Miniature Heaters
Contents:
- Source for 7.5W, non-thermostatic heaters
by Wright Huntley <huntley1/home.com> (Wed, 06 Jan 1999)
- (No Title)
by ()
- UG/heater
by krandall/world.std.com (Wed, 06 Jan 1999)
by Wright Huntley <huntley1/home.com>
Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1999
> Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 13:29:22 -0500
> From: "James Purchase" <jpurch@interlog.com>
> Subject: Source for 7.5W, non-thermostatic heaters
>
> Karen Randall mentioned recently the use of small, 7.5 Watt heaters (w/o
> thermostat). I remember several years ago when she initially mentioned the
> use of these items as one possible method of causing a very slow circulation
> of water within a substrate.
>
> But WHERE do you obtain such small heaters? I can't see any such item listed
> in the online catalogues of any of the aquatic mail order houses. anybody
> have any idea of a current source?
I have usually found them at WalMart, of all places! Watch it though.
They are made as cheaply as their selling price, and are, IMHO, a major
hazard in a tank. The tube is *not* Pyrex, or even glass. It is thin
polyethylene-looking stuff.
by
It would be better to do it DIY, if you are at all handy. A 12V 1A
transformer (wall-plug kinds are cheap) and a 20 Ohm 10W resistor in a
real Pyrex tube full of fine sand, vinyl sealed, would be safer, IMO.
The vinyl used for coating pliers handles should work nicely.
Wright
- --
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntley1 at home dot com
Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face.
Thomas Sowell
by krandall/world.std.com
Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1999
>I did not know there was 7.5w heaters.
They're usually marketed for "mini" tanks in the 1-2 1/2G range. They're
actually pretty useless for most purposes.<g>
>One concern that did come up was
>would the heater cause damage to the tube?
I'll never say never, but I haven't seen it happen, nor have I heard of it
from anyone else. I've heard of one burning out and ceasing to function,
but that's all it did. It was easily pulled out and another one inserted
in its place. It's likely that it was a faulty heater to start with.
James Purchase wrote:
>But WHERE do you obtain such small heaters? I can't see any such item listed
>in the online catalogues of any of the aquatic mail order houses. anybody
>have any idea of a current source?
I've had my LFS order them for me, and now they actually keep them in
stock. I've also seen them at the chains like Petco and Petsmart. I've
even seen them in Walmart. You won't find them in most "real"<g> pet
stores unless they know of this "secret purpose" beacuse they don't have
much useful application elsewhere.
Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Association
The Krib
Tank Hardware
The Krib