I got a 3ft viv with the royal I bought from Gravity Guy on the weekend.
Got it home, plugged everything in, turned on the power only to hear a loud pop - so assumed the 250 ceramic bulb in the viv had blown.

Got a 150w as replacement, screwed it in - and just checked on it an hour later and it's not warm at all. If it was working do they warm up pretty much immediately??

I've tried the original bulb and new bulb plugged directly into the mains to see if they get warm and no joy. Nothing when they are plugged through the thermostat either (it's a normal habistat, I'll be upgrading to a pulse proportional as soon as I can afford one!)

If the bulbs had gotten warm plugged directly to the mains I would of been inclined to think that maybe the thermostat had broken... but it doesn't look like that's the case (the stat light still comes on anyway).

Could the problem be the fuse in the plug perhaps? Just wondering what the popping noise could of been?!

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Oh my god - that was scary!
Tried a new fuse... popped a fresh 13A fuse in the plug.... had the new bulb in the viv and when I turned on the power there was a huge bang! There was actually a flash at the base of the bulb and a bit of smoke!!

I think I might just have to get a new ceramic holder/cable and start from scratch - I don't like this one at all!!

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i could be talking complete garbage here but it sounds like its a problem with your holder/wire rather then the stat. Ceramics get hot really quickly. id remove the holder and check its wired up correctly (dont think id dare switch it on again though!)

No I don't want to turn it on again at all!
Think I'll buy one of the complete kits from Ebay and remove the current one altogether. Hopefully there's nothing wrong with the actual bulb itself.

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dont blame you!
I got a ceramic holder from maplins for £2.50 and my heat resistant cable from wilkinsons (90p a mtr) - lot cheaper then ebay....

Yes it sounds like you have a problem with the cramic holder.I would firstly check the wiring before replacing it.Many people do not use heat resistant cable when witing up ceramics and the cable coating melts away then the unit crosses over.The holder may well be ok and just need the cable replaced then a new fuse and bingo your ceramic is working again.You may also find that the old ceramic heater is ok as well.

Ah, lovely - off to Maplins I go then!!

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1.1 Guyanan Red Tail Boas (BCC)
1.0 Amel Corn Snake
Wants: Sharp Albino Boa, Hypo 100% Het Sharp Albino Boa,
Snow Boa, Khal Albino 100% Het Snow Boa
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Update:

Took the old holder apart... and this is what I found.
Green = copper corrosion.
Good job the snake wasn't in the viv when this blew!!






I managed to get all the parts I needed from Maplins for under a fiver (ceramic holder, plug, 1mtr heat resistant cable)... sorting that all out now and then I can see if the bulbs I have are still ok!

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1.1 Guyanan Red Tail Boas (BCC)
1.0 Amel Corn Snake
Wants: Sharp Albino Boa, Hypo 100% Het Sharp Albino Boa,
Snow Boa, Khal Albino 100% Het Snow Boa
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looks asif its been getting damp/wet for awhile,i am always carefull spraying,just shows everyone should check the wiring every once in a while,glad you found the problem