Thermostat Died! HELP! UPDATE: Zilla company going to...

[greeneggsnham]

HELP! Has anyone had this problem? I bought a Zilla 1000w thermostat just four days ago and tonight it just decided to up and quit on me!

I have no idea what to do. It's supposed to turn off when the temp gets right but it won't turn off! Even if I turn the thermostat way down it won't turn the lights off. I live in Missouri and we have tempurature changes like crazy and they are in an outdoor(ish) area. If I leave it on it gets too hot but it's gonna get cold tonight so they will need it later. I thought I finally found the answer to the problem when I bought the stupid thing and now it goes and breaks on me.

I bought it from PetCo and have the reciept but don't have the packaging so I just lost $50 dollars for nothing! I don't have the money to replace it and don't know what to do any help would be appreciated. Will Zilla be able to help me if I contact them with my problem? Will PetCo replace it even w/o the origional packaging? I am at the verge of tears here...I don't want my babies to die!

 

[KKatknap]

It'll be ok - take a deep breath.

What kind of brooder do you have? How many chicks? Do you have any heat lamps?

 

[CrazyMomOf2]

If you bring it back to the same store, just let them know what happened. For the amount of money you spent, you didn't plan on it dying on you after only a couple of days. They should just replace it with a new one and the broken one will be put with other "damages". That's what almost all other stores will do. As long as you are getting the exact same item, shouldn't be a problem at all!

 

[KKatknap]

I'm relatively sure they will take it back, but they are probably closed for tonight.

Put a heat lamp (or two, if it's very cold) on one end of your brooder. The chicks can choose to be close to it, or further away. Watch to see how they are acting. If they are trying to get far away from it, raise it up some. If they are all huddled underneath, lower it a little. Just make sure they can move away if they get too warm.

 

[greeneggsnham]

KKatknap-Thanks I'm just freaking out because I really don't wanna fry my chicks. I have two brooders going one is a box from a HUGE tv that I got from my parents and one is a large cattle watering tub I found in the barn. Both have one 250w heatlamp heating one end and I have twelve chicks in each. They are seperated because they are a week apart and I wanted to give the newborns a week or so to build up some stregnth before I put the two groups together. The thermostat can handle up to 1000w so the wattage should not be a problem.

CrazyMomOf2- I don't have the packaging it came in and PetCo's policy says that they won't replace it unless I have the original packaging. I'll try anyway and see if they won't just let me exchange it. I really hope they do.

Thanks guys for now I've made a pallet next to the back door so I can hear if they start freaking out. I think my panic attack is over now and I'll just try to tough it out for tonight. In the morning I'll drive to the store and see if they will replace it. I'll give updates then.

 

[KKatknap]

They should be ok with the heat lamp - I assume the lamps have a reflector shield attached?

My 12 babies are in a 100-gallon watering tub with a 250W heat lamp on one end. I have it pretty low, as they are @ 1 week old. They sit on the outskirts of it right now. Our temps have been in the low-mid 30s.

I totally understand the freaking out.

 

[felidaet]

I don't use a thermostat and I have not seen many people mention them. In fact it was only a few days ago that I saw the first mention of one. I don't think many people use them.

 

[Chickens-246]

Try different combinations of wattage of bulbs and/or lamp heights.

feledaet, I use an industrial temperature controller. In the spring, the weather swings a good 50 degrees from day to night where I'm at. I'm in my forth year of brooding, so I don't like the hassle of watching the temperature, so a controller is the way to go for me. I assume some people like to do constant temperature adjusting or they are on a budget or not that concerned with the temperature.

 

[KKatknap]

I think if the brooder is large enough for the chicks to find a cooler spot, they are able to regulate their own temperature pretty well. Even where temps fluctuate. It just depends on the set-up. I have a really good-sized tub for the chicks, and whenever I go out there, they are in different spots to sleep, depending on how close they want to be to their heat lamp.


ETA - Also, I only have about a dozen babies. If I had about a hundred or so, I might want a different system.

Hey, greeneggs - everything ok this am?

 

[greeneggsnham]

Update: Everything went ok last night with only a few issues with the heat. I went to get the thermostat this morning to take back to the store and I dropped it. Well the lights switched off!

I kept fiddling with it and the temperature thing is now wayyy off. I have it set on about 70F and it keeps it around 90 I know it probably has a short in it or something but at this point I'm just glad its functioning somewhat. I think I'm gonna keep it around for a week or so to see if it stays the same. If it stops again I will take it back. Thanks everybody for helping me!