ceramic heat emitter

[Robertchrisroph]

@Tom i keep reading you saying to put the heat emitter on a thermastat, i just put mine high in the air to be in the 80,s under it. should i buy a thermastat for it? thanks again everyone

 

[ZEROPILOT]

A thermostat would regulate the temps at the spot beneath the light. They are very helpful at heat regulation. I have one suspended in a very large open air area outside in a doghouse and I do not use one. Most applications would require one.

 

[motero]

That depends where it is at. If out side or underground the daily and seasonal fluctuations in ambient temperatures cause the temperature under the CHE to vary. If inside where the house temp is constant than you might not need one.

 

[diamondbp]

A few weeks ago I built a new closed enclosure and have my two mercury bulbs on a timer and my CHEs on a thermostat. It's been fantastic! Total peace of mine that the temps will always stay ideal.

 

[Tom]

@Tom i keep reading you saying to put the heat emitter on a thermastat, i just put mine high in the air to be in the 80,s under it. should i buy a thermastat for it? thanks again everyone

They hit on this already. With seasonal temperature variations, your temp under the CHE can fluctuate quite a bit. If its 80 now, what will it be in summer. If you have a really cold night or if your house heater dies while you sleep, how cold will your temps dip in the tortoise enclosure? In my experience, its better to have the CHE closer and capable of making it warmer, but using a thermostat to control the temperatures under it.

Drop that CHE fixture down a few inches, set it at 80 on a thermostat, and forget about it. Your ambient temp will always be at least 80. If you have a warm spell, the thermostat will keep the heat off. If your house heater dies unexpectedly, the thermostat will keep it on and possibly prevent a catastrophe.

 

[motero]

The zoo med repti temp 500R, Is not a good choice poor reliability in my experience. There are other alternatives very cheap http://www.ebay.com/itm/110V-LED-Di...Sensor-Thermostat-Control-relay-/380665672071 Middle of the road http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00368D6JA/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20 Top of the line more for incubators. http://www.lllreptile.com/products/3887-helix-dbs1000-proportional-thermostat

 

[Robertchrisroph]

thank you, so im going towards the johnson thermastst just to make me feel ive done right, so now were would i put the temp prob, lol sorry i know no question is stupid.

 

[Tom]

thank you, so im going towards the johnson thermastst just to make me feel ive done right, so now were would i put the temp prob, lol sorry i know no question is stupid.

Well this is definitely not a stupid question.

And there is not an easy answer either. If you put it right under the basking bulb, the cool side will always be too cool, except at night when the basking bulb is off. Likewise, don't put it right under its own heating element either, or just that one spot will be warm. Generally, I like to put it somewhere out of the way, a few inches from the substrate, and not under any heat bulbs. You will need to pick a spot and then check all your temps for a few days. You might need to move it around a bit until you find the right spot for it. Just remember that you want the whole enclosure no lower than 80 day or night. If one spot near the CHE stays 86 at night while the far corner is 79, that is just fine., but if its 90 under the CHE and 72 in the far corner, you will need some adjustment. Using a closed chamber evens all this out and makes it much easier.

 

[Amanda81]

I had the same issues with thermostat and CHE. I use the digital thermostat, hydro farm seed mat thermostat, their more or less like the one you are thinking of using but usually around $30 on Amazon. I had to adjust my set up numerous times before I got it right. I finally ended up putting my CHE and basking light on one side, my thermostat sensor on my cool side, set it to 82 (my thermostat has a 2 degree drop before it kicks on) so this set up ended up giving me a cool side of 80-84, my warm side is 92-95, and the CHE hardly ever runs during the day cause the basking light keeps temps while it's on. It was a little frustrating adjusting the stuff the couple days I had to but now, my set up is hands free. I put my lights on timers, I set my lights up to help train my guys to go to their hides, my UVB light will go off 30 minutes before their basking light and they come on off set as well, after a couple weeks I noticed they do go to their "sleeping spots" after the UVB light shits off. Besides spot cleaning, water and food my set ups are hands free and if you work long hours like I do, it's a huge help.

 

[melissalissatodd]

Well this is definitely not a stupid question.

And there is not an easy answer either. If you put it right under the basking bulb, the cool side will always be too cool, except at night when the basking bulb is off. Likewise, don't put it right under its own heating element either, or just that one spot will be warm. Generally, I like to put it somewhere out of the way, a few inches from the substrate, and not under any heat bulbs. You will need to pick a spot and then check all your temps for a few days. You might need to move it around a bit until you find the right spot for it. Just remember that you want the whole enclosure no lower than 80 day or night. If one spot near the CHE stays 86 at night while the far corner is 79, that is just fine., but if its 90 under the CHE and 72 in the far corner, you will need some adjustment. Using a closed chamber evens all this out and makes it much easier.

I’m having trouble with implementing this. Not sure if I’m having technical issues but my thermostat shows that power should be off to the CHE, yet the CHE continues to heat. It is getting way to warm in the enclosure. Is this the thermostat or the CHE?