Comment

Comment by Bobby McGovern on October 17, 2012 at 2:16pm

My "plan" is to use a pallet jack and just roll everything inside the garage (about a 6 ft. distance) therefore not needing to run the heater  a lot.  Fortunately our winters are fairly mild here compared to yours in Colorado.  We usually only get a handful of freezes every year. My water temp was down to 61 the day we got the heater finished.  It took about 4 hours or so to get it up to 78.  I thought that was pretty good considering the water was running through cold media and all.

I don't have a thermostat yet.  I live with an inventive genius so I'm sure he'll get it figured out.  I need to get one though.  I just felt the water and it felt cold (the thermometer was upstairs so I didn't take the temp).  I turned the heater on.  I am one of those that needs to write everything down otherwise I forget.  If I don't go set a timer right this minute I'll forget and I'll end up cooking my goldfish.  Yes, a thermostat is a must !!

Comment by Avery Ellis on October 16, 2012 at 7:04pm

These work great! I tried one last winter and it kept my 300 gallon IBC system nice and toasty. So long as you dont mind the energy bill that comes with it...Have you found a decent thermostat that can maintain 70-80F? I ended up putting the element on a timer so it would cycle on and off, but I had little control of the actual temperature...

Moderator Comment by Bob Terrell on October 16, 2012 at 7:28am

I understand now, thanks

Comment by Bobby McGovern on October 16, 2012 at 7:00am

The element is now inside the PVC.  The wires go up the tall vertical pipe.  I can hang the heater on the side of the tank.

Here's a picture showing the approximate location inside the PVC.  It screws into some sort of fitting (help me out Rob with what it's called).  It's threaded so the heating element screws right in.  Where the black coupling and on up the tall pipe it's watertight and dry.

 

Moderator Comment by Bob Terrell on October 15, 2012 at 11:06pm

Bobby, where are you putting the heating element? And how are you protecting the wires from the water?