Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi all, i need to buy a thermostat...and i was looking at the ranco ones by the boaphile but they are 100 bucks...a little out of my range..im only hooking up about 100 watts of flexwatt and i was wondering if there was any other thermostat that would be almost as good but a bit cheaper...i was thinking of the Electronic BAH-1000 Thermostat from Big Apple herp but i dont know how good they are..i thought of buying two of these that way i would have a back up in case one failed..as in have them both hooked up at the same time...i also saw a the ALife 1000 and was wondering if that was any good also...thanks for the replies...this is an important part of my cage so i need to do the right thing..thanks...
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0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn
soon to be 0.4 ball pythons.

I have 2 of the Big Apple herp thermostats and they work great. I also have 2 Ranco that I got on Ebay for $50 each.

do you think the BAH serves the same purpose as the ranco?..like i would rather spend 60 on two instead of 100...thanks for the advice...
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0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn
soon to be 0.4 ball pythons.

The control method between the Ranco and the BAH-1000 is exactly the same - ON/OFF control.

The Ranco is housed in an enclosure that permits mounting in areas that receive some water spray. That costs more. The LCD readout costs more. The relay probably costs more than the triac used in the Big Apple unit. Also, the Ranco has an adjustable hysteresis (diff between the ON temp and the actual OFF temp). That costs more.

The BAH-1000 hysteresis is set at around 4 degrees DISCLAIMER - as measured on one of my setups, I don't work for them so I don't know what it is actually designed to be. That means for example, you set the unit for 84 deg, it turns OFF the heater when the sensor senses 84 deg, and turns the heater back ON when the sensor senses 80 deg.

So there you go.

thanks so much for your input...but one more thing, do yall think having two thermostats in a row..as in one linked to the other in case one of them burns out...will it help or will it not serve any purpose?..thanks for the advise...
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0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn
soon to be 0.4 ball pythons.

I run dual Ranco's, its for safety only.
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"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

Jeff charges a lot for the thermostats even the raw ones if he still sells them like that.

If you are confident in your wiring skills I would choose to buy a raw unit instead of the all-ready wired ones. I wire my own Ranco's and get them from MG Reptiles when he has them on sale.

The nice thing about the Ranco that most don't use and probably have a hard time aquiring is that you can wire in more than one temp probe. Could be a nice addition. I would check the kingsnake classifieds or MGReptiles.com they have the best prices unless you know a guy in the HVAC industry.
Good Luck
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"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer