I hooked up thermostat to UTH, but I use tile in enclosure and probe can't go under

[Dandelion18]

I have two tile slate squares in my enclosure and sort of followed a set up I found on a gecko website. They encouraged getting the thermostat so that the heating pad will be reliably warm and never too hot. So I got it plugged in and found that if I put the probe under the tile directly above UTH, where it's in the hottest spot, the tile of course won't lay flat over the probe so the tile doesn't get enough contact with the bottom of the tank and therefore never gets warmer than 75, even when I set thermometer to the hottest temp. So then, I decided to tape the probe underneath the tank, right over the heating pad, and still, I've ended up having to turn the thermostat all the way up, and the tile has only reached a temp of 80, and it's been plugged in all night and thermostat is already up at high as it will go. There has to be a solution! I'm stressing because I've had the hardest time setting up my enclosure, and I want to stop worrying about it and start enjoying it. Thanks for your help! (And I have the jumpstart thermostat connected to the zoo med heating mat).

 

[acpart]

Put the probe in the enclosure on top of the tile. You want to know what the temperature is exactly where the gecko will be, which is on top of the tile. You will get some sense of how hot it will get in about 6 hours, but I have found that it can take several days for the whole thing to stabilize.

Aliza

 

[Dandelion18]

I was thinking it would be in the way of my geckos hide, with the probe/cord and all. I have a temp gun which I used to check every time I walk by the enclosure which is often. I currently have it taped under the enclosure and it's saying with my temp gun that the hottest part of the tile is 87, yet the temp on the thermostat has been set to 103 for the past 12 hours. Seems like it's not getting any hotter at this point. I realize the geckos hot surface can't be hotter than 93, from what I read. So I'm keeping a close eye. So if it's safe to have the cord and probe taped down in her hide, to the tile, then I can move it.

 

[acpart]

Yes, it's safe to have it taped down in her hide.

Aliza

 

[Dandelion18]

Ok, so taping it inside the hide on the tile might bring up the temp some? I haven't moved it yet so it's still taped to the heating mat under the tank, and It's now been set to the highest temp the thermostat will go, for over 24 hrs, and my temp gun is still giving me a reading of 88 on the tile floor above the heating mat. I'm wondering how it can even go hotter if I move the probe since the thermostat is already set to the hottest temp which is only creating an 88 degree floor. I guess 88 is warm enough anyhow. Thanks for your help!

 

[acpart]

It won't make the temp go up, it will tell the thermostat when to switch off more accurately. Here are a few things you can check as well:
--is your thermostat always registering "on", or does it shut off sometimes? If it shuts off, then the thermostat thinks the place where the probe is has warmed up to the correct temperature
--if you bypass the thermostat and plug the heat mat directly into the outlet, does it get any hotter? Some of my heat mats for whatever reason don't get hot enough with the thermostat, but are a perfect temperature when plugged directly into the outlet.

Aliza

 

[Dandelion18]

Yes it does shut off at times. I'm going to tape it inside to see how that changes things. I do know that before I got the thermostat and my gecko, I was testing out the tile temp above the heat mat by using my temp gun and it was saying it was 109 or something, so it def got hotter without being plugged into the thermostat, but of course it was too hot. Which is why I bought the thermostat.

 

[acpart]

Let us know what you find out with the probe taped in its new location.

Aliza

 

[Dandelion18]

Ok the probe has been taped on the warm side tile since yesterday now, and the temp is registering at 90 on the thermostat, but when I use my temp gun, it says it's 85. So one of the two is a bit off. But it's within the right "warm" range either way, correct? Not sure if I should turn the thermostat up a few degrees or not?

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Ok the probe has been taped on the warm side tile since yesterday now, and the temp is registering at 90 on the thermostat, but when I use my temp gun, it says it's 85. So one of the two is a bit off. But it's within the right "warm" range either way, correct? Not sure if I should turn the thermostat up a few degrees or not?

Are you using the temp gun up close? Set the thermostat at 91 F.

Is the probe also underneath the warm dry hide? My recs are based upon that location.

The range should be 88-92 F. 85 F is too low.

 

[GeckoFanboy]

Does your hide have a little hole in it anywhere? Most commercial hides have a small hole drilled somewhere to run the thermostat wire into. The hole on my hide was too small, so I had to drill it out a bit to get the thermostat wire through it. You don't have to tape the wire to the tile at all. That can be a major PITA to accomplish. Just make sure when you look into his hide, you can see the tip of the thermostat wire laying on the floor, in the area centered over the UTR pad. The wires are pretty stiff, so even if the gecko bumps it, it's not going to move very far.

As far as UTR "pads". You have to be super careful applying them to your tank. I have read that you better make sure when you first adhere it, that it is positioned exactly where you want it? Why? Because if it lands wrong, and you peel it up to reposition it, you will "damage" the heating element wires inside of the pad. Once the pad is adhered, you cannot pull it back up and reapply it. I do believe there is a warning about this on the directions. If the pad is damaged, it won't heat correctly.

Lastly, there are some videos on YouTube comparing thermostats for UTR's. Some of them aren't very accurate. I bought a Jump Start Thermostat off of Amazon, and it works great. When I take a temp gun reading of the floor, it's usually within a 0-2° difference, which I'm not going to complain about. I am using 1/4 ceramic tiling too.

How cold is the room your tank is in?