What's a Good in line Heater fro FX5's?

[doug_sa]

well this is axactly why I went with the sanitary Fittings as they are more lfow oriented! I have absoluted no flow restriction as I went with 1.5"pipe as well and made the flow direction to move through the 90 deg section of the T to bypass restriction to the Crod Grip.


Nice job on the heating system!
You think there are any design concerns with having an 800W heater in this unit...meaning how much of the heater is getting hot enough to melt the plastic and should the heater be mounted in such a way as that the cord is only exiting? Can the be done w/o leaks?

 

[Conner]

doug, you may consider going with a larger diameter pvc pipe for an 800W heater. 2" pipe is plenty large and should prevent any chance of melting.

 

[Mastiffman]

well this is axactly why I went with the sanitary Fittings as they are more lfow oriented! I have absoluted no flow restriction as I went with 1.5"pipe as well and made the flow direction to move through the 90 deg section of the T to bypass restriction to the Crod Grip.


Nice job on the heating system!
You think there are any design concerns with having an 800W heater in this unit...meaning how much of the heater is getting hot enough to melt the plastic and should the heater be mounted in such a way as that the cord is only exiting? Can the be done w/o leaks?

I think that 2" should be more than enough... I guess it really depends on the Diamter of the Heating element. That is the first thing that i would take into consideration. I would want at least 3/8" around the parameter of the outside of the element. The water running around the element at constant rate keeps everything cool because of heat dissipation...

Things to consider when building your own:

1. Diameter and length of Heater.
2. Length of the actuall heating element itself inside the heater.
3. Space that you will need to run the chamber under your cabinet.
4. ID of output hose coming from your Filtration system. (W/D or Canister)

doug, you may consider going with a larger diameter pvc pipe for an 800W heater. 2" pipe is plenty large and should prevent any chance of melting.

I doubt that the PVC would melt being that the moving water in between the heating element and PVC is almost acting like a heat barrier... The tube will be like the tank. It should only get as warm as the water is... 2" should be good though.

 

[doug_sa]

I was thinking about this more...on a relatively small diameter line the in-line could be on the output side but when you increase the diameter (2") would it not be more prudent to place the heater on the intake side and let gravity work with the process. What did you guys do?

 

[Mastiffman]

I was thinking about this more...on a relatively small diameter line the in-line could be on the output side but when you increase the diameter (2") would it not be more prudent to place the heater on the intake side and let gravity work with the process. What did you guys do?

There are a couple of reasons why I used and think that output is best.

1. Gravity wouldn't matter as the water is moving through both I/O hoses at the same rate.

2. The water is clean coming out of the output hose. Well cleaner than the intake at least... It will limit the junk buildup inside the heating chamber....

I have another update. I think that I may have bumped my thermostat down a little. She was holding overnight at about 80.5 deg. So I had to twist the knob a tad to get her a little higher but now she is holding at about 82*. Which is just where I wanted it. So I'm going to leave it there for now.

I'm going to try turning off the 200w heater to see if I can get away with only using the 300w being that i have 2 FX5's on it and the inline. I keep everyone updated.

 

[jcardona1]

My package came in yesterday, all 6 of them Packaging is totally different than yours, they simply sent you the wrong item and package. The lettering on my package is exactly what I posted earlier.

 

[DaveB]

I've been away for a week and missed the progress here, great work! I would be very interested in learning if this ends up requiring less energy.

Also, Cedra is beautiful. If we ever get a bigger car I might give you a call about a puppy from her daughter! We have always wanted a mastiff, but a Rott and a GSD already take up too much of the car...

 

[Mastiffman]

I've been away for a week and missed the progress here, great work! I would be very interested in learning if this ends up requiring less energy.

Also, Cedra is beautiful. If we ever get a bigger car I might give you a call about a puppy from her daughter! We have always wanted a mastiff, but a Rott and a GSD already take up too much of the car...

Thanks and You bet! We are planning on getting her tested this spring to breed Zelda... Let me know when you want to be on the list... Seriously...

 

[Conner]

My package just came in today (sounds dirty, right?). One correct package, one wrong package. I think I also made the mistake of ordering #8437, rather than M8437. However the other piece I ordered was the cordgrip (larger of the two) and it fits the Jager 250w heater I just received today as well, so I should be good to go.

By the way, does anyone else think the Jager heaters are massive? This 250w heater is almost 20" long. My 300w Visi-Therms are only about 12" long.

 

[Conner]

I've also changed my design a little bit. The cordgrip I received doesn't fit any of the 1.5" pvc adapters that I have, so I'll have to pick another up tomorrow.

I've decided that to reduce flow loss as much as possible, I'm going to use a Y fitting where the heater will attach with the cordgrip. Water will come in from the arm of the Y fitting, running down the length of the heater, then off the bottom of it. Then at the end, rather than using a 90* fitting like most people seem to be, I'm just going to put a coupler with the barb fitting to run the tank. This way its one less 90* angle to force the water around.

I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow after work when I get it put together. I'd do it tonight but I've caught a bug from my fiance and not feeling so hot at the moment.