probe thermostats and ceramics

[instar]

Question please. First time using ceramics, am still using old black box prob thermo (money tree not budding for spring yet ) It has reached desirable temp at warm end but im wondering how (besides holding my hand under the ceramic) to tell when the ceramic has gone "off" when i turn back the thermo dial to set it????

 

[instar]

"bump" anyone? .......

 

[bigguy]

Instar, buy a cheap electric thermometer so you can check the temp from outside cage at any time. The Herp shop had good ones cheap last month for $12ea. Also you could get them from Ultimate in SA. Its the only way other then putting your hand in and checking

 

[instar]

Bigguy, there seems to be a slight misunderstanding mate, lol. Im meant setting my ceramic to the desired temp, when i turn back the dial on my thermostat till the ceramic goes off, how do i know the ceramic has gone off, i.e. how far to turn back the thermostat dial untill it only just goes off at the right temp. Reading temp itself is no prob, lol, i have a great digital thermo/hygro and assorted other thermometors.

 

[bigguy]

Instar, probe themostats normally have a temp setting on them. Just set it to the temp you want and let it do the rest. If you can not read the dial try turning the dial and listen to the click. By turning the dial down you will hear the click as it turns off. By turning it up you will hear the click as it turns on. And by reading the thermometer you just balance the setting till you get the temp you require. I hope this helps this time, if not I haven't got a clue what your talking about :?

 

[instar]

Lol, Thats what i meant Bigguy, exactly! Sadly im too deaf to hear any click, ill have to get my wife to listen when i do it. cheers :lol: P.s. the temp on the probe is about 3 degrees out so i go by the temp on my thermo/hygro. cheers!

 

[bigguy]

Finally we hit the nail on the head

 

[instar]

Damn! I didnt hear it! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[nuthn2do]

am still using old black box prob thermo

Same as the THATO40 on special at the herp shop?

 

[instar]

yep, same kind, im finding its not really acurate, can be a degree or two out. Looking at a better model.

 

[nuthn2do]

Yeah they are a pain in the butt to set up.
Stick a double adapter in the outlet socket of the thermo, run both your heat source and a desk lamp off the adapter.
Light on = heat on

 

[Sdaji]

Yeah, I was going to say what nuthn2do said
Also, you could use a globe instead of the ceramic while getting the temperature right then stick the ceramic back when the setting was right.

 

[instar]

Actually i had a 120 watt globe before, never made it past 28% ! oh well :wink: Thought the 250 watt ceramic would be enough heat, seems ok but im ironing out the bugs.

 

[Guest]

I think part of the problem might be that you are using a 250w ceramic. I did most likely what you have done and had the mentality that the higher the watts, the easier it will stay at a good temp...no, that didnt work. So went down to 150w and now its sitting very well.

Cheers, Alan.

 

[Sdaji]

Sounds like the animal house at uni. We have climate controlled rooms that are hideously over engineered. Someone figured it would be great to stick in heaters and coolers that were way beyond what was required, so now instead of holding a constant temperature like they're supposed to the fluctuate by as much as +/- 7 degrees within a few minutes!

 

[instar]

Crikey!~ i dont know Alan, thats what I was thinking alright, cant work out why it should be a bad assumption though! Its a mystery why 100 watts less should work better thats for sure. :?

 

[Guest]

i think putting just a small amout of time (and electricity) into such a big power house makes it too hot for that short time making the temp vary a fair bit.

Just my observations and opinion.

Cheers, Alan.

P.s, i have the 250w here as a spare, if you find that you can get it to sit at a good temp then you can have this one.

 

[instar]

Thanks for the offer Al, ill keep it in mind, meanwhile ill see how it goes ....relativly steady so far! the humidity is more a problem for some reason, at the moment, its at 46% with the water directly under the ceramic, it should be higher, 50-55% dont know why its not?????

 

[herptrader]

You can never rely overly much on the markings on a thermostat. At best they will respond accurately to the temperature and the location of the probe. A thermometer, placed where you want to know the temperature is the only way to go. Better still, use a min/max thermeter and measure the range at the hot spot and cool end.

A thermeter gun is a really good way to check this out and they are a lot more affordable these days.

I don't think a little bit of temperature fluctuation is necessarily a bad thing as long as there is a good temperature gradient.

If you are trying to achive a stable temperature you may wish to consider using a dimmer, in addition to a thermostat, on your heat source (in this case a ceramic) and set the dimmer so it is on most of the time to achieve the desire temperature.

 

[instar]

Thanks Herptrader, Its had a stable gradient 32 hot end~ 24 cool end overnight, Seems to be ok with steady humidity now of 49c ~53% :wink: