Customers find the product effective and reliable. It regulates temperature to within about 3 degrees, keeping their mat at a consistent temperature for months on end. They find it easy to use and set with clear instructions. Many consider it a great value for the price. Customers are also happy with pet use, accuracy, and germination rate. However, some have mixed opinions on durability.
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7 reviews for Hydrofarm Jump Start MTPRTC Hydroponic Seedling Heat Mat Digital Thermostat Controller for Hydrofarm Heat Mats
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A regular Joe –
A Must-Have For Seed Starting Using Heat Mats (…along with info on my seed starting setup)
I have used Hydrofarm seedling heat mats, thermostats, and lighting systems for years now and can attest to overwhelming success these have afforded me in getting my garden plants started in late winter.This thermostat is a perfect accessory to help keep your plants at the proper temperature. Depending on where you set up your seed starting equipment, you may find this thermostat indispensable. Seed heat mats are designed to keep your seed tray about 10-20 degrees above ambient temperature. If you keep yours indoors in a 65-70 degree environment like I do, you might consider getting this thermostat to keep your young plants from getting too hot.This thermostat is easy to perform the initial set up on, then very easy to make adjustments to if needed. It has an integrated probe for placement into the soil so that a direct reading can be taken and regulated accordingly.Heat mats and proper lighting are the key to consistent and prolific germination of seeds started in late winter to be ready for springtime planting.Here’s the setup I’ve used for the past few years:-Park Seed Park’s Double Bio Dome with 80 Jumbo Cells. I actually use 2-18 Jumbo Cell for a total of 36 plants. There are several sizes of the Bio-Dome system. I have the DOUBLE Bio-Dome which allows for two seed starting cells (Purchased from Park Seed)-Hydrofarm MT10008 20-by-20-Inch Seedling Heat Mat (Purchased from Amazon)-Hydrofarm FLT24 2-ft/ 4-Tube T5 Commercial System with Bulbs (Purchased from Amazon)-Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats (Purchased from Amazon)-Style Selections 36-in H x 24-in W x 18-in D 3-Tier Steel Freestanding Shelving Unit (Purchased from Lowe’s)The modular, adjustable wire shelving unit gives me the foundation for my indoor winter seed-starting setup. The shelves are adjustable so that I can hang the grow light on the underside of the top shelf, then adjust the middle shelf so that the top of the Bio Dome is about 6-8 inches from the light. This allows for enough room to remove the top of the Bio Dome in the event I need to access the plants for watering, fertilizing, etc. The bottom shelf is great for storing my remaining planting supplies.The light is almost the same size as the Double Bio-Dome and provides 100% light coverage necessary for young plants to thrive. A few years back, I tried to use a light that was only 2 bulbs and half the size of the one I currently use. You could tell that the young plants would angle toward the light hanging in the middle, and those on the outer edges didn’t grow as quickly and tall as those in the middle. Take it from someone who spent $25 – $50 each year over the course of several years trying to find a light that would work well with my seed starting system. I knew about the Hydrofarm light early on, but wasn’t too eager to purchase it due to it’s higher cost. I wish I would have gotten it first because I would have saved money in the long run considering the poor-performing lights I purchased in years prior to getting the one listed above.The Park Seed Bio Dome is an extraordinary seed-starting system that allows your plants to grow quite large without root binding problems found in other tray-type seed starting setups. Park uses the styrofoam cell matrix with replaceable organic bio-sponges in which the seeds are planted.I regulate the temperature of the seed heat mat with the Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat set at between 85-90 degrees. This thermostat has a temperature probe you can insert into one of the organic bio-sponges to obtain a direct soil reading. I route the probe through one of the vent holes in the lid of the Bio-Dome.In order to capture the most heat from the heat mat, while allowing the thermostat to regulate the temperature of the mat, I first take a folded beach towel and place it on the middle shelving rack. I then set the heat mat on top of the towel, then place the Bio-Dome on top of the heat mat. This allows me to recover most of the heat that would otherwise radiate from the exposed, bottom side of the heat mat.Watering with the Bio-Dome setup is easy and, depending on how you have the vents adjusted in the lid, performed infrequently at best due to the efficiency of water vapor recovery of the Bio-Dome system.I typically start tomato and pepper plants in mid-February so that they are ready for planting by the first week of May. You may want to check online for your indoor planting and outdoor transplanting dates depending on your region and climate.I hope my sharing with you what has worked quite well for me will help you in your seed-starting endeavors!
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Traxler –
Seems To Work! Great for starting Tomatoes, Peppers. Allows you to move on with your life, Do other things besides babysit trays
This is a Hydrofarm product, being used on three Planter’s Pride covered heat trays. (Which they label as 72 cell “Heated greenhouse kits”.) Each self contained 72 growing cell tray/kit uses 17 watts. The Hydrofarm Heat mat Thermostat is rated to handle 1000 watts, so well under it’s rated capacity at 3 mats/51 watts. I bought 8 of these heat mat trays and was prepared to plug all of them into a power strip attached to the underside of my shelf, then plug the power strip cord into the thermostat. I use these greenhouse trays on a 2’x4′ shelf unit with grow lights attached to the bottom of each shelf. I’m also growing wheatgrass on these shelves, so I try to check water every morning and night, but always at night if I miss a morning. I run all my lights on timers to mimic the natural sun cycles. It’s not necessary I suppose, but maybe plants like a break too? Except for watering, my set up is automatic and maintenance free. All due to a 5 dollar light timer and this thermostat. Here’s my details. Regular Basement temp – 60-62 degrees. This year I am in the process of sprouting 15 different varieties of tomatoes. So 72 cells of tomatoes, 72 cells of peppers, 36 cells of cauliflour, 36 cells of brocolli. I had read accounts of the mats not shutting off and running too hot for too long without a timer or thermostat. Sure enough, right on the heated greenhouse kit box, Tomatoes are listed as a “cooler start seed” 70-80 degrees. The “Hot seed starts” that according to their directions require the mats to be turned on and left on full time are squash, radishes, pumpkins, corn, watermelons, etc. And I don’t know anybody who starts these varieties, such as corn indoors? “Hot seed start” temps were 90 degrees, a little too warm for tomatoes and such. Read your box and heat mat perameters! Their solution as stated on the box is to unplug the tray for 4 to 6 hours at night, or use a timer to try and maintain a 70-80 degree range. Which sounds like an easy way to fail at germinating tomatoes, since these mats have the capability of reaching 90+ degrees.. Well this is what the Hydrofarm soil thermostat is for, because I don’t want to get up in the middle of the night and fiddle with flashlights, manual soil thermometers, plugging and unplugging units! If the ambient temperature in the basement changes, the Hydrofarm thermostat adjusts. I set the temperature at 82 degrees, stick the corded silver lead down into a growing cell in one of the trays and leave it there. The deeper you press the temperature lead down into the cell the closer you make it to the heat source of the mat. My advice would be to set it as close to the soil surface as possible without it flipping out of the dirt. (This lead then continually takes the default reading for all three trays) Water as usual, and put the tray lid back on. It took about 4 hours to get the soil up to temperature on the digital readout. I keep a cheap tiny window thermometer under the lid of one of the other trays as another safety control reading. In case the thermostat were to ever freeze and the mats stayed on, I’d be able to catch it. I ended up setting my thermostat to 82 to raise the above the soil temp in the covered tray a couple degrees which was still showing in the high 60’s. So when the soil temp reaches 82, it shuts off. Soil temp seems to drop around three degrees or so before it turns back on. I assume there’s an electricity savings there, but I don’t know how long the trays remain off. You can’t hear them turn on and off. But it’s doing a super job of regulating the germination temperature. Over half of my tomato seeds sprouted in under 10 days and all at once! In less than 24 hours things went from bare dirt in the tray to sprouts pressing against the underside of the tray lid. Amazing. I’ve struggled with tomatoes every year prior. All the seeds that didn’t sprout has more to do with seed viability than the equipment as far as I’m concerned. The thermostat does what it’s supposed to do, and allows you to go on with your life and do other things besides monitor the trays all day and night. This makes starting your own seeds fun, easy, and worthwhile to do if your gardening means more to you than a hobby. This year, the cost of buying tomato/pepper transplants was instead spent on this equipment, next year it should amount to substantial savings!
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Justin –
Great product and quite affordable. The suctioning isn’t that great for the probe. I find it falls off often! But it’s quite accurate and easy to install!
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David –
Mi pitón bola se los agradece este invierno.
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Sebastián –
Excelente producto! Controla muy bien la temperatura del heat mat. Yo lo uso para controlar la temperatura en el terrario de mi pitón bola.
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Hanna VF –
Great for regulating a heat mat in q reptile enclosure!! It’s accurate and I love the security I feel when I use it as it turns off automatically when to hot/ doesn’t allow it to go over a limit and it doesn’t get messed in a power outage, it just shuts off then goes back to normal after. Very trustworthy and performs it’s purpose perfectly
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
Old Barnacle –
This is a fairly simple thermostat that allows for temperature controlling heat meats, other heating elements. But beware that the maximum current this will handle is 8.3 amps at 110v. Most heating mats will be fine, even several together depending on their individual draw added up, but before hooking it up to something else make sure the item doesnât draw more current, this such as space heaters (even though they have their own thermostats some people still use external controllers to set them up).Setting it up is easy enough as there are only three buttons but this also means that there is no compensating for different times of the day.The hysteresis is +/- 2 degrees F which for most applications is sufficient. This means that if you set it to 80 F it will kick in and provide power to the heating element at 78 F and turn it off at 82 F. A temperature swing of 4 F is fine for starting plants and weâve had good results in two seasons.The temperature probe cable is a good 6 feet so there is no need to have the controller right next to your seedlings which quiet often isnât the most convenient place to have it. Itâs important that you place the temperature probe in the right spot amongst your seedlings. If you donât get it inserted in a pot deep enough you may end up over heating the seedlings.The read out is large enough to be seen from across a room and is bright enough for us to see it even in sunlight (in a greenhouse).It doesnât look that well-made, plastic all around and LED read out, but as long as it works the looks arenât that important.A good device that does exactly what itâs supposed to but it would be nice if there was more control over times of day, set it back like a furnace thermostat for night time.
A regular Joe –
A Must-Have For Seed Starting Using Heat Mats (…along with info on my seed starting setup)
I have used Hydrofarm seedling heat mats, thermostats, and lighting systems for years now and can attest to overwhelming success these have afforded me in getting my garden plants started in late winter.This thermostat is a perfect accessory to help keep your plants at the proper temperature. Depending on where you set up your seed starting equipment, you may find this thermostat indispensable. Seed heat mats are designed to keep your seed tray about 10-20 degrees above ambient temperature. If you keep yours indoors in a 65-70 degree environment like I do, you might consider getting this thermostat to keep your young plants from getting too hot.This thermostat is easy to perform the initial set up on, then very easy to make adjustments to if needed. It has an integrated probe for placement into the soil so that a direct reading can be taken and regulated accordingly.Heat mats and proper lighting are the key to consistent and prolific germination of seeds started in late winter to be ready for springtime planting.Here’s the setup I’ve used for the past few years:-Park Seed Park’s Double Bio Dome with 80 Jumbo Cells. I actually use 2-18 Jumbo Cell for a total of 36 plants. There are several sizes of the Bio-Dome system. I have the DOUBLE Bio-Dome which allows for two seed starting cells (Purchased from Park Seed)-Hydrofarm MT10008 20-by-20-Inch Seedling Heat Mat (Purchased from Amazon)-Hydrofarm FLT24 2-ft/ 4-Tube T5 Commercial System with Bulbs (Purchased from Amazon)-Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats (Purchased from Amazon)-Style Selections 36-in H x 24-in W x 18-in D 3-Tier Steel Freestanding Shelving Unit (Purchased from Lowe’s)The modular, adjustable wire shelving unit gives me the foundation for my indoor winter seed-starting setup. The shelves are adjustable so that I can hang the grow light on the underside of the top shelf, then adjust the middle shelf so that the top of the Bio Dome is about 6-8 inches from the light. This allows for enough room to remove the top of the Bio Dome in the event I need to access the plants for watering, fertilizing, etc. The bottom shelf is great for storing my remaining planting supplies.The light is almost the same size as the Double Bio-Dome and provides 100% light coverage necessary for young plants to thrive. A few years back, I tried to use a light that was only 2 bulbs and half the size of the one I currently use. You could tell that the young plants would angle toward the light hanging in the middle, and those on the outer edges didn’t grow as quickly and tall as those in the middle. Take it from someone who spent $25 – $50 each year over the course of several years trying to find a light that would work well with my seed starting system. I knew about the Hydrofarm light early on, but wasn’t too eager to purchase it due to it’s higher cost. I wish I would have gotten it first because I would have saved money in the long run considering the poor-performing lights I purchased in years prior to getting the one listed above.The Park Seed Bio Dome is an extraordinary seed-starting system that allows your plants to grow quite large without root binding problems found in other tray-type seed starting setups. Park uses the styrofoam cell matrix with replaceable organic bio-sponges in which the seeds are planted.I regulate the temperature of the seed heat mat with the Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat set at between 85-90 degrees. This thermostat has a temperature probe you can insert into one of the organic bio-sponges to obtain a direct soil reading. I route the probe through one of the vent holes in the lid of the Bio-Dome.In order to capture the most heat from the heat mat, while allowing the thermostat to regulate the temperature of the mat, I first take a folded beach towel and place it on the middle shelving rack. I then set the heat mat on top of the towel, then place the Bio-Dome on top of the heat mat. This allows me to recover most of the heat that would otherwise radiate from the exposed, bottom side of the heat mat.Watering with the Bio-Dome setup is easy and, depending on how you have the vents adjusted in the lid, performed infrequently at best due to the efficiency of water vapor recovery of the Bio-Dome system.I typically start tomato and pepper plants in mid-February so that they are ready for planting by the first week of May. You may want to check online for your indoor planting and outdoor transplanting dates depending on your region and climate.I hope my sharing with you what has worked quite well for me will help you in your seed-starting endeavors!
Traxler –
Seems To Work! Great for starting Tomatoes, Peppers. Allows you to move on with your life, Do other things besides babysit trays
This is a Hydrofarm product, being used on three Planter’s Pride covered heat trays. (Which they label as 72 cell “Heated greenhouse kits”.) Each self contained 72 growing cell tray/kit uses 17 watts. The Hydrofarm Heat mat Thermostat is rated to handle 1000 watts, so well under it’s rated capacity at 3 mats/51 watts. I bought 8 of these heat mat trays and was prepared to plug all of them into a power strip attached to the underside of my shelf, then plug the power strip cord into the thermostat. I use these greenhouse trays on a 2’x4′ shelf unit with grow lights attached to the bottom of each shelf. I’m also growing wheatgrass on these shelves, so I try to check water every morning and night, but always at night if I miss a morning. I run all my lights on timers to mimic the natural sun cycles. It’s not necessary I suppose, but maybe plants like a break too? Except for watering, my set up is automatic and maintenance free. All due to a 5 dollar light timer and this thermostat. Here’s my details. Regular Basement temp – 60-62 degrees. This year I am in the process of sprouting 15 different varieties of tomatoes. So 72 cells of tomatoes, 72 cells of peppers, 36 cells of cauliflour, 36 cells of brocolli. I had read accounts of the mats not shutting off and running too hot for too long without a timer or thermostat. Sure enough, right on the heated greenhouse kit box, Tomatoes are listed as a “cooler start seed” 70-80 degrees. The “Hot seed starts” that according to their directions require the mats to be turned on and left on full time are squash, radishes, pumpkins, corn, watermelons, etc. And I don’t know anybody who starts these varieties, such as corn indoors? “Hot seed start” temps were 90 degrees, a little too warm for tomatoes and such. Read your box and heat mat perameters! Their solution as stated on the box is to unplug the tray for 4 to 6 hours at night, or use a timer to try and maintain a 70-80 degree range. Which sounds like an easy way to fail at germinating tomatoes, since these mats have the capability of reaching 90+ degrees.. Well this is what the Hydrofarm soil thermostat is for, because I don’t want to get up in the middle of the night and fiddle with flashlights, manual soil thermometers, plugging and unplugging units! If the ambient temperature in the basement changes, the Hydrofarm thermostat adjusts. I set the temperature at 82 degrees, stick the corded silver lead down into a growing cell in one of the trays and leave it there. The deeper you press the temperature lead down into the cell the closer you make it to the heat source of the mat. My advice would be to set it as close to the soil surface as possible without it flipping out of the dirt. (This lead then continually takes the default reading for all three trays) Water as usual, and put the tray lid back on. It took about 4 hours to get the soil up to temperature on the digital readout. I keep a cheap tiny window thermometer under the lid of one of the other trays as another safety control reading. In case the thermostat were to ever freeze and the mats stayed on, I’d be able to catch it. I ended up setting my thermostat to 82 to raise the above the soil temp in the covered tray a couple degrees which was still showing in the high 60’s. So when the soil temp reaches 82, it shuts off. Soil temp seems to drop around three degrees or so before it turns back on. I assume there’s an electricity savings there, but I don’t know how long the trays remain off. You can’t hear them turn on and off. But it’s doing a super job of regulating the germination temperature. Over half of my tomato seeds sprouted in under 10 days and all at once! In less than 24 hours things went from bare dirt in the tray to sprouts pressing against the underside of the tray lid. Amazing. I’ve struggled with tomatoes every year prior. All the seeds that didn’t sprout has more to do with seed viability than the equipment as far as I’m concerned. The thermostat does what it’s supposed to do, and allows you to go on with your life and do other things besides monitor the trays all day and night. This makes starting your own seeds fun, easy, and worthwhile to do if your gardening means more to you than a hobby. This year, the cost of buying tomato/pepper transplants was instead spent on this equipment, next year it should amount to substantial savings!
Justin –
Great product and quite affordable. The suctioning isn’t that great for the probe. I find it falls off often! But it’s quite accurate and easy to install!
David –
Mi pitón bola se los agradece este invierno.
Sebastián –
Excelente producto! Controla muy bien la temperatura del heat mat. Yo lo uso para controlar la temperatura en el terrario de mi pitón bola.
Hanna VF –
Great for regulating a heat mat in q reptile enclosure!! It’s accurate and I love the security I feel when I use it as it turns off automatically when to hot/ doesn’t allow it to go over a limit and it doesn’t get messed in a power outage, it just shuts off then goes back to normal after. Very trustworthy and performs it’s purpose perfectly
Old Barnacle –
This is a fairly simple thermostat that allows for temperature controlling heat meats, other heating elements. But beware that the maximum current this will handle is 8.3 amps at 110v. Most heating mats will be fine, even several together depending on their individual draw added up, but before hooking it up to something else make sure the item doesnât draw more current, this such as space heaters (even though they have their own thermostats some people still use external controllers to set them up).Setting it up is easy enough as there are only three buttons but this also means that there is no compensating for different times of the day.The hysteresis is +/- 2 degrees F which for most applications is sufficient. This means that if you set it to 80 F it will kick in and provide power to the heating element at 78 F and turn it off at 82 F. A temperature swing of 4 F is fine for starting plants and weâve had good results in two seasons.The temperature probe cable is a good 6 feet so there is no need to have the controller right next to your seedlings which quiet often isnât the most convenient place to have it. Itâs important that you place the temperature probe in the right spot amongst your seedlings. If you donât get it inserted in a pot deep enough you may end up over heating the seedlings.The read out is large enough to be seen from across a room and is bright enough for us to see it even in sunlight (in a greenhouse).It doesnât look that well-made, plastic all around and LED read out, but as long as it works the looks arenât that important.A good device that does exactly what itâs supposed to but it would be nice if there was more control over times of day, set it back like a furnace thermostat for night time.