Traditional and Proportional
Thermostats Ball Pythons:
There are two types of
thermostats, proportional
and non-proportional. We have used many different types over the years
proportional and non-proportional. Some of the models we have used are Ranco
(non-proportional), Helix DBS 1000 (proportional), Big Apple Herp power
Proportional Max 300, etc...They all work well, I prefer Proportional on my
incubators. Do not overload the devices, make sure you use each device in which
the manufacturer intended.
Traditional On/Off (Non-Proportional): A typical thermostat
will monitor the
temperature using a thermocouple or probe attached by a wire. When the probe
tells the thermostat that the temperature has reached one degree above the
desired set temperature in which the thermostat will cut power to the heating
device turning it off. When the
temperature drops back down below the set temperature the thermostat will turn
power back on to the heating device. So basically if the temperature needs to
go up the power to the heating device is turned on. Once the desired
temperature is met or exceeded it is then turned back off. The heating device is either getting full
power or no power at all. This type of thermostat is best suited for heating
devices that work in a strictly on/off fashion.
Proportional Thermostats: Proportional
thermostat has a probe that tells
it when heat needs to be applied or turned off. It eases the power up or down
to reach the set temperature. If the thermostat has a light on it you will
actually see it getting stronger when power is applied and weaker as the power
is eased back. Unlike traditional thermostats a proportional thermostat works
like a dimmer in that it can adjust the amount of voltage being applied to the
heating device. But a dimmer is set manually and keeps the electrical current
constant. A proportional thermostat is better than dimmer because it can measure
the temperature and it knows exactly how much power needs to be applied to the
heating device to maintain the desired temperature.
Backup system: It is always good to have a backup system if your thermostat
fails and you have to turn off your heating elements. An example of this would
be is the use of a portable Ceramic tower heater. Some of the features
they come with are, convenient multi-function wide spread oscillation;
electronic, and programmable thermostat. These types of heaters
have a Self-regulating ceramic element; overheat protection for safety. A
device like this would heat the snake room to the desired temperature and then shuts off. We do
have these types of heaters as emergencies backups only.
Heat gun: Try to
obtain a heat gun if you do not already have one. This is a valuable tool to
gauge the surface temperature of your enclosure.
