Misting system heater

[beeze]

Hooked up a inline water heater from a Bunn Coffee maker to my misting system. Had to use a hot water heater thermostat, set @110 deg. The pump and the heater come on at the same time. The nozzle is six feet from the heater and the temp is 88 deg. after 20 seconds.

My cham loves it.

 

[chameleonman57]

Thats sweet, I'm totally taking that idea.

 

[beeze]

Thanks chameleonman57
When the mister use to come on the chams would go to the side of the cage trying to avoid the water. Now with the heater hooked up and the mister comes on they get right under the nozzle it looks like they are taking a shower.

 

[susurrus]

Do you have part numbers for the thermostat or the water heater? I'm interested in building a setup like this but would like to order the parts directly and part numbers would help.

 

[jadeaudio]

So that only turns on when the mister comes on? That is awesome. Save some electricity since I use an aquarium heater and that stays on 24 hours a day at 25 watts.

 

[eidolen]

So that only turns on when the mister comes on? That is awesome. Save some electricity since I use an aquarium heater and that stays on 24 hours a day at 25 watts.

Hi,
Sounds like we are using a similar system and I almost put a timer on my heater as well till I realized it would indeed self regulate once I once I gave it enough time to stabilize. I kept turning it down further and further and it seemed like the temperature just kept rising. It was over 150F at one point after I insulated the tank so I just turned it down until the light went off and figured I'd put a timer on it the next day. I checked the temp after many hours and it had started to fall, but it was still to hot and the light was back on. After a few more adjustments it was back down where it needed to be and has been ever since.

So now it's only turning on once in a while, and I don't have to worry about extra wiring or timers. The best thing is the ability to turn on the mister at any time if needed without having to wait for anything to heat up first. Insulating the reservoir made all the difference. Anyway, if you are interested you check out the thread where I got the idea from here.

Please don't take this as a deterrent from trying this system as it quite ingenious. I might have built something similar myself had I seen this thread first as I still have my old Bunn coffee maker that is only used as a carafe warmer now due to a leak I never fixed. I only saw that you seem to be having the same problem I had and was able to fix it after some testing and adjustments. Whichever way you go, I hope it works out for you.

Hooked up a inline water heater from a Bunn Coffee maker to my misting system.

Just curious what Bunn coffee maker was that from as it looks nothing like the one from mine? Was also curious about the pump. I'm guessing you are using a resevoir, or is the pump in addition to a hard plumbed system?

Also wanted to say great job! I like it a lot.

Eidolen

 

[jadeaudio]

I like this idea better. It would be much easier and ecomical to run this inline heater because it only comes on when the mister comes on. I can handle 30 seconds of cold water. Your idea is nice if only running one cage, but I run 5 cages. I empty the 5 gallon bucket everyday and it doesn't even get as hot as I want with an aquarium heater and I have the bucket with a lid on it. I have it cranked to the max. The water in the bucket feels warm, but coming out of the mister the water is substantially colder.

 

[beeze]

I tried the same heater and could not get good temp from it. I was thinking what could make instant hot water. Coffee maker, looked on e-bay found this.
Water Heater, 120 VAC, Inline, 1/4 I/O, 186 F Max, Bunn.
This item is made of all stainless steel. It is approx 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. It has 120 VAC spade electrical connections on one end and a remote bulb thermostat on the other. There is a Temperature overload on the top. Water inlet and outlet are welded 1/4 tube fittings for clamp. This unit came from Bunn Coffee water heating units.
It was $19.00. on e-bay. Had to replace the thermostat, the one that came with it would only go down to 145 deg. to hot. Used a thermostat for a hot water heater. I set it at 110 and I am getting 85 deg. at the nozzles. You can get allot hotter if you want 110 works good for me. I have it coming on the same time as the pump, getting 85 deg. in about 20 sec. at the nozzles. I run it for 5 min. two times a day on two cages. After 20 sec. the temp stays the same at the nozzle heads. I don't think you would have problem with 5 cages. After you get it set up the only thing you have to do is add water to the 5 gallon bucket.
Hope this helps.

 

[Mesnik]

WOW!!!! VERY cool!!

I am going to ditch my hydor and build me one of these!!!


So all you need, besides the pump and fittings, is the coffe maker?

Can you tell me the model? And perhaps a part number for the replaced thermostat?

Thanks for sharing!!!!

Roberto

 

[eidolen]

I had no idea you were running 5 cages. I wouldn't attempt a 25 watt aquarium heater for that either, but I couldn't be happier with what I have for a single cage. I have to turn off the mister well before I run hot water, and from my testings, I could have easily reached close to 200F with a 1 gallon container which is what I'm using. I was seeing steam with a room temp of over 85F. lol

I think the key for any system that is not "On Demand" is to insulate the reservoir. Doing that effectively is like free money, and having hot water almost instantly is nice as well. Speaking of on demand, that was the difference in my Bunn coffee maker I think. Mine is a "purge pot" with a larger reservoir, which is why I didn't recognize the one in the pictures.

Once again, great job!

Eidolen

 

[Mesnik]

Sooooo....who is going to do the DIY how-to on this one??

C'mon c'mon!!

 

[summoner12]

Freakin awesome!

Just reamember the misting systems like Mist King and Herp Mist can't tolerate much temp and pressure. As temp rises in these systems the fitting's pressure rating drops quite a bit.

 

[jastate09]

I like. Pretty cool! Wish I had talent to make something like that.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

i think i am just going to leave it at room temperature for now. todays mistings havent done much today though, i have relatively lower humidity than i would like to have today. if this a case that continues, i will figure something out to warm the water aroun 80degrees. and if i have to use an aquarium heater, i will use a black bucket with a lid to slow down algae growth. guh., i dont know one problem after another

 

[Bob 1000]

How is this system doing? is it still working?? Any glitches??

 

[beeze]

How is this system doing? is it still working?? Any glitches??

No glitches at all. Still works great.

 

[Bob 1000]

Where could I find the heater you used?? I search and only came up with the link back to this post.. Are they found in any coffe maker??
Thanks Bob

 

[summoner12]

Where could I find the heater you used?? I search and only came up with the link back to this post.. Are they found in any coffe maker??
Thanks Bob

Jump on ebay and search for old Bunn coffee makers.... They aren't really that cheap.... but you'll find them in the 'industrial' models, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Bob 1000]

Thanks I'll try that..

 

[Bob 1000]

Is this http://blujay.com/?page=ad&adid=1627755&cat=4110000 the type to get the heater out of???