thermostat confusion

[scotty]

sense i cant afford a nice helix or a johnson or a ranco thermostat i have to find a cheaper alternative. i have read a lot of bad reviews about the BAH-1000SC from big apple herp. i have decided on getting a Zoo Med 500R thermostat. i have read a couple bad reviews, but the majority of the reviews say that it works great. So i wanna know what you guys have heard about this thermostat or if you know of another thermostat that is around 30-40 bucks let me know. I plan on using this thermostat for a rack system so i need to know if it is reliable. I have a rack system with 4 shelves... Where do i put the probe? I have heard the to put the probe on the middle rack and tape it on top of the heat tape, but i dont have a middle rack

-thanks

 

[acpart]

I have 1 Zoomed 500R and it seems to work OK, but there are no temperature markings, just a dial, so you don't really know what you're setting it at. I don't generally have racks, but for my tanks I use the Alife or ESU (I think they're the same thing). They run about $30, they have a dial with temperature markings. I know there are people who run incubators with them and they should do well with a rack. I've been using some of mine for more than 5 years and have been quite satisfied. There is a model that lets you plug in 3 UTH's and a cheaper model where you can plug in one. THey are often available on ebay.

ALiza

 

[sammer021486]

I have been running a 500R since 2006 and have had no issues with it. I currently have 1 running my incubator and it is holding the temps wonderfully at 83-83.5F.

For your shelf since it is 4 high, the best bet would be to get a IR temp gun, and play with the probes placement until you find a place where it keeps all of the shelves around the same temp.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

I use a Rheostat witch is made by zoo-med and it does not work thew best so I well be upgrading to the zoo-med thermostat and I well let ypu know about it I have also herd very good things about jhonsins thermostats I hope everything works out for you.

 

[scotty]

thegeckoguy23- thank you and i hope everything works good for you as well! Yeah i have heard only good about the johnson thermostats but the only problem being they are expensive (but worth it). I cant seem to find a used one on ebay either.

sammer021486- yeah i hear that this is a pretty dependable thermostat but the only thing people dont like is that it doesnt show numbers on it. The numbers are nice and all but i can figure out the temps on my own. I just want something that is inexpensive and dependable. From the sounds of it this is a pretty good thermostat for its price. From what you say it sounds pretty dependable.

acpart- yea i know i love ebay although reptile basics had cheaper heat tape and i cant seem to find a used thermostat on there. i can only find people selling them brand new for the same price. I will keep looking on there though... ya never know if you'll run across one on there

 

[sammer021486]

sammer021486- yeah i hear that this is a pretty dependable thermostat but the only thing people dont like is that it doesnt show numbers on it. The numbers are nice and all but i can figure out the temps on my own. I just want something that is inexpensive and dependable. From the sounds of it this is a pretty good thermostat for its price. From what you say it sounds pretty dependable.

I have had no issues with the 500R other than I needed more than 2 outlets on it, that is why I upgraded to Ranco thermostats.

Even the numbered dials on most thermostats under $100 are inaccurate and you will have to adjust the thermostat to a position different than the markings on the dial.

There is no difference between a Ranco and a Johnson other than the Johnson has an anti-short cycle on it which is meant to protect cooling devices from burning out their compressor from going off & on very quickly in a short period of time.

I will be posting a thread soon on how to wire a Ranco, have the pictures ready, just need to write the thread.

 

[Tony C]

Going cheap on a thermostat is a recipe for disaster. In a 4 shelf rack you probably have several hundred dollars or more worth of animals, do you really want to entrust that investment to a bottom shelf $30 thermostat? At $120-150 a double Ranco/Johnson setup is cheap insurance.

 

[scotty]

Going cheap on a thermostat is a recipe for disaster. In a 4 shelf rack you probably have several hundred dollars or more worth of animals, do you really want to entrust that investment to a bottom shelf $30 thermostat? At $120-150 a double Ranco/Johnson setup is cheap insurance.

i was thinking about buying an unwired ranco etc 11000 and wiring it myself because it is like 50 bucks unwired and i know that ranco is a pretty good brand of thermostat. do you know how to wire one or have a website on hand that has instructions on it? also i think that my rack has like 7 shelves on it because my dad just said use all the wood up and i will slowly grow my reptile collection.