Helix sucks

[Aj_Balls]

In October, I'm getting ready for breeding. I've got planned who's being paired to who. One day, I walk into the 'snake room' and decide to pull out my favorite adult female ball. I notice that she is very cold. So I place her on the warm side and proceed to check on my other snakes. They too are cold. I start inspecting and put my hand on the heat panel, ARS rack. I find that it is giving off no heat. My first thought is that it is not plugged in. Sure enough it IS plugged in. Then I look up at the Helix, it is not on. I unplug the Helix to inspect it. I plug it into another outlet and it does not turn on at all. So I call up Helix and tell them what happened. They told me to ship it to them and they'd send me a new one, but I had to pay shipping both ways. No problem.

When I get the new Helix, I plug it into the hatchling rack; while the adult rack is now on a Herpstat. All goes well for about 3-4 months. Until today. I did my morning checkup and noticed it seemed a bit warm in the room. I look at the mini heater and that is fine. I look at the Helix and it reads 107! I decide to grab all the snakes and put them in a different tub. I reach my female pastels tub and there she is, dead. I picked her up and she was super stiff and very warm. This was a real blow to me because she was in my top 5 of favorite snakes and was one of my best eaters and growers. I just don't know what to do at this moment. I'm done with Helix. Tired of their stuff malfunctioning on me.

This is not the first time I have heard of a Helix malfunctioning either. About 2-3 years ago I heard a story where two kids (and wife) father passed away. They were left some $300,000 from his death. For some reason, they decide to invest in ball pythons. They get everything from normals to pinstripes; keep in mind this is when pinstripes were still some $20,000. They have their set up, they excited, can't wait to get started. And then one day, their Helix malfunctioned. It killed every snake they bought. How do I know this isn't just a story? It may be. But I get the same story from 3 different breeders who claim to sold the kids a snake...

[bebo]

Its unfortunate that you lost the animal, I'm sorry to hear this.

And not totally defending Helix or justifying anything. but every t-stat comes with the possibility of failure.

I've heard MANy horror stories about the Alife, Bigapple, black analog t-stats. Yet I've never had one overheat anything. Could just be I've been very lucky. I've used Helix stats on cages and my incubator without issue. yet I've also had one fail to heat, not overheat.

One ting I've found from experience and talking to others, being breeders, cage manufacturers, and keepers is the importance of probe placement. If not properly placed for the certain type of t-stat it can cause premature failures. Just mentionin that because it seems to be a common thing to some extent. I've done it myself in the past.

But I look at stats like buying cars. You can get a lemon at anytime and not find out until it puts you in a bad situation.

Many newer stats can say they are better and may be, but they also have not been around as long as some with bad stories tied to them. It takes time, and many keepers for those stories to appear all too commmon for our comfort level to purchase.

So it could just be you got a bad stat, or something unknown to this point caused the failure. We never know when taht could happen to us with any brand of stat unfortunately.

Again, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. And switching brands definately can help ones confidence and paranoia after an issue like what you had happen.

[The Snake Guru]

One thing I've found to helpful....if you have a stable room temperature. Try using a "dimmer switch" instead. They don't fail hardly at all....I've been running some for the better half of 10 years and they still work like a charm, and the only cost $7.00 to $10.00 you can even get the style that clips in-line. Much more reliable system....just takes a little adjustment to get setup.

~B~

[mcem]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I use a helix but once I tried the Herpstats, I've never went back. Almost everything at my house runs on a Herpstat. Again man sorry.

[Robilyn]

I'm sorry to hear that. That's really hard.

I don't use a Helix, but I'm sure any brand can fail. You may also want to consider running a double system to prevent future losses. Especially if you have lots of snakes. Run your expensive T-stat plugged into a cheaper, on/off type (or another pricey one if you have lots of bucks). Set it a degree or two higher and it will be the emergency shutoff for your system.

[Jess]

OMG,,
I am so sorry for your loss. I have had that happen to me once. I hate to say. I had the same turn out you did.
I have safely & back ups now. It is better to be safe the sorry.. Like it was already stated. Shit happens with anything. Sometime you get a Lemon.
Just like sometime your snake is a pet. Not a Breeder.

I know it doesn't make it better!! It didn't make me feel better.
Just think about all the other snakes you have & need your care!!
Jess

[danthony428]

damn that sucks

[Travis Kubes]

Sorry for your loss. I myself am not real impressed with helix. I have had 3 of them go bad on me. I am personally starting to like the on/off kind better. The first ranco I ever bought is still working in my setup today.

[NorthernRegius.com]

I've used Ranco, herpstat, helix, & Johnson controls... any control can fail over time.

Rancos & Johnson can fail stuck in either the on or off position, but I love the power output they have so I made damn sure to stack the deck for my snakes. I did this by purchasing a double unit. This ensures that if the primary fails in the on position, the second unit will shut it down. So this means no cooked snakes. Next, I put the room on dedicated gas heat. It's just a wall unit on it's own control. I keep it a nice temp so my units don't have to work so hard & also if (or more correctly- when) a t-stat fails, no snakes are hurt either.

This spared me my collection when my old Ranco died, back in Nov/Dec (?) last year.

I'm sorry for your loss, but I hope you look over your set-up & add more safety features... I'd hate to see you put your faith in any one thing.

My Helix & Herpstat are used for quarantine & incubators- I have an alarm that goes off if the units fail, but I also check the max/min 24hr temp each day. Too large a flux, can happen when the sensor goes bad. Caught this on my Herpstat last year & they sent me a new one within days- great customer service! But I still would have been screwed if I didn't have a back up unit or hadn't checked each day. Hope my examples help you decide a course of action that is best for you.

All the Best- Deb

[Aj_Balls]

I understand that any one can malfunction. But Helix has been the worse. And since I posted about the failure of my Helix, I have just heard a lot more stories about Helix's failing.

Such as yesterday, my friend did his nightly rounds of his snakes. Everything was fine. He went to bed. He woke up and the Helix was at 109. He went to check on his snakes, opened all the tubs and described them as "gasping for air" because they were all flying out of the tubs to escape the heat.

Thanks for the replies and; and further info Deb.

[NorthernRegius.com]

I understand that any one can malfunction. But Helix has been the worse. And since I posted about the failure of my Helix, I have just heard a lot more stories about Helix's failing.

Such as yesterday, my friend did his nightly rounds of his snakes. Everything was fine. He went to bed. He woke up and the Helix was at 109. He went to check on his snakes, opened all the tubs and described them as "gasping for air" because they were all flying out of the tubs to escape the heat.

Thanks for the replies and; and further info Deb.
Hey, let me update you on the older Herpstat I have, the probe is still not incubation worthy... hooked it up to my clutch & found on the first day the 24 hr max-min was over 2 degree F taking the max above 91F & had to quickly swap it with my helix... lucky for me the eggs still candle fine & now the temp is constant +/- .5F.

I do like the herpstat, more functions & all & will likely get another unit that as back-up but the model I currently have I can no longer trust for incubation. I don't even think they make it anymore.

All the best- Deb

[nickthegreek]

Oh damn AJ!!! That is the worst thing that could happen to you, and I am sure you're still aching inside. So sorry to hear that.