heating fish tank water

[Del Roach]

Can someone tell me the most efficient way to heat my fish tank water?  Thanks  Doc

[Ron]

I couldnt edit. The original poster did i thought. Trying to keep something warm where it is really cold and you need to heat a greenhouse.I like my rocket stove idea.You could make a long exhaust pipe covered in cob that would kick out heat all night long with a little wood and a self feeding setup.
The very first poster lived in bisbee? tombstone? a sunny fairly warm place.I imagine he would only see freezing night a few days or weeks a year.

[Vlad Jovanovic]

I hear ya Jon, and I'm sure you are right...But with last years temps this time of year (actually it didn't get horrible til Feb) where we had 4-5 weeks of sustained temps between -15C to -25C I went for something that gives off the most amount of heat possible. Also I don't have a chipper, but I do have a chainsaw and lots of woods...So Jim's stove seemed much more feasible in the immediate. 

I still plan to build the sygas deal at some point, (thanks for the FEMA stuff btw...) and have already have acquired some of the tanks/materials needed), but probably wont get around to that til summer/fall.

I (and I'm sure all of us) would love to see pics and pick your brain a bit It's really, really cool that you actually went and built the thing. I'm sure you are really busy on the farm...I know we are, but hopefully you'll have the time for that thread.

 

Jon Parr said:

Guys, I've been meaning to post some pics of my gasifier. I'll start a dedicated thread soon. It rocks, and was so damned easy it's ridiculous. Vlad, in a fraction of the time it would have taken you to weld up your stove (which is kick ass, btw), you could have made a gasifier to power electrical generator AND make power. I was sure surprised. I can't post pics from my phone, so you'll have to wait until I get home...

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Wow! That was fast Jim, you sure don't fool around.

This stuff is so cool hehe... (no pun/irony intended)

Jim Fisk said:

Hey Vlad,

Here is a start on the waste oil burner mod. I have bread boarded a commercial dishwasher control and injector. T-stat and safety Klixons to only allow it to pump oil during the ideal burn temps. Hope to have it up and going tomorrow although I have another service call an hr. from here that may screw me up. Soon at any rate.

I have some 1/8" ss tubing for the hot side to the stove. Doesn't take much oil. Keeping it lean is perhaps the hardest task. With the lo temps coming in tomorrow I sure would like to stay around and keep an eye on things. (and screw around with this new system add on.)

[Jim Fisk]

Yeah Vlad,

 that is cold. Not quite the temps we learned to live with in N. Maine but bad enough. We catered to ice fishermen and snowmobilers so cold and snow was a good thing but at 20 - 30 below 0F with wind chills far below that we saw a lot of very dangerous and painful frost bite. A major reason we moved further S for our retirement. AP at those temps would have to be in the basement with lights to make any sense at all. (never even heard of AP 14 mos. ago) We could walk (or ride) right onto the 12 ft. high garage roof most of the Winter. 4 feet of ice on the lake out front. Without our own front end loader I don't know how anyone could live there. So much snow. 12F here this morning we can live with. The stove ran 12 hrs unattended and kept things very happy (blower off). 8:30 am and the sun just hit the GH so I can go to work without worry.

Vlad, have you drilled a peak hole yet to watch the wood gas burner in action? Very mesmerizing. I tried to take a vid thru it last night but I will have to make it bigger with a plug. perhaps a 1/2" electrical knock out plug. I'll tackle that tonight. Should make for a great video.

Tomorrow back on the waste oil burner mod.

Vlad Jovanovic said:

I hear ya Jon, and I'm sure you are right...But with last years temps this time of year (actually it didn't get horrible til Feb) where we had 4-5 weeks of sustained temps between -15C to -25C I went for something that gives off the most amount of heat possible. Also I don't have a chipper, but I do have a chainsaw and lots of woods...So Jim's stove seemed much more feasible in the immediate. 

I still plan to build the sygas deal at some point, (thanks for the FEMA stuff btw...) and have already have acquired some of the tanks/materials needed), but probably wont get around to that til summer/fall.

I (and I'm sure all of us) would love to see pics and pick your brain a bit It's really, really cool that you actually went and built the thing. I'm sure you are really busy on the farm...I know we are, but hopefully you'll have the time for that thread.

 

Jon Parr said:

Guys, I've been meaning to post some pics of my gasifier. I'll start a dedicated thread soon. It rocks, and was so damned easy it's ridiculous. Vlad, in a fraction of the time it would have taken you to weld up your stove (which is kick ass, btw), you could have made a gasifier to power electrical generator AND make power. I was sure surprised. I can't post pics from my phone, so you'll have to wait until I get home...

[Ron]

 Well Vlad for where you live your idea is preety good. Im just going to move to where it is warmer. Im tired of the snow and ice.So next summer i can think im crazy for living where its 115 degrees out for a few months.Than really mellow winters.

 Its what i grew up in,probably why my brain is fried!

 So my next challenge well be fans with cooler pads and shade cloth.Trying to run everything on solar.And keeping plants from frying from the heat.

[Jim Fisk]

Sounds like a whole different challenge Ron,

Cutting firewood sounds easier and I have been doing it for 45 yrs now. Best exercise I know

And I love tinkering with my stove. I now have a dig T-stat controlling the fire blower to come on at 39F and turn off at 40F and that seems to be doing a great job. 15F over night and the stove kept it all very happy. Summers here are so perfect that a couple of mos. of wood heat is just a fun diversion and a great way to keep our monster trees groomed and thinned. This valley in the mtns. grows the best hardwoods in the country according to the locals. Did not know that when we moved here 3 yrs ago.

Ron said:

 Well Vlad for where you live your idea is preety good. Im just going to move to where it is warmer. Im tired of the snow and ice.So next summer i can think im crazy for living where its 115 degrees out for a few months.Than really mellow winters.

 Its what i grew up in,probably why my brain is fried!

 So my next challenge well be fans with cooler pads and shade cloth.Trying to run everything on solar.And keeping plants from frying from the heat.