Sadly we purchased probably 6 heaters at $110 a piece, that was the discount price, and we may have one of them still working. They were 2000w bucket heaters with a thermostat. The biggest problem was they put cheap Chinese thermostats in them. Second problem, their “Patented” special plastic case started cracking.
So we built our own, lesson learned. And since we were going to have the Esquilo control them we didn’t need a thermostat.
We bought 2000w heater elements from BrewHardware.com at $29 a piece and nuts $5 all Stainless Steel. We purchased 2″ pvc from the hardware store and end caps. Milled a 1″ hole in one cap and mounted the heater in it. The other end cap we put a waterproof cable connector and ran 12 gauge 3 conductor rubber coated wire into it. Later I also added a green 120v light to show the heater was active. Added a 120v 20a plug to the end.
Wiring is easy, Hot and Neutral went to the two screws on the heater which also had the wires going to the green neon light. There was nothing to ground as it was all plastic.
The top cap is glued, to get the flat top cap we had to use a coupler. Bottom is glued and has threads so we can unscrew it to get to the heater element.
Looking in from bottom. 3 wire cable and two wire cable for light.
Attached Hot and Neutral to heater as well as wire for light. Ground capped off.
Light and electrical cable coming out of top. Glued light in with silicon caulk as I couldn’t reach in there to put the nut on but it was a tight fit anyway.
Full unit assembled, just need to screw the bottom on. Left light and cable loose on the top so they can turn while I’m screwing the bottom on. In hind sight probably would have done the top a bit different as the light was an afterthought.
Most of the heaters are the same size. This is in the Blue Dye tank with Temperature probe in the opposite corner.
Had to make a longer one for this tank. Could have been a bit shorter but works great. The light is on 🙂
We have been using them for a year now with no problems. We have had to tighten some of the bottoms as the heat made them a bit loose. We always check the nuts to make sure they are tight but if you noticed one of the above pictures we put silicon caulk around the heater to help keep the water out.
The nut is on the outside. The water level is just under the nut so the PVC is not touching the liquid, not submerged.
The PVC gets warm but not hot enough to melt it. I can touch the PVC at the bottom after taking it out of the tank with my hand. It’s very warm but not burning hot. The heaters are constantly monitored and never left alone.
Cost, well $34 for element and nut, maybe $12 for PVC, $2 for light, waterproof connector was probably $1 plus wire, maybe $5 at most so for about $55 or a bit less we made a heater that lasted longer than the ones we bought though we didn’t have a thermostat.
If you decide to use this, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I will not be held responsible for anything you make.
Thanks,
Jeffery
