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The importance of using a thermostat or rheostat with your under tank heater (UTH).

Jaybonez said:
Hey Greg!! All is going well, i ended up getting a thermostat and running it while my snake was chilling on the cool side. I set the temp for the heat mat to 87*. Thanks again for all your help durning this rocky start!
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Glad everything is working out!
 
Nanci said:
I know some people, even people I HIGHLY respect (*cough Don) say it's not necessary, but I am REALLY not comfortable, AT ALL, with a temp of 124F...
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I am not a believer in Thermostats for UT heaters either. No one has taken into account the failure rate of those thermostats. What happens if they fail open (on). They are cheap and shouldn't be depended on. I have friends that have had a lot more expensive fail on (even though they are supposed to fail off) and roast parts of their collections (racks). I have two sets of thermostats on every set of racks one to maintain temp. and one to set a upper limit.
When I first got back into this hobby I had shelves of 10 gal critter cages with UT heaters with no thermostats. I only had corns in there but never had a problem with burning. I sure wouldn't try that with other snake species as I have heard of balls burning themselves.
I bring this up not to start an argument but for people to look at the other side of this issue.
Here is a pic of part of those early racks.
John
 

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That was my question as well. I am a firm believer that a healthy corn won't burn itself if it can get off of the heat, but the enclosure overheating is the danger.
 
Nanci said:
If the thermostat fails, on, how is that any different than the UTH just being on?
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That's my point, it is no different but then why bother putting your faith (and money) in something that is not necessary for corns.
Just my 2 cents guys, didn't want to cause trouble.
John
 
No trouble, such discussions need to happen. I run thermostats for a few reasons.
-Entire floor space isn't utilized
-hot temps shorten life of tubs by making plastic brittle
-most racks and cages aren't as ventilated as those I run and could turn into pressure cooker
-increased risk of failure/fire
those come right to mind.
 
Chip said:
That was my question as well. I am a firm believer that a healthy corn won't burn itself if it can get off of the heat, but the enclosure overheating is the danger.
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I've lost three snakes (in other people's collections) in two separate thermostat failures- I don't see how it would be possible to run a heated rack without a thermostat. I wish someone would invent a heating element that only went to 85F.

I also know people who have had massive losses due to whole-room (space heater) malfunctions...

Also, there is the question of energy efficiency. I pride myself on being able to lower my KWH each month, compared to the previous year (despite an increasing number of racks/electronics). It seems cheaper to have a UTH on a thermostat, to be used only when necessary, rather than always on- snake can avoid if not needed.
 
Chip said:
No trouble, such discussions need to happen. I run thermostats for a few reasons.
-Entire floor space isn't utilized
-hot temps shorten life of tubs by making plastic brittle
-most racks and cages aren't as ventilated as those I run and could turn into pressure cooker
-increased risk of failure/fire
those come right to mind.
Click to expand...

I still run those cheap themostats in my incubator closet and see one fail about every 6 months. The heat source I have them running is not enough to seriously over heat the closet but if both went out at one time, I guess it could.
Thanks Chip and Nanci, I would sure like to do what Don does and just heat and cool the entire room but that leads to other problems.
I guess frequent monitoring anything you use to heat and cool any reptile enclosures is the key!!!!
John
 
I'm much happier now that I have remote temp monitoring. And I NEVER leave heat on if I'm gone for more than overnight. I can't shut down a rack remotely, but I can get home in less than 30 minutes if I receive an alert, or send a friend over to unplug.
 
do all of you keep the probe on the glass? it made more sense to me to keep the probe in the hide were the snake stays, i use paper towel and there isnt much difference in temps between the glass and above the paper towel.
 
If you're using a thermostat, the probe needs to be secured to the heat source. If it is not, it will be pushed off the heat source, and receive an artificially low temperature, and respond by increasing the UTH output, so the UTH will get MUCH hotter than intended.
 
Good conversation everybody!!

As I stated earlier with the UTH unregulated I could feel the temps in the viv rising when I was taking the readings. I don't use screen tops thus my vivs aren't as ventilated and an unregulated uth could cause the whole viv to overheat. I use large water bowls, if the thermostat fails the snake could have a place to go if needed to cool off until it is noticed.
 
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