Farm Innovators TC-3 Cold Weather Thermo Cube Thermostatically Controlled Outlet - On at 35-Degrees/Off at 45-Degrees

Full Overview

The Thermo Cube is a unique, patented electrical device that plugs into a standard 15 amp electrical outlet and turns power on automatically according to outside air temperature, saving money by using power only when temperatures require heating or cooling. There are five models available with different temperature ranges to choose from. Each unit has two receptacles for use with more than one electrical device. Cold weather model TC-3 turns on at 35°F, off at 45°F and is ideal for home and farm applications such as pond de-icers, unheated rooms, pump houses, greenhouses, boats and RV's. One year limited warranty.

Technical Details

- Plugs into a standard 15 amp electrical outlet and turns power on automatically according to outside air temperature
- Saves money by using power only when temperatures require heating
- Two receptacles for use with more than one electrical device
- Turns on at 35°F, off at 45°F
- Ideal for home and farm applications such as pond de-icers, unheated rooms, pump houses, greenhouses, boats and RV's

I've used this ThermoCube for a few years to protect some vulnerable water pipes in an otherwise unheated shed.

There are several cosmetically-identical versions. The TC-3 model (on this page) is designed to turn on at 35F and off at 45F, which is pretty critical information that should be in the product description. It's rated 15amps and 1800 watts according to [...], which sells these for over [...] each.

I've been using this device to switch a radiant oil heater. The new ones will control 250-watt brooder heat lamps. If you're worried about pipes freezing, it's cheap enough and simple enough to be worth a try.

It gets 4 stars because the temp sensor is not accurate (on at 38F) and there's no indicator lamp confirming the device is getting power from the outlet.

Seems to work as stated, but if you have a use for this in an outside recepticle as I did,(heated water bowel and a bird bath heater), then reconsider!! All my outside outlets have a metal weather cap an the top and this cube is too large and hits the weather cap, so it does not plug all the way into the outlet. Bigtime unsafe seeing the prongs exposed!! Cost half as much as what I paid for the thing to send it back so I found a very short, but HD outside extension cord and plugged that in to the recepticle and the cube into that. Then put it in a waterproof bag sealing it up. Better than letting the prongs hanging out. Someone really dropped the ball when they designed this for "outside" use! They should have designed this body slimmer on the top.

Look closely to make sure you get the one with the operating characteristics that you need.

TC-1 - On at 0 F, Off approx. 10 F
TC-2 - On at 20 F, Off approx. 30 F
TC-3 - On at 35 F, Off approx. 45 F
TC-21 - On at 78 F, Off approx. 70 F
TC-22 - On at 120 F, Off approx. 100 F

You can select the one you want from the "Size Name:" pull down.

I bought two of these outlets. I put one in the greenhouse when it was warm. The temperature dropped to 25F and the heater was not on when I went out there. I put the other outlet on a heating pad I use to keep my pipes from freezing. It was working on the heating pad and when I moved it to the greenhouse the heater worked at first. The temperature in the greenhouse began dropping again, I checked the heater, and this outlet had failed also. I would not buy these and hope to get a refund on these.

I am using this to control the on/off of power to my home built rain collector heater for my Davis weather station during snow storms.

6153 Wireless Vantage Pro2 with 24-Hour Fan Aspirated Radiation Shield

My unit turns on at around 36 degrees F and off at 41F. It worked great all through last winter without any problems.

I plugged a nightlight into the second outlet so that I could tell when the Thermo-Cube has switched on and when it had switched off.

I agree that it could be marketed better. None of the automative or hardware stores in my area even knew what I was taking about when I inquired about such a device.

THANK GOD for AMAZON.COM!

This is a great product.

Unfortunately it is not marketed properly.

It took forever to find someone that sells these.

These sould be sold at pet outlets and farm supply stores.

Agway did sell a version of this when they were in business.

We use about 10 of these on our farm.

Chickens, P Fowl, Goats, Horses, Brooder room, etc.

Above are some of our applications.

These are excellent for farm use.

Great product!

Mike

I looked for years for something like this to help protect my frost-sensitive plants! I have been using it with C9 Christmas lights and a cover (sheet, blanket or pool cover) on my plants and haven't lost one plant since. It has saved me a lot of money since I don't have to put the lights on a timer all night long like I used to. It's really worth buying!

Advertising for this ptroduct did not indicate that a GFI receptacle was required.
Only found this out upon receipt of the item. I would like to have known about this beforehand.

Thermo Cube TC-3 Failed after 2 days use with a 150 watt light,not recomended!.....jh in PA

I purchased two of these items. I installed the first one to use on a baseboard heater in my RV to prevent freezing temperatures. It stopped working after one night. The next day, I returned both of them for a refund. It would have been great if the product had worked properly.