Things I Do

[Len B]

Here's what I'm working on now, It's been so warm, (hit 80 today) can't really get a good setting on each individual heat source. It's a new house for Thomas. Still have a lot to do with adjusting the heat source's. After getting everything set right I will straighten the wires. To heat this house I'm using 2 brooder heaters from Tractor Supply that max out at 200 watts each a 18x24 Stanfield heat mat that maxes out around 90 watts if I remember correctly and a 150 watt CHE. Each one is running through a lamp dimmer to adjust their heat output. I've never did a setup like this before so just in case I have an oil filled electric radiator heater on standby if needed. I know that the mat and the 2 brooders take more time to heat up, that's the reason for the CHE to bring the temperature up more quickly in case of an emergency. I've already tested that part and it worked fine. The control for the CHE is on the outside of the house all others are inside.I'm putting vinyl siding on this house just for cosmetics.

 

[wellington]

Hard to tell by the pic but is the CHE above the geat mat? Do all your heat mats have a CHE or other heating above them?
I always thought that using a heat mat was fine as long as heat is above it too. Keeping the tort from laying on the mat all day waiting for its carapace to warm which basically never will.

 

[wellington]

The dimmers. They can be used on che, heat mats and basking bulbs, oil filled radiators right?
Not floursecnt or mvb?
I will be telling all those people that can't adjust/move their heat up to use the dimmer. Great ideal.
I used rheostat when my tort was a hatchling and for a few lizards. Not sure why I don't use them now. I thought they worked the same as a thermostat anyway but read humidity where a thermostat doesn't usually.

 

[wellington]

What rheostat do you use?

 

[Tom]

I thought they worked the same as a thermostat anyway but read humidity where a thermostat doesn't usually.

I'm reading some confusion here...
1. A thermostat turns power 100% on when the temperature drops below the set point, and 100% off when temperature rises above the set point. There is a more expensive type of thermostat called a "digital proportional thermostat" that can give more or less power depending on how far from the set point the temperature is. This specialized type maintains a more consistent and generally more accurate temperature, and this is what we typically use for home made incubators.
2. A rheostat manually adjusts the voltage going to an electrical device or light bulb. There is no automation. You simply dial the power up or down, and it remains set at that amount. The user must adjust it as needed to get the desired temperatures. This is a great way to dial in the basking temperature under an incandescent flood bulb if the light fixture cannot be moved up or down.
3. Neither of these devices have anything to do with humidity. Humidity would be read by a hygrometer. There are devices that read humidity, and can send power to a fogger or mister if humidity drops below the set point, but these are not related to thermostats or rheostats.

 

[wellington]

I'm reading some confusion here...
1. A thermostat turns power 100% on when the temperature drops below the set point, and 100% off when temperature rises above the set point. There is a more expensive type of thermostat called a "digital proportional thermostat" that can give more or less power depending on how far from the set point the temperature is. This specialized type maintains a more consistent and generally more accurate temperature, and this is what we typically use for home made incubators.
2. A rheostat manually adjusts the voltage going to an electrical device or light bulb. There is no automation. You simply dial the power up or down, and it remains set at that amount. The user must adjust it as needed to get the desired temperatures. This is a great way to dial in the basking temperature under an incandescent flood bulb if the light fixture cannot be moved up or down.
3. Neither of these devices have anything to do with humidity. Humidity would be read by a hygrometer. There are devices that read humidity, and can send power to a fogger or mister if humidity drops below the set point, but these are not related to thermostats or rheostats.

I haven't used a rheostat in a long time but I thought the one I did have, had two probes and one was for humidity?

 

[Len B]

Hard to tell by the pic but is the CHE above the geat mat? Do all your heat mats have a CHE or other heating above them?
I always thought that using a heat mat was fine as long as heat is above it too. Keeping the tort from laying on the mat all day waiting for its carapace to warm which basically never will.

No it's not directly above mat it's just off it towards the door. The CHE won't be on all the time it's not a main heat source. The 2 brooder heaters and the mat are. I space the heaters apart to help heat the whole house. I hang wireless temp sending units at different hight elevations to get true temperature readings. This is the brooder heater hanging on the wall opposite of the mat near the door opening.

 

[Len B]

The dimmers. They can be used on che, heat mats and basking bulbs, oil filled radiators right?
Not floursecnt or mvb?
I will be telling all those people that can't adjust/move their heat up to use the dimmer. Great ideal.
I used rheostat when my tort was a hatchling and for a few lizards. Not sure why I don't use them now. I thought they worked the same as a thermostat anyway but read humidity where a thermostat doesn't usually.

Not on oil filled radiator heaters.

 

[Len B]

What rheostat do you use?

I use lamp dimmers that are rated to handle up to 300 watts.

 

[Len B]

I use lamp dimmers that are rated to handle up to 300 watts.

 

[Tom]

I haven't used a rheostat in a long time but I thought the one I did have, had two probes and one was for humidity?

Rheostats don't have probes. They don't monitor anything. Rheostats only give us direct manual control over how much power goes to a given device. Its just a dial or a sliding switch, like the one Len has pictured here. You can turn it all the way up to full power, or all the way down to zero power, or anywhere in-between for a given application.

Here is another way to word it: A normal on/off switch, like a light switch in our houses for example, either gives full power when on, or zero power when off. A rheostat is a type of "switch" that allows you to control precisely how much power goes to the device. When you turn that dial, you have the ability to go anywhere from 0% of the available electrical power to 100% of the available power, or anywhere in-between.

Does that make sense?

 

[Yvonne G]

Rheostats don't have probes. They don't monitor anything. Rheostats only give us direct manual control over how much power goes to a given device. Its just a dial or a sliding switch, like the one Len has pictured here. You can turn it all the way up to full power, or all the way down to zero power, or anywhere in-between for a given application.

Here is another way to word it: A normal on/off switch, like a light switch in our houses for example, either gives full power when on, or zero power when off. A rheostat is a type of "switch" that allows you to control precisely how much power goes to the device. When you turn that dial, you have the ability to go anywhere from 0% of the available electrical power to 100% of the available power, or anywhere in-between.

Does that make sense?

Or in other words, a dimmer switch!

 

[Tom]

Or in other words, a dimmer switch!

Yep. Your way of describing it is much simpler than mine.

 

[Yvonne G]

I never looked at it that way, but now I understand better the "controller" (as it is called by the Stanfield people) for the Stanfield pig mat is a rheostat. I always start out on #5, but then I have to place my hand on the mat to feel how warm it is and dial it up or down accordingly. I would much rather it was a thermostat that I could tell it to heat up to 80F degrees, then trust it was going to do that.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I've been using the same light dimmer switches you use on my snakes/lizards UTH for many years. I love how they work. It's neat to see that same method being used with tortoises.

Perhaps, when Levi upgrades to a tortoise shed, I'll incorporate the under heat this same way. 👍

 

[Yvonne G]

So, Len. . . if I were to buy the dimmers would they replace the Stanfield controller? Then would I need to place the temperature sensor on the heat mat? Is this already explained above and I need to re-read it?

 

[Len B]

So, Len. . . if I were to buy the dimmers would they replace the Stanfield controller? Then would I need to place the temperature sensor on the heat mat? Is this already explained above and I need to re-read it?

There is no sensor on the dimmer. Think back to a few years ago when I sent you some plants I put a lamp dimmer and one of my small home made heated ceramic tiles in the box. So you could see how they work. Yes the dimmer does replace the Stanfield controller.

 

[Yvonne G]

I've used and am using the tile, but I don't remember the dimmer. I plug the tile into a Reptitemp digital thermostat. But you're saying the thermostat turns the heat all the way on, then off once it reaches the set temperature. While the dimmer turns the heat on variable. So how do you know what temp you're getting? Don't mean to be so obtuse, just trying to understand.

 

[wellington]

Rheostats don't have probes. They don't monitor anything. Rheostats only give us direct manual control over how much power goes to a given device. Its just a dial or a sliding switch, like the one Len has pictured here. You can turn it all the way up to full power, or all the way down to zero power, or anywhere in-between for a given application.

Here is another way to word it: A normal on/off switch, like a light switch in our houses for example, either gives full power when on, or zero power when off. A rheostat is a type of "switch" that allows you to control precisely how much power goes to the device. When you turn that dial, you have the ability to go anywhere from 0% of the available electrical power to 100% of the available power, or anywhere in-between.

Does that make sense?

Yes and No. No cuz what the heck was I using lol. I'm guessing it must have been a thermostat that also read humidity. I always thought it was a rheostat. But yes I do get it what a rheostat does now, specially with Yvonnes simple answer. 😁

 

[wellington]

I use lamp dimmers that are rated to handle up to 300 watts.

Okay you use the dimmer in place of the rheostat. Thanks.