Hydor Inline Heater vs Intank Heater

[Bradkc]

Be careful plugging to many things into one receptacle. Not only can it can trip breakers leaving your cham with no heat, uvb or misting for the day due to excessive load on the circuit breaker, but it can also be a fire hazard due to excessive heat on the wire leading to insulation breakdown. Just something to think about.

 

[summoner12]

Be careful plugging to many things into one receptacle. Not only can it can trip breakers leaving your cham with no heat, uvb or misting for the day due to excessive load on the circuit breaker, but it can also be a fire hazard due to excessive heat on the wire leading to insulation breakdown. Just something to think about.

I am pretty sure the items plugged in are not high current draw, but a good thing to keep in mind.

 

[Sancho]

I did the same installation but with a 200 W Hydor and it is not great. It is better than nothing but definetly a waste.

I got the 200 cause they didn't have the 300...

Also, I don't have it starting before the pump... I don't quite like that idea so I have it on the same timer as the pump.

And even when I run the pump for 10 min, the water doesn't get that warm.



Roberto.

Reason I don't want to waste $50 on a inline. I'm thinking about not using a heating source but each time I fill it up just using the hottest water I can get.

 

[Silverdusk]

One thing to keep in mind... The inline is designed for keeping up to a 100 gallon aquarium. And that would be circulating continuously. Since ours would only be on a few minutes before the misting system goes off the water essentially will be hotter than the 93 degrees, by time my water hits my chams it's about 80 degrees, which would be like a nice summer rain. To each their own, maybe someone will finally crack this nut and we can all properly heat our watering systems. Goodluck!

 

[Mesnik]

Silverdusk,

How do you have your system set up?

Cause I am not getting warm water at all...

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

The in-line heater will NOT make the water "HOT"

The in-line heater is to make the water "warmer", to reduce the shock the chameleon will experience when the water is turned on. It works I use it.
Personally , I use the heater on only my panthers. Mountain species are not heated. Either way I have seen the Chameleons enjoy a drink.

How about you save $50 and not heat the water at all. It is done quite a bit and I have not seen anyone report any problems. I have about 15 Chameleons that would agree that it is not needed. Typically the water will be room temperature anyway.

Just make sure there is a place for the cham to escape when the water is sprayed. Just in case he does not want to be sprayed.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Silverdusk,

How do you have your system set up?

Cause I am not getting warm water at all...

Are you having the heater turn on at least 5-10 min before the water turns on?

Is there any air in the line?

Have you tried reversing the flow on the line?

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Reason I don't want to waste $50 on a inline. I'm thinking about not using a heating source but each time I fill it up just using the hottest water I can get.

I think this is the best choice. I didn't see this before.

 

[Jason4045]

I'm going to save the $50 and go without a heater The room stays around 78 -80 degrees anyway.

 

[Mesnik]

Ryan,

I have it coming on at the same time... I will make a trip to Home Depot for a separate timer.

I don't think it has air as the lines don't "spit" when water comes on.

I tried reversing but that wasn't with pre-heating the heater. So maybe that makes a difference once I have the heater coming on earlier...

I will try that! Thanks again, Ryan!

Roberto

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Ryan,

I have it coming on at the same time... I will make a trip to Home Depot for a separate timer.

I don't think it has air as the lines don't "spit" when water comes on.

I tried reversing but that wasn't with pre-heating the heater. So maybe that makes a difference once I have the heater coming on earlier...

I will try that! Thanks again, Ryan!

Roberto

I was doing the same thing when I first got the setup. You will be happier when it comes on first.

It drove me crazy but Dave and Frans helped me out a lot.

Sounds like air isn't a problem, but you can try burping the line. Make sure the Hydor is filled with water. You can do that by detaching the hose exiting the heater and letting water flow for a second. The idea is to have as much air out of the heater and system as possible.

 

[Mesnik]

Thanks for all this feedback, Ryan. I am going to try all that and report back!

 

[Bradkc]

I am pretty sure the items plugged in are not high current draw, but a good thing to keep in mind.

Well what I was getting at is that I highly doubt that one receptacle is a dedicated circuit, meaning there are probably more receptacles in line, on the same circuit as that one. TV, computer, 2 powerstrips, plug and cord lights, that adds up pretty fast.

 

[Mesnik]

Improvements!!

I separated the hydor heater from the pump so it turns on 5 minutes earlier and the water does come out warmer than before. Also inverted the flow as recommended...

And you are right, it does not come out hot but warm. Enough to brake the coolness from it sitting in the pail.

Thanks for the help, Ryan!

 

[summoner12]

Well what I was getting at is that I highly doubt that one receptacle is a dedicated circuit, meaning there are probably more receptacles in line, on the same circuit as that one. TV, computer, 2 powerstrips, plug and cord lights, that adds up pretty fast.

It does, but if the house is up to code and the contractor used the correct gauge wire for the breaker protecting that circuit, everything should be fine. I am sure Chad can jump in on this... but I think most home wiring is 16AWG and would most likely be protected with a 15amp breaker.

 

[Dave Weldon]

I separated the hydor heater from the pump so it turns on 5 minutes earlier and the water does come out warmer than before. Also inverted the flow as recommended...

And you are right, it does not come out hot but warm. Enough to brake the coolness from it sitting in the pail.

Thanks for the help, Ryan!

Howdy,

Regarding the performance of the 300W Hydor inline heaters.

Be sure to "burp" your heater. If it isn't vertically mounted with the cold water going in the bottom and the hot water coming out the top, it is easy to have air constantly trapped inside the heater body, reducing not only the amount of "heater-to-water" surface contact but the built-in thermostat will shutdown before the water ever gets to max temp . Reversing the water flow does seem to help. I think it has to do with which water reaches the thermostat first - heated or unheated.

A little info that I once collected (04/23/05) about the heating vs. flow rate:

Water inlet temperature set to 64F and Hydor set to max temp:

127F outlet @zero/minute (63F rise)
100F outlet @1pint/minute (36F rise)
87F outlet @1quart/minute (23F rise)
78F outlet @2quart/minute (12F rise)

That said, I think my two enclosures with one nozzle each, running for ~15 minutes twice a day uses something like only 1/4 of a pint/minute. This slow rate may actually end-up not producing the best (highest temp) results. Even though I got 127F at zero flow and 100F at 1pint/minute, I think I only ended-up getting something like ~90F outlet temp when flowing at 1/4pint/minute .

In terms of minimizing water "slime", one of our SBCK members mentioned adding an in-tank UVC aquarium sterilizer to her tank. She's not sure just how truly effective it is but I'm sure we will get more feedback in the future .

 

[Bradkc]

It does, but if the house is up to code and the contractor used the correct gauge wire for the breaker protecting that circuit, everything should be fine. I am sure Chad can jump in on this... but I think most home wiring is 16AWG and would most likely be protected with a 15amp breaker.

NEC requires 14AWG for a 15 amp breaker. We are getting way off topic with this haha. Like Chad(Vegas Chad I take it), I am also a union electrician.

 

[summoner12]

NEC requires 14AWG for a 15 amp breaker. We are getting way off topic with this haha. Like Chad(Vegas Chad I take it), I am also a union electrician.

hmmm really? ok... yeah... now i remember... the cable at the lighting shop I used to work at must have been 12 gauge for 2.0k watts and out 14 gauge was 1.5k watts and the 16 gauge must have been 1.2k? this is for 110v service. I could be remembering that all wrong.... This is theater lighting, but should still be close or the same, right?


yeah totally off topic......


but back on track... be safe, don't go nutso on the power strippos!

 

[Mesnik]

Dave,

Just so we are on the same page, how do you suggest "burping" the heater?

I held it vertically, with the arrow molded on the case, pointing down, cold water coming from below, removed the nozzle and let water flow through as I was "shaking" the heater to get any bubblles to get out...

Thanks for the info!

 

[Dave Weldon]

Dave,

Just so we are on the same page, how do you suggest "burping" the heater?

I held it vertically, with the arrow molded on the case, pointing down, cold water coming from below, removed the nozzle and let water flow through as I was "shaking" the heater to get any bubblles to get out...

Thanks for the info!

Howdy Roberto,

Yep, that's burbing it . It's letting the trapped air rise to the top and escape via that outlet regardless of the arrow direction. Inside the Hydor body is basically a sheet of very high powered (300W vs. 25W) heat tape. Although there isn't any obstruction to the flow, air can be trapped if the Hydor body is either not in a vertical position with the outlet at the top or if the flow is in the top and out the bottom no matter what position it is mounted. In either of those cases, you need to "burp" the body by holding it such that the top is the outlet and then run the pump to remove the last of the air. It will stay free of air so long as it is kept full of water from that point on. Otherwise just burp it again if air was, for some reason, allowed back inside (removed tubing to while making layout changes etc.)