UTH Problems. Help please. Wayyy too hot!

M

Mr. JoBangles

Guest
Like the title states, I am having some UTH problems all of a sudden. I went to go clean my Leos tank today when I noticed the temp on my digital thermometer said it was 122 degrees! fortunately my lil buddies were on the cool side in their hide. (I guess I can see why). I quickly unplugged the UTH and left it unplugged for a good part of the day. I thought it may have been a problem with the therm. so I tested it by taking the probe out of the tank and it seemed to work just fine. About 3 hrs ago i plugged it back in, hoping it was just a fluke. The temp started at 77 and reached to 103 before I unplugged it again. I've only had this UTH for about 2 weeks now and I followed all the instructions to set it up. Has anyone encountered a similar problem or know what I should do? Thanks in advance.
 
sammer021486

sammer021486

New Member
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544
Location
Northern Ontario Canada
hook a rheostat or thermostat to the heat mat to control how hot it can get. I have seen my 4x5 exo-terra desert heat mat hit 115F unregulated. You can pay a lot more and get a proportional thermostat, a zoo med thermostat or similar product will do just fine. I have used 3 different thermometers on the same mat at the same time and reset the min and max on all 3 and all 3 thermometers read the same temp while using the zoo med repti 500 thermostat.
 
M

Mr. JoBangles

Guest
It's usually at 90-96 degrees though. Why all of a sudden so high? By the way, it is a 50 gallon size heat mat.
 
M

Mr. JoBangles

Guest
is there something wrong with the heat mat? should I take it back?
 
stellascura420

stellascura420

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Location
Alabama
If it's still under warranty/return period I would swap it out for a new one just to be safe and see if that solves the problem.
 
G

Gonser

Guest
Mr. JoBangles said:
Like the title states, I am having some UTH problems all of a sudden. I went to go clean my Leos tank today when I noticed the temp on my digital thermometer said it was 122 degrees! fortunately my lil buddies were on the cool side in their hide. (I guess I can see why). I quickly unplugged the UTH and left it unplugged for a good part of the day. I thought it may have been a problem with the therm. so I tested it by taking the probe out of the tank and it seemed to work just fine. About 3 hrs ago i plugged it back in, hoping it was just a fluke. The temp started at 77 and reached to 103 before I unplugged it again. I've only had this UTH for about 2 weeks now and I followed all the instructions to set it up. Has anyone encountered a similar problem or know what I should do? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

You did not say which thermostat you were using. If you were using a 500R this would not be surprising. Invest in a good proportional stat. I like the Herpstat. Money well spent.
I'm 99% sure the prob is your stat, not the UTH.
 
M

Mr. JoBangles

Guest
LizMarie said:
Has the temp in your area gone up!? Sometimes ambient temps are heat it up even more.
Click to expand...

Ambient temp seems to be staying sready at 80

Gonser said:
You did not say which thermostat you were using. If you were using a 500R this would not be surprising. Invest in a good proportional stat. I like the Herpstat. Money well spent.
I'm 99% sure the prob is your stat, not the UTH.
Click to expand...

I dont own a thermostat. Should I invest in one? If so what kind and how do i install it? Thanks in advance.
 
A

adventurer06

Guest
I agree with Gonser- you need a thermostat to control your temps accurately. I didn't know I needed one either until I discovered my temps were shooting over 100 degrees even with tile as my substrate. The heat mat I have (zoo med) says that it maintains temp at around 100 degrees, so I doubt your heat mat is faulty. I found a Repti-Temp 500R thermostat online through Ama*on for around $30 w/shipping because I couldn't find one in my local pet store. I am thinking about switching to Herpstat when I get the extra money though because I have to adjust my temps more often that I would like, and the Herpstat is a proportional thermostat that maintains a more constant temp rather then turning the heat mat on or off like the Repti Temp. But for now the one I have is still doing its job , and other then having to adjust it every so often, it keeps my temps where I want them. I have 2 tanks set up and my Repti Temp 500r lets me control 2 heat mats, which I like too because I can't afford 2 Herpstats right now. I guess it really just depends on how much you want to spend right now. Thermostats are really easy to use- just plug the heat mat into the thermostat and then plug the thermostat into your outlet, and adjust the temp dial where you want it. With my Repti Temp I started with the dial halfway up, just make sure you monitor your temps close for the first day or two to get them where you want them to be, and after that just adjust it as needed.
Mary
 
G

Gonser

Guest
The Repti-Temp 500R is WAY too variable for the serious leo lover. We want our temps as consistent as possible for the health of our beloveds. :)
Buying a good thermostat is one of the best investments you will make, as it takes the guess work out of your temperatures. Set it and forget it. Very nice to have that reliability and worth every penny.

I have 5 Herpstats and they are incredible, easy to use, super accurate, and you can plug in multiple UTH's into one. Mine keep me high/low range within 0.4 degrees. The more enclosed your hide is the more reliable and tight your range will be. Remember though that each enclosure needs to have the same hide setup etc. or you will still get variabilities in temps if you plug in multiple UTHs.

I have not used helix or johnson proportional stats but folks here say they are great as well. I think Spyder has a sale on herpstats at this time, not sure though.

Bottom line...buy a good thermostat and you will be very glad you did, you'll see.

Good luck.
 
N

newbietoreptiles

Guest
i wired in a dimmer switch to mine then dilaed to the temps i need
 
sammer021486

sammer021486

New Member
Messages
544
Location
Northern Ontario Canada
sammer021486 said:
hook a rheostat or thermostat to the heat mat to control how hot it can get. I have seen my 4x5 exo-terra desert heat mat hit 115F unregulated. You can pay a lot more and get a proportional thermostat, a zoo med thermostat or similar product will do just fine. I have used 3 different thermometers on the same mat at the same time and reset the min and max on all 3 and all 3 thermometers read the same temp while using the zoo med repti 500 thermostat.
Click to expand...

As I stated above if you are unable to afford a herpstat I find that the repti-temp is a good thermostate. Mine rarely has to be adjusted and my temps do not vary that much. It takes a bit of adjusting to get the dial set to the right temp, but my temps will drop to 88 and then the thermostat will kick in and its back up to 90F. The beauty that I have found using the exo-terra heat mats is that all of them pretty much have the same setting on the dial.
 
M

Mr. JoBangles

Guest
Thanks for all the good advice. How much $$ am I looking at to pay for a Herp-stat. It seems that might be the better choice. I will check my local pet stores tomorrow for a good thermostat.
 
L

LizMarie

New Member
Messages
2,002
Location
NYC
Mr. JoBangles said:
Thanks for all the good advice. How much $$ am I looking at to pay for a Herp-stat. It seems that might be the better choice. I will check my local pet stores tomorrow for a good thermostat.
Click to expand...

Herpstats, Helix, etc won't be in pet stores that I know of. They'll have to be ordered online and run about $100.

Links Helix, Herpstat , the cheapest I think I've seen are a brand called Ranco ( i think thats what it's called)
 
Gecko Euphoria

Gecko Euphoria

New Member
Messages
503
Location
Utah
mind if I ask what size tank you have a 50 gallon heat mats really big?







Mr. JoBangles said:
Like the title states, I am having some UTH problems all of a sudden. I went to go clean my Leos tank today when I noticed the temp on my digital thermometer said it was 122 degrees! fortunately my lil buddies were on the cool side in their hide. (I guess I can see why). I quickly unplugged the UTH and left it unplugged for a good part of the day. I thought it may have been a problem with the therm. so I tested it by taking the probe out of the tank and it seemed to work just fine. About 3 hrs ago i plugged it back in, hoping it was just a fluke. The temp started at 77 and reached to 103 before I unplugged it again. I've only had this UTH for about 2 weeks now and I followed all the instructions to set it up. Has anyone encountered a similar problem or know what I should do? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
 
M

Mr. JoBangles

Guest
It's a 75 gallon tank. and the heat mat is about half the size of the bottom of the tank.
 
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