# Ecotech Reptile Thermostat by Pet Pacific



## Reptiles101 (Oct 28, 2013)

So I rang up my local pet store, and they said that these Thermostats are better than the URS ones, what do u guys think are they better, or not?


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## Porkbones (Oct 28, 2013)

Mate ur probably gonna get all sorts of answers from yes, no , don't get them they are rubbish, yes get them they r good, spend more$$ and get a reliable 1 …… u get my drift.i have 2 echo tech thermostats.and so far never had a problem with them. But I have seen others talk about problems with thr ecotech thermostats.i did have a urs 1 1st of all, but the 1 I had was rubbish so i gt my money back and brought the ecotech.


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## Amazing Amazon (Oct 28, 2013)

We always recommend the Microclimate,. By far a better thermostat!

Search results for: 'microclimate' - Aquarium and reptile online shop in Melbourne. Specialise in Baby Turtles, Lizards, Frogs and Pythons also for sale!


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## Reptiles101 (Oct 28, 2013)

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Porkbones said:


> But I have seen others talk about problems with thr ecotech thermostats.i did have a urs 1 1st of all, but the 1 I had was rubbish so i gt my money back and brought the ecotech.



How do u find they work? What reptiles do u keep?


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## Porkbones (Oct 28, 2013)

I have a bredli and spotted and soon to be albino Darwin . Also keep 3 tarantula and use heat mats/globes to heat them all controlled with the thermostats. I've had no probs with the Eco tech but others have.i had a problem with the urs, but I know sum1 who uses it and they have had no trouble with theirs. B4 using them for my pets I set them up to the temp I wanted, put a couple of thermometers under the globe/on the mate and both were reading within .2 of what my thermostat was set to / reading at


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## bigjoediver (Oct 29, 2013)

Problems most people have with electronic thermostats can usually be traced back to vague instructions supplied with the units. Day/night units seem to be the worst as the changeover tends to trigger the over/under temp alarm to activate, often with no instructions given on how to disable this function. When you get used to operating these units they work fine. Only problem with them unlike say a microclimate one is that they are not easy to fix if they break.


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## DisturbedDave (Oct 29, 2013)

I use the EcoTech Day/Night Dimming stat on my EWD enclosure. Regularly check temps, thermostat is never reading more than .3c out at any time.
Agreed with bigjoediver, instructions are by far the worst part about them, but I can now almost ENTIRELY set up a thermostat from scratch without instructions. Once you know how to use it, they are simple. 6 months and no issues so far.


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## Reptiles101 (Oct 29, 2013)

Amazing Amazon said:


> We always recommend the Microclimate,. By far a better thermostat!



Which Microclimate one would be the one to use?


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## zulu (Oct 29, 2013)

Reptiles101 said:


> So I rang up my local pet store, and they said that these Thermostats are better than the URS ones, what do u guys think are they better, or not?



tell the pet store that they are dreaming


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## Reptiles101 (Oct 29, 2013)

So I should grab a Mircoclimate B1 thermostat instead?


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## ronhalling (Oct 29, 2013)

bigjoediver said:


> Problems most people have with electronic thermostats can usually be traced back to vague instructions supplied with the units. Day/night units seem to be the worst as the changeover tends to trigger the over/under temp alarm to activate, often with no instructions given on how to disable this function. When you get used to operating these units they work fine. Only problem with them unlike say a microclimate one is that they are not easy to fix if they break.



I don't use either so can't help, but using bigjoedriver's statement about instruction being vague i wondered if it would be possable for those that are proficient in setting up each different type of thermostat to do a step by step instruction sheet in plain english and then collated into 1 post and made a sticky so that all the non tech types out there who buy a thermostat with their inherent vague instructions could just go to the 1 sticky post and with a sigh of relief find the easy to understand instructions on how to set up their unit with no pulling out of hair or screaming tantrums....... sorry for hijacking your post joe but i have been tossing this around in my head for a while now and this finally gave me the initiative to get it out there.  ..........................................Ron


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## Reptiles101 (Oct 29, 2013)

I like your idea Ron, that would make life so much easier.


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## Umbral (Oct 29, 2013)

I have two of these set up and working well..... Well I think they are the same, they look exactly the same they just haven't got the ecotech brand on them. I have had one running for 3 years now without missing a beat and another for a year. One of my micro climates died before the three year mark but from what others have said I thing that was just ba luck.


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## Reptiles101 (Oct 29, 2013)

Because my heat mat will be only 4 watts, do I really need a thermostat?

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Because my heat mat will be only 4 watts, do I really need a thermostat?


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## bigjoediver (Oct 30, 2013)

Because my heat mat will be only 4 watts, do I really need a thermostat?[/QUOTE]

Yes, even a 4watt mat can overheat, but they will operate fine on a cheap on/off thermostat. 
In fact some dimming thermostats need a minimum load of 40w to operate correctly.


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## Reptiles101 (Oct 30, 2013)

I've read that being only 4 watts, I still need a thermostat so I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I'm purchasing the Eco Tech digital Thermostat.


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## Performa (Oct 30, 2013)

It is a good idea to run the heat matt through a thermostat, but like mentioned previously check the minimum amount of watts it needs to function correctly.


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## Reptiles101 (Oct 30, 2013)

will check the minimum wattage, thanks heaps guys.

It says '[FONT=Lucida Grande, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif]Controls heating devices up to 1200 watts for night and day temperatures".[/FONT]


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## Norm (Oct 30, 2013)

ronhalling said:


> I don't use either so can't help, but using bigjoedriver's statement about instruction being vague i wondered if it would be possable for those that are proficient in setting up each different type of thermostat to do a step by step instruction sheet in plain english and then collated into 1 post and made a sticky so that all the non tech types out there who buy a thermostat with their inherent vague instructions could just go to the 1 sticky post and with a sigh of relief find the easy to understand instructions on how to set up their unit with no pulling out of hair or screaming tantrums....... sorry for hijacking your post joe but i have been tossing this around in my head for a while now and this finally gave me the initiative to get it out there.  ..........................................Ron



Sorry to hijack the thread also but Ron I also think that's a great idea! Probably just important to get it proof read by a few other knowledgeable people to check for any errors, therefore preventing any backlash against the author/s.


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## DisturbedDave (Oct 30, 2013)

Norm said:


> Sorry to hijack the thread also but Ron I also think that's a great idea! Probably just important to get it proof read by a few other knowledgeable people to check for any errors, therefore preventing any backlash against the author/s.



I've thought about doing this previous to this thread, but time has been an issue.
Happy to give it a crack, but not sure how quickly I can get it done. Someone else might have a little more time up their sleeves?

Maybe if one of the mods wants to start a thread, and we can have one post per thermostat, which is then proof-read and corrected/cleaned up if need be.


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## cridon96 (Oct 30, 2013)

When I first started out I just used the usual cheap and nasty ones but found them to be unreliable and a pain to wire so I moved to HabiStat Pulse Proportional Thermostats, they come pre wired so no messing about with elec cables and seem to work great (I have also seen a small difference in life time of ceramic heat globes and lowering of my elec bills which is always good).

A lot of thermostats have instructions or product guides available online so it is always good to check them out online before you buy that way you know their ranges and how to install them if it looks to complicated then you know what questions to ask the person you are buying from.


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## Ashieleelee (Apr 17, 2014)

Any help with mine? It says it's 21c. Really scared about that cause I set it to 30c. I want my snake to live. Have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I was told to place the heating mat in between the tank and foam underneath the tank so the whole bottom of the tank would heat up. I have the TC100 and it's reading 21c and going up and down degrees by .2C. I have the heating mat plugged into the first socket. I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong. Help please anybody!!!


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## Bart70 (Apr 17, 2014)

Do a search on the Jet Thermostats on this forum.....There are a number of threads outlining their shortcomings. Ecotech's are a rebadged Jet that sell at Pet Store prices under the Ecotech name. These shortcomings are not 'one-offs' and in all reported cases I am aware of, the importer has shrugged it off blaming 'bad power' as the cause (laughable when you look at what some of the failures have actually been).

For the price of an Ecotech at my local Pet Store, I can add $25 and buy a higher spec'd and higher featured Habistat Digital Dimming Thermostat that comes with the usual Habistat backup, support and warranty. 

After mine (and others) experiences with the JET's I know where I would be putting my $$ if I were after another 'bells and whistles' thermostat. These days I have taken the advice of some of my herp mentors and gone back to much simpler and less complicated setups. 

For those who desperately want to know how to set an Eco-Tech (or JET as the setting process is identical) there is a youtube clip on Amazing Amazon's channel that steps through it.

Personally, after being through the 'bells and whistles thermostats' phase myself....I find it much easier (and educational) to just set up my enclosures simply with as fewer gadgets as possible.


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## africancichlidau (Aug 7, 2014)

Bart70 said:


> For the price of an Ecotech at my local Pet Store, I can add $25 and buy a higher spec'd and higher featured Habistat Digital Dimming Thermostat that comes with the usual Habistat backup, support and warranty.



Wholeheartedly agree with the Habistat comment! The whole range of these stats are excellent. These days I won't use anything else.


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## paultheo (Aug 7, 2014)

I have been using 2 echotech thermostats for 3 years and they are great, i also have a B1 microclimate, a dimming microclimate, a day night microclimate and a pulse proportional microclimate, all of which were very expensive, every summer we get massive thunder storms and without fail the first time we have a blackout the microclimate thermostats all blow their fuses, but the echotechs are fine. I found that if you are incubating eggs the microclimates can let you down, unless you have spare fuses.


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## ThomasHobbes (Sep 16, 2016)

Bart70 said:


> There are a number of threads outlining their shortcomings. Ecotech's are a rebadged Jet that sell at Pet Store prices under the Ecotech name.
> ...
> For the price of an Ecotech at my local Pet Store, I can add $25 and buy a higher spec'd and higher featured Habistat Digital Dimming Thermostat...



Hi all,

This thread has been super helpful so thanks to all that have contributed.

I initially purchased a very cheap analog thermostat from ebay and it blew in less than a month. After doing a criminally paranoid amount of research in order to avoid a repeat, it seems as though a pattern has emerged:






The first is $40, the 2nd is the Ecotech at $100, the 3rd is the Habitstat at $150.

Notice the similarity?

It seems like they all have the same manufacturer, just will different print on the casing. No wonder some are having problems! They're paying so much for what is essentially something rather cheap.

Unfortunately this doesn't make finding a good thermostat any easier, just wanted to let everybody know.


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## pinefamily (Sep 17, 2016)

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk


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## apprenticegnome (Sep 18, 2016)

I know it's a slight detour off the Ecotech but I use 2 x Microclimate B1ME and they may be a far better option but I did have a gripe with a warranty issue. 1 failed before last Christmas with a problem they had never seen before and were waiting instructions from England on what to do. This dragged on for several Months as Microclimates Office in England was shut for a couple of Months for Holidays. They ended up replacing the sensor component and sent it back I think in February. They do seem to be a reasonably robust thermostat but I am disappointed that it wasn't replaced rather holding off for such a long time for instructions from England. For a thermostat that is often held in high regard the warranty service time let it down. I was prepared to pay the extra and go to the next model up as a replacement.


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## ThomasHobbes (Sep 18, 2016)

apprenticegnome said:


> This dragged on for several Months...



Thanks for sharing apprenticegnome, that's awful and terribly dangerous for them to let your reptile go so many months without a thermostat. Hope the little guy was okay!


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## pythoninfinite (Sep 18, 2016)

Ring Brian Barnett at the Herp Shop to get the best advice and some damn good equipment - he's been in the game for decades and knows his stuff. I'm the same as many oldies, have a lot of trouble with tech stuff. The Habistat stuff Brian sells is excellent and the instructions are easy to follow. I just purchased a Habistat Classic with night-drop facility for my GTPs and it is fantastic - checked it against my very expensive calibrated thermometer and it's spot-on on both night & day settings. Brian is great with no-questions-asked warranty stuff too - not had a problem with the electronic stuff, but had a book fall apart after a few weeks and the replacement was in the post within hours of my email - I hadn't even returned the problem copy.

Jamie.


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## africancichlidau (Sep 18, 2016)

You are right about Brian Barnett, he even got the O.A.M. for his services to herpetology


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## eipper (Sep 19, 2016)

actually - i only use thermostats for the whole room- to control the air con and the incubator- not cages- I use timers and cage design


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