a UTH. But, there is a solution somewhat. Attach a dimmer to the UTH, and plug that assembly into the thermostat. Now, you can dim down the UTH, and the thermostat can be used to shut off the UTH when the air temp in the room hits a certain level. For example, for a kingsnake, you don't need the UTH ON if the room is 80 deg already on a Summer day.
Those probeless thermostats are only good for air-heat control- i.e. cages with bulbs or other heat emitters.
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Mark 
