Setting up my ARS 5540, does anyone have suggestions on prove placement? I have done other racks (Animal Plastics) so I have done the plastic ones but none like this before.
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As luck would have it, I just assembled the same model last week and had the same thoughts. I ended up placing the probe on top of the middle most shelf heating element, between the two tubs. (I’ve only assembled 9 of the 10 shelves due to a height restriction where the rack is). I taped it down with a strip of aluminum heat tap so that it doesn’t completely cover the probe. I m seeing a variation of about 3 degrees over the 9 levels, but nothing terrible. I have considered putting half the plugs into a different power strip and using a Herpstat 2. For now, I will just monitor it and see how it goes. Good luck.
I use ARS racks and had issues with temp variations from level to level. I contacted ARS and asked what they recommend and they said to use a dual-zone thermostat. Place probe #1 on the bottom level and have it control the first three levels. Place probe #2 on the seventh level and have it control levels 4-10.
This works pretty well. I actually ended up buying a Herpstat 4 and running two ARS racks in this configuration.
FYI - when you use a multi output thermostat, each output has a maximum wattage that it can supply. The 5540 and 7030 both need 32w per level.
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Thank you for the information. That is really helpful. I hadn’t considered the wattage situation.
I am having a problem with my ars caging rack for heat. I have a herpstat 6. I placed the probe in the middle of the rack in the middle of the shelf on top of the heat pannel. The probe does not seem to be reading the temps correctly. The thermostat is set to 90. However I point my temp gun at the heat panel it reads in the low 70s to high 70s and I measure the inside of the tub where my snakes sit it reads over 100. What is going on? Where should I place my probe?
That’s pretty odd. I would first make sure that the probe tip is NOT covered by tape. Completely covering the tip of the probe has been known to affect the accuracy of the reading. Cut a piece of foil tape and then take that piece and cut it again so that you have a strip that is narrow enough to pass over the body of the probe but not the tip.
After that I would replace the battery in the temp gun and use a lens cleaning wipe to clean the sensor. If you have a reptile buddy in the area, ask to borrow their temp gun and do a comparison.
Also make sure your herpstat is set to PULSE mode, not proportional. The proportional setting will cause interference and potentially affect the probe.
This is the thing I never understood about these IR temp guns, and why I never got one myself. How do they account for emissivity? I assume that’s the issue here.
Bare metals like stainless steel or aluminum have very low emissivity, where plastics and paints usually have very high emissivity. And I have no idea what cocochips or paper substrates emissivity is. Which basically means depending on the material you point it at you will get different temperature readings if you don’t adjust for emissivity.
I’d get another physical thermometer probe that you trust and stick it next to your thermostat probe and check they read similar. You might also get a piece of electrical tape and stick it onto the heat panel and then use the IR temp gun on that.
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