# Thermostat prob placing dimmer and temperature needed



## KierenTavener12 (Aug 7, 2016)

Quick question I have a dimmer thermostat and instructions say place it in the centre of the enclosure. Though I'm confused how I would know when it's reached the set temperature if it all the way over there. Unless I set it at a lower temperature so when it say gets to 26deg in the centre it would be roughly 30-33 on the hot end? I'm so confused as in my little click clack I have it on the hot spot directly. What would ideal temps be?


Ill be getting a Bredli.


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## kingofnobbys (Aug 7, 2016)

Great very vague instructions .... not worth the paper that they are printed on.

Here is what I recommend you do.

Set up the tub to do some quick tests with the heating method you wish to use, and simply place the probe of a simple digital thermometer (or several of these as they are dirt cheap to buy on Ebay (can find them selling for a few dollars each), and simply close up the "instrumented tub" turn on the heating and let monitor the temperature / s of the probe / s , a plot time vs temperature will tell you when you've reached an equilibrium temperature (profile).

With this data and graph you will now know if you place the probe for the thermostat at a given spot , pretty well the temperatures elsewhere in the tub .

I would then establish the basking spot temperature (this the spot I'd control with the thermostat and by placing the probe at the basking spot). 

Thereby you will know be able work out the offsets to get the temperatures that will be produced by natural thermal circulation and some interchange of cooler fresh air from the outside at any location on the tub.


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## Spikeee (Aug 10, 2016)

Or if your talking about a larger enclosure.
You need a lazer thermometer 
Im in a similar situation and my evo is set at 27c as its about 8 inches from the basking spot.
On the back wall, inline, and up about 3 inches from her perch/rock.
This gives the rock 32c


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## kingofnobbys (Aug 10, 2016)

Spikeee said:


> Or if your talking about a larger enclosure.
> You need a lazer thermometer
> Im in a similar situation and my evo is set at 27c as its about 8 inches from the basking spot.
> On the back wall, inline, and up about 3 inches from her perch/rock.
> This gives the rock 32c



Yeh, they are also handy, but note they will only give you surface temperatures and are prone to measurement errors (operator systematic errors).

Smaller the spot size the better, provided you are not measuring a surface that is thermally "reflective" , it is very common to measure the reflection of the heatsource's (basking light's) temperature (called specular error).
If the spot size is large, it is also common to mistakenly measure the average for the back ground and the surface of interest = a low reading will result.


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