DIY inline heater

It certainly sounds like it would work. I've seen kits like these on ebay before but you can get JEBO external heater isn't that much more. I guess if you have the heater already, you can save a few $ buiding your own but if it was me, I'll just buy an inline instead.

http://cgi.ebay.com/JEBO-External-I...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1e567c83a1

Hadn't seen the Jebo one before but I also haven't had very good luck with their in the tank heaters so it makes me a little wary. Anyone ever used the Jebo before?
 
Nice - one thought is to put the inlet on the bottom and the outlet on the top so any air is automatically purged when the canister is running.
 
If your doing this because you want to hide or keep the heater out of the tank then it has true merit. But if you think having it in an enclosed tube with baffles to slow down water will help heat the water faster or make the heater more efficient, it cant happen.

Water conducts heat 25 times faster then air, so the less or slower the water exposure created by baffles in an enclosed system, the less effective or slower the heater will heat the tank. You may even cause a situation where the PVC not rated for heat could fail or change shape over time if you raise the thermostat in an attempt to compensate for the heaters apparent loss of effectiveness

I think your idea has merit but I would leave the baffles out or if your using them to hold the heater in place make sure they do not restrict flow at all and make sure they are made of ceramic not PVC to withstand contact heat which is high. I would also use heat rated PVC for that section of pipe and a heater that shuts itself off if run dry or overheats. This good insurance against Murphy's law which in this case things 3 things (water, electricity, and heat/fire) have been put in place which potentially can go wrong causing a meltdown shock or flood.

AgainI like your reason for hiding the heater and I think the added cost to make sure it causes no damage is well worth it.

*No baffle restrictions
*Heat rated PVC
*Run dry protection heater (hydor)
*Anchors (NOT baffles) made of ceramic
 
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I don't know that I understand the purpose of the baffles in the design. You are going to get X number of calories (heat) per hour no matter if the water flows quickly past the heater or slowly.

The baffles will only really serve to make it more complicated, not more efficient.

UV needs X number of seconds to kill a bug, that is why they have baffles, but the heat transfer doesn't need that time.

Edit: looks like I spoke to slowly.
 
Thanks for the info on the baffle guys.

I will look into it they were the one thing I was debating on.

All the PVC I"m using is heat rated .... Hmmm I have a new design idea hold on drawings coming.
 
Not really worried about adjusting that much since the critters can withstand a wide range and I will test the flow before it is sealed and installed so I will know what the outflow temp will be.
 
Okay round 2 of the design process...

What about this idea with the co2 input being at 90 degrees to the water input. Kind of kills 2 birds with one stone so to speak. This design would also allow me to make a bracket where the whole thing sits on the floor of the cabinet for easier access.

heater3.jpg
 
I still think the outlet should be at the top to eliminate having an extra mechanism to purge air.
 
2 problems with the outlet at top that I see...

#1 Water movement slows since it has to fight the back pressure of pushing thru a larger column of water.

#2 Then the CO2 would go right up and out with very little chance to be assimilated into the water.
 
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