CaliforniaGlad
Member
Howdy!
After reading all the praise about Heat Mats and seeing a few videos recommending them, I purchased a "Super Sprouter" Mat. With shipping the cost was a little over $40... not cheap.
Note: I considered a regular smaller 'heating pad' with the typical three-position switch, but also read a article about them that said they are not recommended because they are not waterproof enough. Hence, I purchased the real deal.
Of course I had to try my new Mat and I was stunned to see that the temperature quickly rose to 98.2 degrees! NOT good...
Then I realized that I needed to spend another $35+ for a decent thermostat! As I thought about things I knew the thermostat was a simple temperature controlled switch. But if I controlled how much AC voltage (120 Volts AC) got to the Heating Mat, I would be doing much the same thing! The mat can only get as hot as the voltage supplied to it... Drop the voltage and the temperature drops accordingly... pure rocket science.
I went to my local hardware store and purchased a "Inline Dimmer Control" for only $8! The Dimmer Control has a slider-lever to provide a smooth transition from dark to full brightness ~ if a lamp was plugged into the Controller. Instead I plugged in my spiffy new Mat.
With the Dimmer Slider Control at the top my Mat quickly went up to 98.2 degrees. I moved the slider to a 3/4 setting and after a few minutes the Mat temperature dropped to 85 degrees. A few more easy adjustments down and I was at 79 DEGREES ~ stable as can be! I watched the temperature over several days and I'm confident I was good to go...
I have my new batch germinating now on the Heating Pad. I'm still keeping a very close eye on that surface temperature... still holding 79 degrees. After this batch I will put tape over the slider so it can't be accidentally bumped higher.
Hope this helps you!
I remain,
SOGLAD