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DIY Heater, build your own 2000 watt heater for $20 ***DONT USE COPPER OR NICKEL ELEMENTS!

submersible virsion... http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/diy-heater-sub... ...this how-to has the link for the stainless elements.

After many variations, this is the simplest heater I've been able to build. I had to come up with this last year while waiting for my $600 heater to be built and delivered. when it finally arrived, I just left it in the box and continued to use the home built unit.

DO NOT USE THE COPPER ELEMENT FROM HOME DEPOT!  YOU MUST ORDER A STAINLESS STEEEL ELEMENT.   ....This is a 2000 watt element from Home Depot, a 1-1/2" to 1" reducer, a 1-1/2" uniseal, and a fitting with net pots to keep the fish off the element. I found that a heavy duty timer works for a thermostat. I run it for 15 mins on the hour to keep my 150 gallon tank toasty. this would be adjusted according to your needs. i have used this on as much as 600 gallons, but would recommend going to the 240 volt, 4000 watt for anything over 400 gallon. Note - the 2" net pots slip right onto a male threaded 1-1/2" nipple.

The top pipe is optional, i like to keep it as tall as the water level will allow. This will create a convective flow of water across the element. Works great!

here is the newer version...

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Nice job Rob, thanks for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us aquapons.

 

Love it! Clean installation and functional. Thanks, I was just looking into a heater when I found this.

This is awesome invention!

Awesome Rob!  Thanks for sharing this!  When you run this are you pumping through out the system?

Gina,

yes, this tub connects to my little seedling tables (media beds). As it gets colder, i plan on not circulating the water through the beds at night.

this example is in a small 50 gallon tub for some fingerling i have on hand. i have used one of these in the Rubbermaid 300 gallon tub with two media beds the most. here is a pic of a an inline version i have on my seedling nursery raft. with a system in the thousands of gallons, i suppose you could have multiple units at different points of the system, which would be all bad.  Somewhere i have a submersible one, ill try to find a pic.

 

 

Thanks, Rob!

 

Execellent idea...thank you for sharing ;-)

 

God bless

Awsome work dude!!!!  Hey just wondering could you have used the already made drain fitting in the rubbermaid tank for this application???? or is it not the right size??????



Rob said Somewhere i have a submersible one, are you for
real you can also make them submersible??? I used to be a plumber and what you
have done here is border line genius, please show the submersible version, you
have my curiosity sparked to the nines with that one.

 

Nice!  Thanks for sharing this Rob!

i ment to say multiple units in a larger system "wouldn't" be all bad.

 

 

Wes, here is the newest submersible style im trying. this is a 2" to 1" threaded reducer with the edges filed off. in this example the coupler is pvc, i didnt have a rubber 2" but would recomend one like the 1-1/2" shown. The cord is pushed through a flex hose "slip" fitting. (you have to find a cord that fits into the hose fitting just right. in this case i think this one is 3/8)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 this shows the reducer before and after filing the edges off. 

  

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