| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 22/01/2011 : 10:57:57
Losing my temper swiftly with this heat mat, one minute it's 25c then it's 40c, poor snake doesn't know what to do with itself. The thermostat (Habi-stat mat-stat) dial can't go anywhere near the 20c mark or it overheats to hell, I have to have it around 26c but then eventually it will heat over 35c again and I'll have to drop it to around 20c on the thermostat, wait for it to get down to about 28c in the rub then put the heating back up and repeat the process.
Is it broken or am I doing something wrong? I can't find a stable temperature. |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Royalbob |
Posted - 28/01/2011 : 15:55:03
The problem with placing the stat probe in the rub is that a cold snake lying on a thermostat probe will cause the mat to continue heating up pass the recomended temp. You want the stat probe where the reading is going to be constant. |
| suzie q |
Posted - 28/01/2011 : 15:53:07
Thanks for the reply, ATM just got the 1 rub but will be setting up another over the weekend so will take the probe out and put it on the mat outside. |
| Royalbob |
Posted - 28/01/2011 : 15:51:47
Hi suzie q. I use really Useful boxes in a rack system. If i was setting up a single rub this is how i would do it. R.u.B's are great because they have ridges in the bottom where the stat probe fits in nice.
1. place the mat on wood or polystyrene block
2. Gaffa tape the thermostat probe directly to the heat strips on the mat.
3. place the rub directly on top of the stat probe and heat mat so that the mat covers 1/3 to max of 1/2 of rub.
4. The thermometer probe goes inside the rub at substrate level next to the hot hide.
5. Set the thermostat according to the thermometer reading NOT the readings on the thermostat.
6. easiest way is to turn the thermostat up full, wait till temp in rub is reached then turn down the stat just till it switches off. a little bit of tweaking and done.
hope that helps ya.
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| Kelfezond |
Posted - 28/01/2011 : 15:39:53
Firstly, relax, snakes are tough sons of b*****s and they won't break apart quick.
I stick my probe outside as im using 1 heat mat for 3 rubs, if I open and close 1 rub the temperature will change and it'll adversely effect the other 2 rubs if the probe is inside.
However with just 1 thermostat per rub I see no reason you couldn't put the probe inside- I find that it doesn't really matter as the probe is always so "off" that I end up relying on my thermometer and just having to achnowledge that 32 on the thermostat is actually 28.
Short answer: inside is fine for 1 rub |
| suzie q |
Posted - 28/01/2011 : 11:23:46
I'm having difficulty with temp inside my rub. Got a stat attatched to the mat but the stat probe is inside the rub but my question is where should I be putting it?? Outside or inside and the temp inside the rub is noway near what it should be. I want to sort out this problem quickly as I've got a spider royal who's not happy inside a viv and an albino coming next week which will also be going inside of another rub. Pretty new to this and already had some really good advice so far. Really want to get this right would hate for the snakes to get stressed because I'm messing up :) |
| Royalbob |
Posted - 26/01/2011 : 12:59:15
yeh it just helps with external temp fluctuations. On my rack i taped the probe to the mat the covered the probe with a small hollow block. might be a bit extreme but it works. |
| ballgirl |
Posted - 26/01/2011 : 12:07:51
quote:
Originally posted by Royalbob
I gaffa tape the thermostat probe to the mat across the heating strips. Then place the rub directly on top of the thermostat probe and mat. This way the thermostat probe is not going anywhere. Place the thermometer probe in the rub at substrate level beside the hot hide. Turn up stat to almost full keeping an eye on the temp reading from the digital thermometer. Once the correct temp is reached turn the dial on the stat down until it switches off. A bit of fine tuning and it should be sorted. The problem with putting the stat probe in the Rub is that the snake itself can lie on it causing the stat probe to be reading completely the wrong temp. Hope this helps.
That's essentially exactly what we did on Saturday, although the stat probe isn't under the rub, it's next to it, taped to the mat. We had the correct temps inside the rub for about 36-48 hours and then all went haywire again on Monday. Maybe we should put the probe under the rub so that ambient temp isn't interfering with it's readings?
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| Royalbob |
Posted - 25/01/2011 : 22:11:23
I gaffa tape the thermostat probe to the mat across the heating strips. Then place the rub directly on top of the thermostat probe and mat. This way the thermostat probe is not going anywhere. Place the thermometer probe in the rub at substrate level beside the hot hide. Turn up stat to almost full keeping an eye on the temp reading from the digital thermometer. Once the correct temp is reached turn the dial on the stat down until it switches off. A bit of fine tuning and it should be sorted. The problem with putting the stat probe in the Rub is that the snake itself can lie on it causing the stat probe to be reading completely the wrong temp. Hope this helps. |
| boze |
Posted - 25/01/2011 : 21:54:26
I always use a microclimate pulse stat with my heat mat, the microclimate ones either dont have a minimum load or if they do its negligible so theyre ideal. I get extremely stable temps using these in my Hognoses RUB. It is important, however that the stat probe and your digital thermometer probe are in the exact same place in the hottest part of the RUB/Viv. Then, as some have said, set the thermostat to what you want then leave it for about half an hour. From there only take readings from your digital thermometer and adjust until the thermometer reads what you want it too. But remember, the mats dont heat up instantly so give it a good 10-15mins at least between adjustments to see how the temps are. This is why its a cracking idea to set it up a few days before the snake goes in :-)
D |
| scubadude |
Posted - 25/01/2011 : 08:15:32
Yeh I spent a while twidling the dials on my stats to get the temp I needed, both snakes are in rubs with the stat probe and thermometer probe banded together inside the rub, and just use the thermometer to set the temp, by tweaking slightly, once I'd got it sorted which took about 40mins, they have both sat happily at the correct temp and one is PP stat and the other is a matstat (admittedley the mat stat does drift by about 3 degrees, but still within acceptable temp range)
 |
| louise32 |
Posted - 25/01/2011 : 07:43:59
It took me well over a week of fine tunning to get my stats to keep the mats to the temp I wanted. It did drive me mad but in the end I got there.
Fingers crossed you have it sorted now. |
| ballgirl |
Posted - 24/01/2011 : 23:17:33
I don't quite understand it, but it seems we had a problem again today. After about 36 hours of the stat turning on and off fine and the rub getting to a max of 33.9C then coming back down to 31.5 sometimes, hubby got home from work today to find the temp in the rub at 34.9 and climbing, with the stat still on. He said it just wasn't turning off. He moved the temp probe onto the mat and it was reading 37.9!
I have absolutely no idea why it had stopped going off?
If you read my first thread you'll know that we originally had the temp probe on the mat and set the stat to 33.5C and that was fine for week. But after advice on here I moved it inside so I knew the temp in there. I don't understand - can it just be that it took that long for the rub to heat up to the temp the mat was always getting to? Although that doesn't make sense because the mat was turning off every few mins yesterday where hubby said it wasn't earlier tonight)
I think what he's done now is set the stat to 35C with the temp probe on the mat, then moved the temp probe back inside. He says it's currently 32.7C in the rub so fingers crossed it stays steady now.... |
| reptiledanny |
Posted - 23/01/2011 : 15:07:29
if the stat is over heating then theres a problem with the stat
i have 3 mat stats, 2 habistat ones and 1 microclimate one, and none of them ever overheat or never give me any problems with the heating |
| ballgirl |
Posted - 22/01/2011 : 23:04:08
Right, I think we've just experienced this very problem. We're in the process of moving our fella into a rub instead of a faunarium and have the thermometer probe in the rub on top of the paper, with the stat probe directly on the mat. I left hubby about 5pm trying to get the temps right, but when I got home about an hour ago he was pulling his hair out, saying the stat either didn't get up to heat, or didn't turn off at all and the temp got too high.
I took a look at he had the stat probe so that it was touching the metal edge of the mat, the black part wasn't completely on the element. We've now moved it so that it's completely on the element and I think we have it sorted now.... Stat is cranked right up, almost to max and I'm going to continue to monitor for another hour or so, but the stat is now turning on and off and we have a temp of between 32-33C from the thermometer probe inside the rub.
I don't know if your probe is also not completely on the element (the whole of the black bit) but it's worth checking? |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 22/01/2011 : 23:00:19
I have a mat that covers half of a 2 foot viv and its only 20 watts (ditched it for a smaller 12 watt one), you would need a few of those connected to meet the minumum requirements of the stat, I'm almost sure it will be 40 watts or it wont work properly, good excuse to get a set up for 2 snakes (like you need one lol). |
| Royalbob |
Posted - 22/01/2011 : 22:41:33
quote:
Originally posted by infatuateddrummer
Can u use a dimming stat on a heat matt can u?? Excuse my ignorance
never ignorant to ask what you don't know 
Yes you definitely can and your dimming stat will cope with the wattage of multiple mats. Even the big 3ft mats are only around 45W |
| infatuateddrummer |
Posted - 22/01/2011 : 20:59:47
Ah cool nice one my dimming stat goes to 600watt will check matt!! Nice one! Also what temp should it be in hot end?? Thanks very much |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 22/01/2011 : 20:56:50
quote:
Originally posted by infatuateddrummer
Can u use a dimming stat on a heat matt can u?? Excuse my ignorance
Providing you have a mat within the stats wattage range, I think its between 40-600 watts off the top of my head but can't be bothered pulling out the viv to check mine. |
| infatuateddrummer |
Posted - 22/01/2011 : 20:46:55
Can u use a dimming stat on a heat matt can u?? Excuse my ignorance |
| GMac |
Posted - 22/01/2011 : 16:50:40
one of the things I found with the matstat is it either gets to hot or too cool when the probe is directly on the mat. What I have done is cover the mat with lino then attached the probe to the lino and since then have had no problems with the stat heating to the correct temps |
