Proportional thermostat

[BruceLeyrer]

My question is, does anyone use proportional thermostats? If so, which heater will accept variable voltage?
I have a Herpstat 4 and a Herpstat intro+ that can lower or raise power output voltage to a heating element to hold a very consistent temperature; problem is I don't know if any aquarium heaters will operate off of this type of power. Any ideas?

 

[blaxsun]

I don't know of any variable heaters.

 

[Pistondog]

You could use time proportioning with the correct controller.
I use this to minimize the swings inherent with most thermostat type controllers.

Inkbird Heating or Cooling PID Temperature Controller IPB-16S Pre-Wired Digital Home Brewing Controller Independent Control Pump Thermostat https://a.co/d/1Ivfg5d

It also comes with a pt100 sensor, more accurate than thermistors.

 

[BeanAnimal]

My question is, does anyone use proportional thermostats? If so, which heater will accept variable voltage?
I have a Herpstat 4 and a Herpstat intro+ that can lower or raise power output voltage to a heating element to hold a very consistent temperature; problem is I don't know if any aquarium heaters will operate off of this type of power. Any ideas?

Any resistive heater will accept a variable voltage as long as it does not have onboard digital control.

I don't see the need for the complexity though.

Is it PID logic? If not, on something like an aquarium I assume there may be a good bit of overshoot or hunting and the temp may not be as stable as a simply hysteresis based controller or simple PID controller.

 

[BruceLeyrer]

With the Herpstat, it tracks the temp swings and has a 100 step variable power output. It eventually dials the heat in to the perfect % of power needed to hold temp. It's pretty nifty. Problem is, I can't find any information on a heater out there that will allow itself to be partially powered.

 

[BeanAnimal]

With the Herpstat, it tracks the temp swings and has a 100 step variable power output. It eventually dials the heat in to the perfect % of power needed to hold temp. It's pretty nifty. Problem is, I can't find any information on a heater out there that will allow itself to be partially powered.

As I said, aquarium heater without a thermostat or one with a mechanical dial thermostat will,work. They are just resistive heating elements.

I understand what the herpstat does, but it may not behave as expected in the environment you wish to use it in, unless it has PID logic.

 

[BruceLeyrer]

I'll email the manufacturer and see if they have any information for me. I have a eheim Jager that might work for what I want. That dial is mechanical. I'll have to test this out and see how it functions.