Hello and welcome!Hey Tom,
Do you have a video link that could explain all the wiring/electrical? I don't know how thermostats work and I have never owned an oil filled heater before. I don't know how they go together. I would love to have the heater turn itself on and off when necessary.
This is my first time reaching out for help on this forum. I built my 8 year old Sulcata a 4x4 using the template you've provided through this forum. I can't thank you enough ?
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Rudy
The thermostats and heaters are very easy to use. As soon as you have them in your hands, it will be obvious.
- Plug your thermostat into the wall or extension cord.
- Put the thermostat's probe somewhere far from any heat source, and out of tortoise reach.
- Set the thermostat (it will have instructions in the package) to the temperature you want to maintain.
- Mount your mini radiant oil heater to the floor with screws or with some metal sash chain, so it can't move. This will maintain the correct distance from the wall and wood blocker.
- Most of them have an on/off switch. Turn it on. If your has a low/med/high switch start with low. If the low setting can maintain the temp, then stick with that.
- Turn the thermostat on the actual heater all the way up to the hottest setting and then back it off around 10-15%. This will act as a failsafe, should your reptile thermostat ever stick on. 6a. If you want to experiment, you can plug the heater directly into the wall and fiddle with the thermostat settings to find when the heater's built in thermostat shuts it off at around 90-95 degrees. Then mark that on the dial with a sharpie and leave it set there. This will give you two thermostats protecting your tortoise.
- Plug the heater into the little receptacle on the thermostat. Now the thermostat will send power to the heater any time the temperature at the probe dips below your set point. When the temperature rises above the set point, the thermostat will shut the heater off. Because this is a radiant oil filled heater, all that hot oil will continue giving off heat for a long time. When the temp drops again, the heater will come back on again.
- Tidy up all your wires with zip ties and a wall mounted shoe box, and tuck them all away out of tortoise reach.
- Close the lid and walk away. Use a digital thermometer that records highs and lows and watch the temperature for a few days. Adjust the reptile thermostat as needed to get the temperature where you want it.