JET-005 Thermostat Opinions

[Jacknife]

So my current line-up of Thermostats include Microclimate B1 and B1ME's, and all three kinds of Eco Tech Advanced Reptile Thermostats...
I've just gone and purchased two JET-005 Day/Night Dimming thermostats and am wondering what others experiences are with them?
How well do they hold temps? Do they blow fuses ect?

Through years of personal use I know and trust the ones I have, just decided I might try something different and more cost effective in a few new setups I'm putting together. I know plenty of people have and run them I've just never heard much about them....

 

[ronhalling]

Hey Badsville, i have the JET-001 and the only diff between it and the 005 is yours is the dimming and mine is just on off, if the 005 is as good as the 001 you will be very happy with it, not only does it have a variable overheat setting but also a variable undertemp with an audible alarm for both, the static display shows current time and temp but at the press of a button all the other settings can be viewed, the thermostat in the 1 i have is very acurate with a variation of +/- .2 deg c between the unit and 2 other digital thermometers placed in the same test area for a controlled test over 72 hours, it can be easily set for day and night temps as well as 2 lighting times during the day/night, i currently run a 100w CHE and a (not needed after all) 26w 10% UV bulb (soon to be replaced with LED strip lighting) as yet i have had no problem from iether the Thrmostat or the Timer in the 001 unit. I also run the JET-200 for my click clacks and simarly have had no issue with this. ...............................................Ron

 

[Shane73]

Hi Badsville, i've got a 005 and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another, I've been using it for about 3 months now and so far no blown bulbs or fuses, holds temps same as 001, and just dims right down between day and night.

 

[1131035]

Hi, I myself just purchased one, however the instructions are difficult to understand. I am having trouble getting the timer to turn off the lights at night, as I don't need my heat light on at night? does anyone know how to fix this?

 

[jaspy]

bump, I'm having the same issue as 1131035 above. I don't have a UV light so the light timer is not necessary I just cannot seem to get my heat bulb to turn off at night.

 

[CC_Viper]

I've just installed a JET-005 for a new lizard enclosure just to see how it works. I have the set temps (day and night) at 30'C and it's now its current temp is 30.3'C and I'm not sure what is meant to happen. It appears to have dimmed the heat lamp but does it ever turn off the globe?

 

[Riffherper]

Once you work out how to use them (can be very frustrating) they work well. I have had three jet models for some time now with no issues whatsoever.

 

[Senator358]

Socket I is for thermo and socket II is for light timer. If you're using the thermo for your light then the light will never turn off, just dim. Best thing to do if you want light and heat is to have a uvb light on the timer and a CHE or heat cord etc. on the thermo. That way the heat will always stay on to the set temp and the light will switch off for the night setting.

 

[Bart70]

I have 3 of these and 'was' a fan of them until recently.

All 3 now have 'black' screens - the backlighting slowly fades over a few months. There are many cases of this including several members on this site who have had the same occur. I recall somebody here had made a bulk purchase of 10 and am certain they had all their screens turn black also.

Recently I had a globe blow that was controlled by a Jet-005. Not a biggie...globes blow....but when I replaced the globe the thermostat was 'locked' on (ie - the globe stayed on full power all the time and did not dim when up to temp). It is apparent that the blowing globe has fried the dimming circuit in the controller (yes...there can be instantaneous inrush currents when a globe blows if the breaking filament 'shorts' as it breaks)

Too cheap and nasty for my liking........I have disconnected mine and gone back to a 60w reflector globe on a timer (a 60w globe gives me the correct enclosure temps in my setup).

I am in the process of removing the remaining two and going back to a simple 'globe on a timer' setup. An experienced local herper told me to go this way in the first case for simplicity....He was right!

 

[Vengeance]

I too have run into issues with the Jet-005, we had three of them set up to our snake enclosures. They worked great for the first few months, fantastic even, then we started having problems. First the backlight stopped working, fair enough, we just had to squint to see the temps. Then globes would blow that often it was starting to become expensive, especially at $20+ a globe for the IRs.

One was stuck on full power, pretty much the same problem as what Bart70 stated, while another had a melted section in the power box, despite still 'functioning' it smelled bad, which was what alerted us to the problem in the first place. No, we didn't keep it running once we became aware of it. The third one, I don't know if it still works or not, we unplugged it after the third blown globe. We've got a Jet-200 on-off with heat cord in that enclosure now and haven't experienced any problems.

I'd never get one again, but if it works for other people, maybe we just received thermostats from a bad batch. When it did work, it kept temperatures within fairly accurately, with minimal difference to what it was set for.

 

[CC_Viper]

I just had the same issue as BART70 and Vengeance... The heat globe blew today after 2 months and I replaced it not worried in the least. When I returned this afternoon to see the lizards the thermostat was reading about 10'C above the set point and the heat lamp was still on, not even dimmed... It was stuck on for some reason... The basking point on the log was reading 50+'C with my temperature gun.

I will never recommend a JET-005 to anyone !!!

 

[blackhead13]

I have had two of these and the back-light has dimmed to nearly black.
It wasn't a problem with the first one , I just got a refund, so I then bought another and have had the same thing happen. They are good with the functions but with the faults I have been looking for a different thermo.

 

[dwmgalloway]

I have 2 of the jet 005 dimming thermostats. One of them is connected to a heat cord and tile and controls the light for the enclosure, has been connected for just over a year and works extremely well. Never had a problem. The other controls another enclosure with a che and the lights as well. Been connected for 6 months and also havnt had a problem. I have not noticed the lcd display fade on iether of mine.

 

[CC_Viper]

UPDATE: I returned my JET-005 to the supplier on eBay and I was issued a full refund. I am not completely satisfied as I feel there is a fault with these units...

Why did the 'power pack' melt when the heat globe blew ? The 'power box' between the wall plug and the plugs used for the heat / timer lights seems to have had and electrical fault / failure which caused the top of the plastic box to melt from the inside... I was advised that I should be running a surge protector between the heat lamp plug and the thermostat input, but why ? I suppose I should also use a surge protected GPO as well ?

The seller told me that the refund would only be issued after their supplier completed a full investigation (approx. 10-14 days) but for some unknown reason I received a full refund in 24 hours of sending it via express post. Does this mean that they have accepted that the unit was faulty ? If there is an electrical issue with these units isn't there a potential for a FIRE ? I was also advised that the LCD backlights DO FADE but most users accept it as the unit has excellent functionality.

I agree these units have great functionality but if there is a possibility that the unit could malfunction shouldn't something be done. Like I said there is a potential of and electrical fire or in my case the potential to harm / kill your reptile...

If you refer to the comments above from Bart70, Vengeance and cc_viper (me) you will notice that all 3 of us experienced a blown heat lamp and once we replaced it, it was stuck on with temperatures exceeding beyond 50'C I'm not aware of any reptiles that require that sort of temperature. Perhaps these were all from one bad batch but I am sure other people have had the same experience. Please post further comments here.

- - - Updated - - -

I am currently running an ATC-300 on/off model in my snake enclosure and haven't had any issues since I setup the enclosure in November 2013. I am now waiting on another ATC-300 for my lizard setup which should be here next week. Hopefully it works just as well as my existing one... Unfortunately I can not source any more of these units as I'm not sure where to find them...

I would like to have a backup unit as well, does anyone have any suggestions ? Like I said previously I like the functionality of the JET-005, I'm just not sure if the JET-001 would be an option to consider. If the supplier told me that the JET-005 "dimmer" was faulty then I would buy the JET-001 without hesitation but I have no idea what the fault was...

 

[eliazebe]

UPDATE: I returned my JET-005 to the supplier on eBay and I was issued a full refund. I am not completely satisfied as I feel there is a fault with these units...

Why did the 'power pack' melt when the heat globe blew ? The 'power box' between the wall plug and the plugs used for the heat / timer lights seems to have had and electrical fault / failure which caused the top of the plastic box to melt from the inside... I was advised that I should be running a surge protector between the heat lamp plug and the thermostat input, but why ? I suppose I should also use a surge protected GPO as well ?

The seller told me that the refund would only be issued after their supplier completed a full investigation (approx. 10-14 days) but for some unknown reason I received a full refund in 24 hours of sending it via express post. Does this mean that they have accepted that the unit was faulty ? If there is an electrical issue with these units isn't there a potential for a FIRE ? I was also advised that the LCD backlights DO FADE but most users accept it as the unit has excellent functionality.

I agree these units have great functionality but if there is a possibility that the unit could malfunction shouldn't something be done. Like I said there is a potential of and electrical fire or in my case the potential to harm / kill your reptile...

If you refer to the comments above from Bart70, Vengeance and cc_viper (me) you will notice that all 3 of us experienced a blown heat lamp and once we replaced it, it was stuck on with temperatures exceeding beyond 50'C I'm not aware of any reptiles that require that sort of temperature. Perhaps these were all from one bad batch but I am sure other people have had the same experience. Please post further comments here.

- - - Updated - - -

I am currently running an ATC-300 on/off model in my snake enclosure and haven't had any issues since I setup the enclosure in November 2013. I am now waiting on another ATC-300 for my lizard setup which should be here next week. Hopefully it works just as well as my existing one... Unfortunately I can not source any more of these units as I'm not sure where to find them...

I would like to have a backup unit as well, does anyone have any suggestions ? Like I said previously I like the functionality of the JET-005, I'm just not sure if the JET-001 would be an option to consider. If the supplier told me that the JET-005 "dimmer" was faulty then I would buy the JET-001 without hesitation but I have no idea what the fault was...

Hi every one, I am brand new in this forum, I'm a reptile lover but I'm also an electronic technician and I can fix all the thermostats both issue, display and lock heating lamp on.
I ask sorry for my English could be often incorrect, it's not my native language.

 

[CC_Viper]

eliazebe, as much as I appreciate your reply I wouldn't be interested in a repair on a faulty unit. I'd prefer that sellers only sell products that meet Australian standards. These units could potentially kill someone if they start a fire. If I was you I'd stay far away from them !!!