summoner12
Avid Member
That is a good idea!
DIY: Water Heater
- Thread starter ChamNovice
- Start date
That is a good idea!
Agreed. Too bad I am landlocked now and not close to any marinas. Another possibility I had was an old soft-side cooler I have. I just haven't been able to find it yet, but I think it's almost the perfect size and was insulated well with a shiny metallic material on the inside. If I find it I'll let you know how it works out, but I'll also keep any eye out for blocks of Styrofoam. That would just be perfect by being able to cut out not only for the jug, but would support and secure the tubing in and out of the jug.
Great Idea!
Woot! I found my cooler and it seems to work well. I also taped on a KTC contact probe to monitor the jar temp without having to open up the cooler. The temp is still at 109F so I will check it later to see if it goes up even more, or if the heater turns itself off. I haven't researched the heater yet to see if it's thermo-regulated or not. If it is I probably won't need to worry about a timer at all.
New pics at the end of the page here.
Update:
Went back to check it after a couple hours and it was at 124F. No regulation I guess but I went ahead and turned it down a bit.
New pics at the end of the page here.
Update:
Went back to check it after a couple hours and it was at 124F. No regulation I guess but I went ahead and turned it down a bit.
Last edited:
Another Update:
Apparently it *is* regulated. It just takes a long time for the temperature to stabalize. After waiting about five hours before I checked it, it had gone up to 154F!
This time I turned it down till the light went off and and it seemed to stabalize at 124F again. After a couple days of adjustments I have it rock solid at 114F now. It's amazing how well it all works and want to thank you again for the brilliant idea. Hope yours it working just as well.
Eidolen
Apparently it *is* regulated. It just takes a long time for the temperature to stabalize. After waiting about five hours before I checked it, it had gone up to 154F!
This time I turned it down till the light went off and and it seemed to stabalize at 124F again. After a couple days of adjustments I have it rock solid at 114F now. It's amazing how well it all works and want to thank you again for the brilliant idea. Hope yours it working just as well.
Eidolen
ChamNovice
New Member
Excellent idea on the cpvc tubes for keeping the poly tube in nice coils. A great improvement over my original idea. I agree on the temp stabalization thing. It does take quite some time for the water to be able to maintain a constant temp, but it will happen. Thank you for your input, ideas, and compliments.
I know you can probably spend as much or more money on this setup as you would an inline heater, but I still don't think the inline heaters will heat the volume of water that this method does and to as high a temperature.
Wow.... I have really been slacking, I am hardly ever on anymore, just noticed it's been about 3 weeks since the last post in this thread. I should try to get on here more often. Currently I am not using my system, I moved my chams to their larger enclosure about a month and a half ago, and haven't had the time(bein lazy) to get my automated misting system back up and running. I have just been hand misting since their move.
I know you can probably spend as much or more money on this setup as you would an inline heater, but I still don't think the inline heaters will heat the volume of water that this method does and to as high a temperature.
Wow.... I have really been slacking, I am hardly ever on anymore, just noticed it's been about 3 weeks since the last post in this thread. I should try to get on here more often. Currently I am not using my system, I moved my chams to their larger enclosure about a month and a half ago, and haven't had the time(bein lazy) to get my automated misting system back up and running. I have just been hand misting since their move.
Pure
New Member
I like this idea and the cooler is an added way to make it more efficient. But if I were to do this I would opt for the heater sitting inside a larger box then filled with expandable foam like this you can find it in much smaller quantities in ready made cans at your local hardware store. Just poor some in the bottom of the box let it harden set the heater vessel in the box, finish filling the box with the foam. I would stop at the very top of the jar so you can refill the evaporated water. Just use a piece of cut styro (you can find sheets of it at the hardware store) as a top to the insulation.
I would also use a larger heater. If the container was properly insulated, the larger heater would be more energy efficient as it wouldn't have to stay on long to heat the water to the right temp. It also won't loose heat very fast so you don't have to worry about cycling the heater on and off as much.
Hell you can even take it further and insulate the lines with tubing insulation. Look on your AC unit lines outside and you will see what I'm talking about.
Edit: I would also like to see some experimentation with different fluids in the jar. I have to wonder hoe vegetable oil would do. Or perhaps anti freeze.
I would also use a larger heater. If the container was properly insulated, the larger heater would be more energy efficient as it wouldn't have to stay on long to heat the water to the right temp. It also won't loose heat very fast so you don't have to worry about cycling the heater on and off as much.
Hell you can even take it further and insulate the lines with tubing insulation. Look on your AC unit lines outside and you will see what I'm talking about.
Edit: I would also like to see some experimentation with different fluids in the jar. I have to wonder hoe vegetable oil would do. Or perhaps anti freeze.
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