Is it possible to love a thermostat?

[uscpsycho]

At the risk of sounding like I am shilling this product (I have no relationship with the seller) I want to share a thermostat that I am in love with.

I've only had a tortoise for one year (exactly one year and one day) but have had lots of other reptiles and always had trouble maintaining a basking spot with the perfect temperature. You know the difficulties. You can get it just right and as the home temperature changes the basking temp drifts. If you have a manual dimmer, the intensity is never the same when you unplug it and plug it back in. The affordable thermostats maintain the temperature by pulsing the basking light on and off which is not ideal for the animal. The struggle is real and you end up compromising with the best you can do.

I never got a dimming/proportional thermostat because they were typically very expensive so I avoided them. Shortly after I got my tortoise I discovered the Zoomed Environmental Control Center and excitedly bought one. It has a lot of cool features including a dimming thermostat for a great price. It turned out to be crap. The "dimming" thermostat is not very precise and frequently resorts to turning the bulb off to maintain the temperature. This totally defeats the purpose of a dimming thermostat. And the humidity probe is way off compared to all my other hygrometers. I hate this thing and don't recommend it at all.

Anyway, I got sick of it and was finally going to invest in an expensive dimming thermostat for the benefit of Comet, when I discovered this one. I got it during one of the Amazon holiday sales for $20. It was cheaper than most pulsing thermostats so at this price I fully expected to receive a hunk of junk that I would have to return. But it works PERFECTLY!!!! It continuously dims the heat bulb to maintain your temperature without ever turning the bulb off. I love it so much I bought another one for my uromastyx at full price which is just $27. It doesn't have a built in timer so you will need to put it on a timer so it only operates during the day, I put mine on a smart plug. When it comes back on in the morning it will remember the temperature you had it set at. Oddly, it has a clock on the LCD which serves no purpose at all. I asked the seller what the point was and they said so you know what time it is. LOL I don't think anyone is using this thing as a clock.

I've received so much great advice here and I wanted to return the favor by sharing this awesome find. I think a lot of you can benefit from it and will love it as much as I do.

 

[Tom]

At the risk of sounding like I am shilling this product (I have no relationship with the seller) I want to share a thermostat that I am in love with.

I've only had a tortoise for one year (exactly one year and one day) but have had lots of other reptiles and always had trouble maintaining a basking spot with the perfect temperature. You know the difficulties. You can get it just right and as the home temperature changes the basking temp drifts. If you have a manual dimmer, the intensity is never the same when you unplug it and plug it back in. The affordable thermostats maintain the temperature by turning the basking light on and off which is not ideal for the animal. The struggle is real and you end up compromising with the best you can do.

I never got a dimming/proportional thermostat because they were typically very expensive so I avoided them. Shortly after I got my tortoise I discovered the Zoomed Environmental Control Center and excitedly bought one. It has a lot of cool features including a dimming thermostat for a great price. It turned out to be crap. The "dimming" thermostat is not very precise and frequently resorts to turning the bulb off to maintain the temperature. This totally defeats the purpose of a dimming thermostat. And the humidity probe is way off compared to all my other hygrometers. I hate this thing and don't recommend it at all.

Anyway, I got sick of it and was finally going to invest in an expensive dimming thermostat for the benefit of Comet, when I discovered this one. I got it during one of the Amazon holiday sales for $20. It was cheaper than most pulsing (on/off) thermostats so at this price I fully expected to receive a hunk of junk that I would have to return. But it works PERFECTLY!!!! It continuously dims the heat bulb to maintain your temperature without ever turning the bulb off. I love it so much I bought another one for my uromastyx at full price which is just $27. It doesn't have a built in timer so you will need to put it on a timer so it only operates during the day, I put mine on a smart plug. When it comes back on in the morning it will remember the temperature you had it set at. Oddly, it has a clock on the LCD which serves no purpose at all. I asked the seller what the point was and they said so you know what time it is. LOL I don't think anyone is using this thing as a clock.

I've received so much great advice here and I wanted to return the favor by sharing this awesome find. I think a lot of you can benefit from it and will love it as much as I do.

Well this was a great story, BUT... you forgot to link the product or show any pictures. Its like a cliff hanger! I'm hanging on the edge of my seat! SPILL THOSE BEANS MAN!!!

 

[Kr1st1n]

Well this was a great story, BUT... you forgot to link the product or show any pictures. Its like a cliff hanger! I'm hanging on the edge of my seat! SPILL THOSE BEANS MAN!!!

Looks like OP hyperlinked it (it was hard to see though)... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CLHZBNQJ/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[Tom]

Looks like OP hyperlinked it (it was hard to see though)... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CLHZBNQJ/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Oh I see it now. My old eyes didn't see the green on the word "this". Thank you.

I just switched from my normal white background mode to the dark background mode and it is much more visible that way. The green almost blends in in the white mode.

 

[uscpsycho]

Well this was a great story, BUT... you forgot to link the product or show any pictures. Its like a cliff hanger! I'm hanging on the edge of my seat! SPILL THOSE BEANS MAN!!!

LINK <-- CLICK HERE

LOL Sorry it wasn't more clear in my original post! I can't fix it to make it more obvious because too much time has passed so I can't edit it anymore.

And here's a pic.

 

[Tom]

This thing looks great. Not only will it solve a lot of problems getting the basking temperature right in enclosures with lower ceilings, it can also be used for ambient heat too. I use digital proportional thermostats in my incubators and they work WAYYYYY better than the cheaper on/off types. If this one is reliable and will also last a while, it is way cheaper than those more expensive types. Thank you for the tip!

 

[uscpsycho]

This thing looks great. Not only will it solve a lot of problems getting the basking temperature right in enclosures with lower ceilings, it can also be used for ambient heat too. I use digital proportional thermostats in my incubators and they work WAYYYYY better than the cheaper on/off types. If this one is reliable and will also last a while, it is way cheaper than those more expensive types. Thank you for the tip!

For an incubator, since light coming on/off isn't an issue wouldn't you be OK with a pulsing thermostat as long as the correct temperature is maintained? I use a pulsing thermostat with my CHE's for ambient/night heat in my enclosures and they maintain perfect temperature without disturbing the animal. And I think the heating element will last longer by pulsing it on and off rather than continuously dimming it. But for basking spots a good dimming thermostat is the gold standard. I am so glad I found this!

 

[wellington]

Oh I see it now. My old eyes didn't see the green on the word "this". Thank you.

I just switched from my normal white background mode to the dark background mode and it is much more visible that way. The green almost blends in in the white mode.

I'm older than you and I seen it right away. Is an eye exam in order? Lol

 

[Tom]

For an incubator, since light coming on/off isn't an issue wouldn't you be OK with a pulsing thermostat as long as the correct temperature is maintained? I use a pulsing thermostat with my CHE's for ambient/night heat in my enclosures and they maintain perfect temperature without disturbing the animal. And I think the heating element will last longer by pulsing it on and off rather than continuously dimming it. But for basking spots a good dimming thermostat is the gold standard. I am so glad I found this!

I only know of two types of thermostats. The on/off type, and the digital proportional. I don't know what a pulsing thermostat is if it is not another name for a digital proportional. On/off type thermostats resulted in huge temperature swings in my home made retired freezer type incubator. Helix or Herpstat thermostats hold a perfect steady temperature. The on/off types work great for ambient enclosure heat and for heating my outdoor night boxes.

 

[uscpsycho]

I only know of two types of thermostats. The on/off type, and the digital proportional. I don't know what a pulsing thermostat is if it is not another name for a digital proportional. On/off type thermostats resulted in huge temperature swings in my home made retired freezer type incubator. Helix or Herpstat thermostats hold a perfect steady temperature. The on/off types work great for ambient enclosure heat and for heating my outdoor night boxes.

Pulsing is the on/off type. Some let you set a value for the temperature variance before it switches on or off. I have one that I've set the variance to one degree, so if the target temperature is 85 it will turn the heat on at 84 and turn it off at 86. That helps prevent huge temperature swings.

 

[hokankai]

Marking this down for future use....✍️ looks great!

 

[dd33]

I only know of two types of thermostats. The on/off type, and the digital proportional. I don't know what a pulsing thermostat is if it is not another name for a digital proportional. On/off type thermostats resulted in huge temperature swings in my home made retired freezer type incubator. Helix or Herpstat thermostats hold a perfect steady temperature. The on/off types work great for ambient enclosure heat and for heating my outdoor night boxes.

There are two different ways to do proportional temperature control. One is to reduce the voltage (dim) the heat source. The other is to pulse it on and off at full power at a dynamically adjusting rate. Heat sources that produce visible light do best on the dimming method. Some devices need to run on the pulsing method like the chicken brooder panels I use. Herpstats can do both types of proportional control.

These thermostats look great for the price. I assume they would be the dimming type.

 

[quatre5]

I have the control centers for both my tortoises and find they work quite well. the "dimming" slot is just on/off yes tho that i agree with is somewhat useless. as well the humidity slot is also on/off which makes it not so perfect for humidity over the course of the day to naturally fluctuate. But i do find the humidity sensors to work just fine; it just requires it to be placed in specific location. Too close to the misters and itll be 100% all day till it dries out and too close to a heat source and itll get dried out. I find they work well attached to the top of their huts to elevate and away from either the wet or direct heated areas. also if the probes go bad, ive had 2 do so trying to say the enclosure was 160 degrees, zoomed will send new ones free of charge if you email them. I personally do like them but there are simpler solutions. Also only buy them on amazon as they're $70-80 cheaper than stores.

I use a similar cheap probe as well and like them perfectly too. they work perfectly for heat panels. Id like to find one that is two plug, timed and memory capable so it can be unplugged during summer times when theyre outside all day.