PLEASE help me choose a thermostat

I will soon have my first and only corn snake. It's sole heat source will be a uth, the brand of which is undetermined at this time. I've heard horror stories about "cheap" thermostats like the ESU temp controller and the ReptiTherm 500 or whatever it's called. I'll just have one snake. I need an affordable, reliable on/off thermostat. I simply can't afford or justify a proportional thermostat for just one snake. Can anyone recommend a reliable on/off type temperature controller? What about Big Apple's BAH-1000? It seems comparable to the ESU temp controller, except I haven't heard anything bad about it. Thanks.

I don't know what kind of horror stories you have heard about the Zoo Med Repti-temp 500R, but I have at least 7 in use right now and have been using them for over 5 years constantly and never had a failure.
I even have incubators controlled with them. I set up one 20 cubic foot incubator four years ago I think it was, calibrated the thermostat and have never adjusted it since, it holds perfect temperature.
In my opinion they are the best of the economical thermostats.

For a single uth you should be ok with a Alife/ESU/BAH. Just keep in mind you do get what you pay for and they are not the most reliable things in the world.

If you can afford it I would personally consider spending a bit more and get a Ranco or Johnson.

I recommend a Helix thermostat. I have never had a problem with a Helix. I have had a couple of ESU's stop working on me over the past 6-7 years. With that in mind, Sammy is correct, you get what you pay for.

I must agree with Sammy, I have been using a Ranco on/off for my arboreal enclosure for over a year now. They are built for industrial purposes (heating and cooling, such as walk in freezers and such) but are great for our purposes. They are sturdy, long lasting, dependable and pyyrty darn acurate. I would highly recommend spending the cash on one, its around 70-80 dollars i believe to have one wired and shipped. I could be wrong, thats just a guesstimate. Think i paid 75 wired and shipped for mine.

Here's a link to a thermostat comparison done by Matt at MGReptiles. A lot of useful information.

http://www.mgreptiles.com/THERMOCOMPARE.html

When I say I can't afford it, I mean I CAN'T afford it! I'm a poor college kid, and their is a $45 difference between the wired Ranco and the Repti-temp 500R that Clay recommends. I found a site online that sells it for about $30 after shipping. If he trusts them for all of the different things he's using them for, I'm afraid I'll have to trust them for my one snake and uth. Also, they're not rated too poorly on the site Cathy linked to. I understand that you get what you pay for, and I apprecaite all of the advice. If at some time in the future I can afford a better thermostat, even a proportional one, I will definitely look into it. Thanks again for all your help, folks.

Ben,

No one is knocking you or the Zoo-Med. We just wanted to show you what your options were so you could make an informed decision. I personally still have a couple Alifes in operation myself. I am sure most people here are just glad to see someone doing the best that they can to properly take care of their critter.

Originally Posted by nebby3103

If at some time in the future I can afford a better thermostat, even a proportional one, I will definitely look into it.

As long as the thermostat you have is keep the temps in the proper range you have nothing to worry about. With the zoomeds you will indeed get a swing in the temps but it isint to awful bad, maybe 3 degrees. The Round on top units are the ones you have to watch out for, like Kelli said they can fail. Main thing is you HAVE a thermostat protecting your herp