Equipment advice: Thermometers, Thermostats, Timers

[rbcb]

My son and I are about ready to setup our first enclosure and are ready to purchase a few items. Would like to get some feedback on some products:

- thermometers: laser and digital probe. We have a sliding glass door enclosure. I am considering using a probe thermometer for the basking area and using a laser thermometer to confirm temperature in that area and check ambient temperatures. Any suggestions on particular products?

- Timers: I keep reading bad reviews on the digital timer power centers though they seem to make a lot of sense. Anyone using them or what are you using instead?

- thermostats: a recommendation for a reasonably priced product that is functional

We appreciate the advice!

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[gilliesexotics]

Hi, this is going to seem like i am a zilla representative, lol. Im not just like the product.

Thermometers - I personally use zilla brand. I have both there digital therm with probe and IR device. Both work great.

Timers - I also use the zilla power center BUT on where i have 2 or more lights plugged in. I use something like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Outlet-He...ht-Timer-Surge-Protector-15-AMP-/251204943385

Thermostats - I only recommend spider robotic products. They arent cheap BUT they work and are very dependable.

 

[cold blooded]

I have temp gun from TEMPGUN.COM It's a good value and very well made. This is good for when you are setting up your enclosure heat gradient and want to get things really dialed in. Just point and shoot to get instant readings.

I really like the ZOO MED digital thermometer with probe for a more permanent installation. Nice to have one on the basking spot and maybe another one on the cool end (especially on a large enclosure) Great for daily monitoring at a glance. If something seems off then take you tempgun to verify and make adjustments to correct it.

For Timers just the standard digital ones form the HW store are fine I think. Just check that they are rated for the amount of wattage that you plan on using. I prefer the ones with the battery backup so if there is a power outage they don't loose their timing. Just plug them into a power strip and you are set.

I have the herpstat 2 Thermostat on my enclosure and really like it. You have a lot of control with that unit. It can do lighting and heating so you won't need other timers if you don't want. One of the good things is that you can set it for a night time cool down. Some of the other thermostats only hold a constant temp. The bearded dragons need to get down to room temp at night so this comes in handy.

Thermostats are nice, but you can do without them. You really can't put a basking bulb on them. (they tend to flicker on and off when they start to reach temp setting). They are really only good for a Ceramic heater which you may not need anyways. Just put your basking bulb on a dimmer and use that to control the temp along with adjusting the distance from the basking spot to the bulb if possible. Should be ok unless your home has wild temperature swings. Just keep an eye on the temps (especially as the seasons change) since you may have to dial it up or back a bit. If your home gets really cold at night (below 65F) then you may want to install a ceramic heater on a thermostat set to 70 just to keep it from getting too cold, but if not don't mess with it.