| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| n/a |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 13:08:57
Hi everyone,
My digital thermometers finally arrived today, and make interesting reading:
The temperature in the cool end is roughly between 23-24 degress, which I believe is fine(?)
The temperature under the substrate in the warm end, though (heat mat duct taped under the faunarium) fluctuates between 24 degrees and 32 degrees, depending on whether the mat is on or off.
I'm using an on/off MatStat, and I'm surprised that the thermostat it waiting for temperatures to drop this low before putting the heat on again. Is this a fairly standard temperature fluctuation? I'm concerned that it may be causing havoc with Meryl's digestion, having such wildly shifting temperatures in her favourite hide.
Would it be better to invest in a pulse proportional thermostat, do you think? I know they're more expensive, but if it'll be better for her in the long run, I don't mind the investment. At the same time, though, I'll happily leave the on/off 'stat to do its thing, as long as I'm reassured that it's not doing her any harm.
Any advice appreciated; thanks. :) |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| n/a |
Posted - 15/06/2010 : 11:19:12
Cheers, everyone.
Nah, it's another Microclimate one, but it's doing the job alright, and that's all I'm bothered about!
The guy in the shop wasn't being deliberately awkward (I'd had the stat 5 weeks - took me four weeks to get the digital thermometer which proved it was faulty); he said that if the manufacturer tested it and found it was faulty, then they'd either refund me or replace it themselves.
The problem is that on the instructions enclosed in the box from Microclimate, it says "If you have any problems with this thermostat, please return it to the retailer", so - to be honest - I don't expect I'll see my money again, especially since I originally paid for it by debit card.
They could send me a replacement, I guess, but I've no use for one until I get my next snake (yup, I'm already planning for the next one!), though I won't be getting it until I've looked after Meryl without killing her for at least five more months. :)
*touch wood/ |
| mikerichards |
Posted - 14/06/2010 : 23:08:43
quote:
Originally posted by Mathew
Hi everyone,
Picked up a pulse proportional thermostat yesterday, and the benefits are immediately noticeable - the temperature is maintaining a constant 28 degress (+/- 0.3 degrees), and she's already looking a bit perkier.
Thanks for the advice, everyone - the proportional 'stat was only £16 more expensive than the on/off one, but worth every penny.
Only downside was that the guy in the reptile shop wouldn't give me a refund - said I'd have to send it back to the manufacturer for testing before he'd give me my money back. Git. ;)
Sounds like a bit of a tool to me, if you havent had it for 14 days or something like that you can return it in origianl packaging i think, something like that, you say you are not happy with the product. If you do get him to send it off for testing, then make sure you get proof of sending, and proof of the results from whoever tests it, i get the impression he would tell you it was ok just so he doesnt lose a couple of quid.
Either way, you are massively better off now, so can eithe fight it or leave it as a lesson. I hope you got habistat, they are the best and easiest to source, microclimate used to be good, but i have had problems, and i know a mate has had problems and switched to habistat!
Good luck with it. |
| reptiledanny |
Posted - 14/06/2010 : 18:16:06
i have 2 habistat mat stats and they work great, one is in my corns tank and renages form 28-30 degreed and the other is in my royal tank and ranges form mid 30-32. i am going to setup my brothers leo tank tomorow with a mat stat again so will see how this one is. |
| n/a |
Posted - 14/06/2010 : 12:23:09
Hi everyone,
Picked up a pulse proportional thermostat yesterday, and the benefits are immediately noticeable - the temperature is maintaining a constant 28 degress (+/- 0.3 degrees), and she's already looking a bit perkier.
Thanks for the advice, everyone - the proportional 'stat was only £16 more expensive than the on/off one, but worth every penny.
Only downside was that the guy in the reptile shop wouldn't give me a refund - said I'd have to send it back to the manufacturer for testing before he'd give me my money back. Git. ;) |
| Kellog |
Posted - 12/06/2010 : 03:24:00
quote:
Originally posted by eeji
dimmer stats usually have a minimum load for them to work properly (some are as high as 40w) so if you choose one of these read up on that model before buying it ;)
No idea what wattage the heatmat is as it came with the viv, but it is Kellog's big viv and covers one-third of his floor area....so a big size. But I would definitely recommend that anyone buying a heatmat and stat go by what the info says rather than just risk it!
xxx
|
| eeji |
Posted - 11/06/2010 : 20:40:31
dimmer stats usually have a minimum load for them to work properly (some are as high as 40w) so if you choose one of these read up on that model before buying it ;) |
| mikerichards |
Posted - 11/06/2010 : 17:07:12
Dimmer stats are good also, and work well with all types of heater, including heatmats, pulse stats are I think designed to work with ceramics, but work just as well with heatmats.
A pulse can't be used with a lightbulb tho. |
| n/a |
Posted - 11/06/2010 : 14:21:14
Cheers, Matty. :) |
| matty18714 |
Posted - 11/06/2010 : 11:55:27
There is no need to increase the temp after feeding. You can keep it at ~28-29*C all the time, the whole year. |
| n/a |
Posted - 11/06/2010 : 11:53:38
Thanks for the advice, everyone.
Re: optimum temperatures, though, am I right in thinking that the hot end should be a few degrees warmer than usual just after a feed? I have it in my mind that the 'optimum' digestion temperature is around 31-32 degrees, but I could be wrong.
Think a trip to Rhyll is in order this weekend... Time to work the puppy eyes on the the OH! |
| Kellog |
Posted - 11/06/2010 : 02:07:02
I had exactly the same issue Mathew. Was recommended the MicroStat on/Off, when I was setting up Silvesta's viv, and once it was set up it was letting the temps drop by 5oC before switching back on. I certainly wasnt expecting such a different temperature range to be allowed and rang 888 to complain.
They refunded me the money and I got the Habistat pulse stat which keeps the temps around 28oC, give or take 0.5oC either way. I did say that 888 should put on their info that this is what the on/off does as it was not what I expected but their response was that they only put on the manufacturer's info....surprise surprise! Now whether the stat was malfunctioning or whether it was working fine and was just allowing that much temperature difference I will never know.
Have actually got Kellog's heatmat connected to a Habistat dimmer stat (that came with it) and supposedly they arent supposed to work with heatmats....but, if anything, his viv temps are more constant than Silvesta's.
I know that the pulse stat was more expensive than the on/off stat but feel it was definitely worth it for my own peace of mind.
xxx
|
| elament |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 18:54:17
Yep I got Habistat on/off i am ashamed to say and had loads of trouble with them until I found two that are reasonable (within 1.5C) returned loads to the shop till I found this two that are ok enough till i can afford two PP's |
| eeji |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 18:23:28
all my stats are pulse stats, i used a habistat mat stat once and was well not impressed at how much of an @r$£ it was to set up.
32 is a bit too high for corns, you need to be aiming for 29 tops. They're from a temperate climate so can handle quite a big range of temperatures so the on/off stat should be ok unless you want the extra piece of mind that a pulse can give because of the accuracy. |
| n/a |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 16:24:31
The MatStat probe is set in the substrate over the heat mat, under the warm hide. The heat mat is outside the faunarium. The 'hot' digital thermometer is in exactly the same position as the MatStat probe. The cool thermometer is set at the same depth (about halfway into the aspen) on the cool side.
Maybe I'll try and get a refund, and put the money towards a proportional one instead - everyone seems to agree that they're the mutt's nuts! |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 16:23:51
quote:
Originally posted by Sta~ple
You can get pulse ones for about �35 if you do some good shopping around.
If it's changing that much it could well be faulty. If you still have the receipt for your stat maybe swap it for a pulse.
I have a pluse and I find the can still vary in temperatures when using RUB's.
I use my pulse with a RUB aswell.
Serpent supplies are selling habistat pulse stats for £35 which is really good as the sell for around £50 |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 16:00:38
You can get pulse ones for about £35 if you do some good shopping around.
If it's changing that much it could well be faulty. If you still have the receipt for your stat maybe swap it for a pulse.
I have a pluse and I find the can still vary in temperatures when using RUB's. |
| matty18714 |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 14:06:27
I would reccomend you get a pulse stat. You can spend all day tweaking the dial on a mat stat and still not be happy with it. You can set a pulse stat set up properly and accuratley in 10mins. |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 14:03:37
If it is fluctuating that much then i would have thought it was faulty, in which case you could return it and either get a new one or get a refund.
How do you have the probes possitioned? |
| n/a |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 14:01:27
Thanks, guys. Danny, if I could get my 'stat to fluctuate by only 3 degrees, then that'd be fine - I just can't understand why it's fluctuating by as much as eight!
Think a pulse proportional one might be on the cards in the near future, in this case. |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 10/06/2010 : 13:18:04
My on/off stats tend to fluctutate by around 3 degrees, going between 26-29.c my pulse stat can fluctuate by around 0.3 degrees throughtout the day. |
