Thermostat - which to choose?

[derrick0312]

I want to buy a pulse proportion thermostat for the work with a ceramic bulb - been looking around and found that both habistat and microclimate have such thing.

Wondering which one is better? Also, for those Day/night switch, anyone has any experiences? can they really 'sense' day and night? worth spending more for such feature?

[Anita Sayles]

I have a Day/night pulse proportion thermostat by habistat. I would say you don't have to spend the extra money for the sensor, I haven't got one. I just use a plug in timer for the night time temp drop.

[shellonia]

Habistat are very good and reliable.Best price Surrey Pet Supplies

[derrick0312]

Originally Posted by Anita Sayles

I have a Day/night pulse proportion thermostat by habistat. I would say you don't have to spend the extra money for the sensor, I haven't got one. I just use a plug in timer for the night time temp drop.

So you have it switched off at night to achieve the temperature drop? I was wondering in winter should I have two settings - e.g. in daylight I will have a background/cold end of 20ish, whereas at night I allow the background to drop to 17ish?

[16 shells]

I have both makes somehow, Habistat and Micro do the job so price might dictate that one . If your using on a ceramic just set it and leave it for night time in winter. My Micro runs a tube heater in a shed.

[derrick0312]

Originally Posted by 16 shells

I have both makes somehow, Habistat and Micro do the job so price might dictate that one . If your using on a ceramic just set it and leave it for night time in winter. My Micro runs a tube heater in a shed.

Do people only use the ceramic at night? or leave it all day long in Winter? really depends the ambient temperature yea?

[derrick0312]

So Paul - is the tube heater similar purpose to the ceramic heater? if so, why do you use a tube?

[16 shells]

Originally Posted by derrick0312

Do people only use the ceramic at night? or leave it all day long in Winter? really depends the ambient temperature yea?

Mainly night time coming into winter period and into spring, and any cold weather inbetweenies. Heat mat's another option if placed in area's/hides so the tort's have no contact. Set at 21c ish comes on when heat bulb temps drop.

[16 shells]

Originally Posted by derrick0312

So Paul - is the tube heater similar purpose to the ceramic heater? if so, why do you use a tube?

Usualy tube heater's are used in outdoor shed's/hut's/ greenhouses, a small one could be used in a design built table if the heat did'nt escape altogether into a cool room, no benifit.
Non hibernating species and not hibernating tort's, keeping them active through the winter, if in a table in a known cool room, in winter, i would realy consider making a high top to cover the table and to clear the lamp's, poss perspex this would be vented, almost viv like. Good temp's kept and pos less electric, pos smaller heat bulb, easily removed when need to.

[_simon_]

I recently returned a tube heater, found it no good in an open enclosure in the house. Replaced it with a ceramic on a habistat day / night stat with the day / night addon.

The way the day / night stat works is that you set the day temperature with the dial on the front and then set the drop using the peg on the bottom, but you have little choice as to what you set the drop to. The minimum is a 2.8C drop and the maximum a 13C drop, there's no indicator to say what you're setting it to so trial and error is needed here. How it works is that the thermostat has 2 power supplies. You'd have the normal one plugged into a timer, when the timer turns it off, the additional power kicks in and the thermostat uses the night set temperature.

Instead of using a timer you can buy the day / night addon with a light sensor on it. So when it's light you get your day temp and when it's dark it switches to night temp.

You can use the thermostat without a drop, just don't attach the additional power or buy the addon.