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What's the difference between proportional and on/off thermostats?
- Thread starter tirevy
- Start date
Nanci
Alien Lover
Proportional is more accurate, and holds a steadier temperature. Does that matter to a cornsnake? Probably not. Will it matter to you? Maybe! The temp swing with an on/off thermostat drives me crazy, plus it takes a while to dial in. Like a day or two. With a proportional, you set it, it provides the temp you set. It gets it right immediately. If you want to make a minor adjustment, maybe just one degree, it's simple. You also have the option, at least with a Herpstat ND, of setting high and low alarms, which are nice- plus lots of other features a digital thermostat provides. If you can afford it, I'd get a proportional. If you can't, don't sweat it, but think about saving for one in the future.
Fatman608
I'm Hungry
Hey Tirevy,
"How a pulse proportional thermostat works.
The temperature is set on the dial. The cage and heater are cold so the heater is switched on to full power. Power is supplied to the heater in a cycle of pulses, the more pulses there are in a given cycle the more energy is supplied to the heater. At full power the whole of the cycle is taken up by pulses. As the temperature in the cage nears the set temperature the unit cuts the power to the heater down to fewer pulses per cycle. The amount of pulses per cycle is dependent on the set temperature.
At the set temperature the amount of pulses in the cycle will exactly match the amount of energy needed by the heater to maintain the heater at that value. The heater is neither on nor off but supplied with the appropriate amount of power it needs to do its job. Should the cage become warmer or cooler the sensor will detect the change and adjust the amount of power to correspond to the new situation."
Stolen from -- HabiStat Pulse Proportional Thermostat
Now a ON/OFF T-stat goes on and off. If the setpoint is 85 degrees with a differentionial of 10 degrees then when the probe gets to 80 degrees the heater comes ON and when the temp gets to 90 degrees the heater goes OFF. Most T-stats do not have that big of a differential like your home T-stat operates on a 2 degree differential. Hope this helps.
Love the Fatman
"How a pulse proportional thermostat works.
The temperature is set on the dial. The cage and heater are cold so the heater is switched on to full power. Power is supplied to the heater in a cycle of pulses, the more pulses there are in a given cycle the more energy is supplied to the heater. At full power the whole of the cycle is taken up by pulses. As the temperature in the cage nears the set temperature the unit cuts the power to the heater down to fewer pulses per cycle. The amount of pulses per cycle is dependent on the set temperature.
At the set temperature the amount of pulses in the cycle will exactly match the amount of energy needed by the heater to maintain the heater at that value. The heater is neither on nor off but supplied with the appropriate amount of power it needs to do its job. Should the cage become warmer or cooler the sensor will detect the change and adjust the amount of power to correspond to the new situation."
Stolen from -- HabiStat Pulse Proportional Thermostat
Now a ON/OFF T-stat goes on and off. If the setpoint is 85 degrees with a differentionial of 10 degrees then when the probe gets to 80 degrees the heater comes ON and when the temp gets to 90 degrees the heater goes OFF. Most T-stats do not have that big of a differential like your home T-stat operates on a 2 degree differential. Hope this helps.
Love the Fatman
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
If it helps, I've always used on/off stats and have never had a problem. Corns are very tolerant of temp fluctuations within their safe range.
However, as Nanci says, you might have a preference. I think that's probably all you need to worry about. Either a proportional or on/off stat will do a fine job for a Corn. It's really down to which one you feel more comfortable using, and/or which one you can best afford.
However, as Nanci says, you might have a preference. I think that's probably all you need to worry about. Either a proportional or on/off stat will do a fine job for a Corn. It's really down to which one you feel more comfortable using, and/or which one you can best afford.