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Rheostat Issue

P

Pooleh

Happy new snake owner!
Hey guys! So I got a rheostat from petmountain because I though it might be easier to use than the sliding plug in dimmer that I got from home depot. I received it today as well as everything else I ordered. I swapped out the old dimmer with it and even with it turned as low as it will go before it turns off it had the UTH too hot! Both the rheostat and the UTH are Zoo Med products so you would think they would be compatible. I even went as far as to call Zoo Med about it and all they had to say was that as long as it is dimming a regular light bulb then it is not defective. I tried it out thinking maybe it was stuck all the way up and it dimmer a light just fine. They even suggested making sure the bedding wasn't too think and there was enough ventilation under the tank. I would have looked into that except that I have a steady 85-86 with the cheaper dimmer from home depot.

Any suggestions out there? Unfortunately I think I have to pay shipping if I just want to return the item. Seeing as I have already paid shipping once I won't really be getting much back after paying shipping again. Maybe I should just try to sell it to someone that keeps something else that likes higher temps.
 
Before I unplugged it, it was at about 100. Not sure if that would have been the max as I didn't let it sit there long. (no the snake was not in the viv while doing this testing)
 
Pooleh said:
Hey guys! So I got a rheostat from petmountain because I though it might be easier to use than the sliding plug in dimmer that I got from home depot. I received it today as well as everything else I ordered. I swapped out the old dimmer with it and even with it turned as low as it will go before it turns off it had the UTH too hot! Both the rheostat and the UTH are Zoo Med products so you would think they would be compatible. I even went as far as to call Zoo Med about it and all they had to say was that as long as it is dimming a regular light bulb then it is not defective. I tried it out thinking maybe it was stuck all the way up and it dimmer a light just fine. They even suggested making sure the bedding wasn't too think and there was enough ventilation under the tank. I would have looked into that except that I have a steady 85-86 with the cheaper dimmer from home depot.

Any suggestions out there? Unfortunately I think I have to pay shipping if I just want to return the item. Seeing as I have already paid shipping once I won't really be getting much back after paying shipping again. Maybe I should just try to sell it to someone that keeps something else that likes higher temps.
Click to expand...


I'm actually using the dimmer switch from Home Depot & its working fine. I mean I had to mess with it a little to get the proper temp. If your having issues maybe its a defective one & have them send u a new one?
 
I mean the only reason why I'm asking (since I never owned that brand), is that I hear a lot of ppl swear by that?
 
Hey Pooleh,

Just curious what did the Zoo Med rheostat cost?

I can tell you that not all rheostats are made the same. When I worked as a electrician the boss got some import light dimmers and several customers complained that the lights would not go dim enough. I think the manufacture did not put enough resistive wire in the dimmer for them to work properly.

I would just go back to the dimmer that worked and save up and buy a T-stat on E-bay.

Love the Fatman
 
Fatman608 said:
Hey Pooleh,

Just curious what did the Zoo Med rheostat cost?

I can tell you that not all rheostats are made the same. When I worked as a electrician the boss got some import light dimmers and several customers complained that the lights would not go dim enough. I think the manufacture did not put enough resistive wire in the dimmer for them to work properly.

I would just go back to the dimmer that worked and save up and buy a T-stat on E-bay.

Love the Fatman
Click to expand...

Last time I checked the one w/ a single outlet was $20, the one that is a double where u can hook up 2 tanks to it was $40!

Thanks again Fatman for the dimmer idea, it works great!
 
I just got the double outlet one tonight, same brand... it was 30 bucks and i'm having the same problem, it's at the very lowest and still at 95 degrees...
 
Hey Pooleh,

I looked up the Zoo Med rheostat you bought from Pet Mountain.

Zoo Med rheostat is only rated at 150 watts.

All the Home Depot single light rheostat are rated 300 watts.

So it sounds like the Home Depot rheostat has twice the resistive capacity of the Zoo Med or at least it has twice the resistive wire size.

Love the Fatman
 
CORRECT, going to PetSmart tomorrow (to return it) and going to home depot (to buy the right one), They are right next to each other too... Coincidence? lol
 
Well i'm excited to get a cheaper one, i got charged twice for one thing that i didn't notice right away so i had to go back there tomorrow anyway to get some money back
 
Ok answering many questions. The Rheostat only cost $15 and change from pet mountain so not a huge loss. Mine is the 150 watt 2 outlet one. I noticed on the packaging that it only reduces the power output by 45%. I'm thinking that is our problem. I didn't think about it but the Home Depot dimmer will actually dim the light all the way out while the Zoo Med one will not. I think what I may do it look on petmountain.com again to see if it mentions that it only reduces by 45%. If not I may just ask for a refund since I guess I was technically misled.
 
POOLEH...

Pooleh said:
Hey guys! So I got a rheostat from petmountain because I though it might be easier to use than the sliding plug in dimmer that I got from home depot. I received it today as well as everything else I ordered. I swapped out the old dimmer with it and even with it turned as low as it will go before it turns off it had the UTH too hot! Both the rheostat and the UTH are Zoo Med products so you would think they would be compatible. I even went as far as to call Zoo Med about it and all they had to say was that as long as it is dimming a regular light bulb then it is not defective. I tried it out thinking maybe it was stuck all the way up and it dimmer a light just fine. They even suggested making sure the bedding wasn't too think and there was enough ventilation under the tank. I would have looked into that except that I have a steady 85-86 with the cheaper dimmer from home depot.

Any suggestions out there? Unfortunately I think I have to pay shipping if I just want to return the item. Seeing as I have already paid shipping once I won't really be getting much back after paying shipping again. Maybe I should just try to sell it to someone that keeps something else that likes higher temps.
Click to expand...

I just set up UTH and Rheostat (both ZooMed) last night and had the exact same experience. I started the Rheostat on low. 30 minutes later I check it and turned it to just between low and medium. Five minutes later I checked it and it was 89.9! So I lowered it to low and went to sleep. This morning the house temp was 55F and the inside tank temp was 55F and the UTH showed 80.5 on the thermometer.

Since I work from home, I'm keeping a close eye on it today.

I can't image what a HIGH setting might do!
 
if your house temp was any warmer, so would that heat pad... mine was as low as possible (right before it clicks off) and the temp was solid at 112.4F so i'm going to home depot in a bit
 
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