[rycalshaw]

hi darran, just read one of your comments on an old post regarding immersion heaters, you said that you had just put 2 of the portable immersions in your ibc tank, could you give an update please ie how long did you leave them in and what temperature did it reach and roughly how much they cost to run, also do they affect the purity of the water at all. i,m not really bothered about going hot as such but i thought it would keep the shed and my r o units warm and working with warm water would be a bonus...thanks

[Smudger]

Hi

I've been using these for the last 3 years, usually I have them on for nights where the temp is lower than 3 degrees, the results in warm water for the following day were excellent between 25 and 30 degrees centigrade.   But more than that I had a frost free van and supple warm hoses all day.

I usually run them from midnight to 7 am ( really cold weather from 10 pm )

Running costs depend on your electricity rates  1 kW = 1 unit per hour so if your night rate is 7.5p per unit.  Running 2 kw immersion for 7 hours would work out at £1.05

2 kW will warm 1000 ltrs to 25 degrees so you may only need 1 kW and you also heat the van keeping it frost free which to me is a big advantage over the on demand alternatives.

No effect on TDS ( warm water does read higher than cold )

Regards

Darran

[rycalshaw]

cheers darran, thanks for the reply, so do you just use 1x 2kw heater in the ibc tank and also do you just literally plug them in and dangle them into the tank..thanks

[Smudger]

Originally I had 2x 500 tanks in the van so I used a 1kw in each

When I changed to a 1000 ltr tank I used both in one tank in opposing corners.

Last year I had tanks setup in the unit and used 2 kW in them, yes I dangle them in the water as near to the bottom as you can get

Darran

[rycalshaw]

cheers darran, apprieciate it mate...

[robert mitchell]

do you have a link for them?

[Smudger]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Home-Garden-Portable-Travel-Hot-Water-Heater-Immersion-Element-220V-2000W-/360844400777?pt=UK_TravelTickets_Accessories_RL&hash=item5404009889


Darran

[james stanley]

These heaters use too much wattage and over heat the extension lead I found .......

[Smudger]

Use too much wattage ?

Darran

[Arnold Palmer]

He means draw a high current, which they do. Best to unravel the extension cable all the way. Saves them getting too hot.

[Smudger]

That's what I thought he meant,

Yes use top quality cable, I use articflex with heavy duty plugs.

Darran

[robert mitchell]

cheers smudger -


 if your extension is overheating it must either be poor quality or you have not unwound all the cable.

[james stanley]

mine is a good quality one with a thermal cut out.....it heats the 650 ltr tank well but cuts out due to the reel getting to hot. That was with using two on one reel though. Ended up trying one on each reel but one tripped out and the other stayed on . I would be interested in this method but want a heater that uses less current really

[Smudger]

What wattage were you using ?2 off one reel is pushing it for current draw.

Why not use small wattage per unit.

Darran

[james stanley]

are there any other heating elements you can recommend ?

[Smudger]

Not really, you can get these in 500 watt size, but you'd need to have them on longer per night.

Someone was using 1kw aquarium heaters which would work well.

This year I am thinking of permanently putting an immersion element into each van as I now store 3000 to 4000 ltrs of water at any time, which means heating water that may not be used that day

Darran

[rycalshaw]

Darren,i,ve just received one of these heaters, it has its own plug and adapter, did you change this for a heavy duty plug and what size fuse etc do you have in your extension plug, forgive me if these are stupid questions but I,m really not mechanically minded..

[Smudger]

That's ok,

Mine always came with the standard 3 pin uk plug, but if your didn't then yes I'd put one on. I used a 13 amp fuse and rcd.


Darran

[DaveG]

Originally I had 2x 500 tanks in the van so I used a 1kw in each

When I changed to a 1000 ltr tank I used both in one tank in opposing corners.

Last year I had tanks setup in the unit and used 2 kW in them, yes I dangle them in the water as near to the bottom as you can get

Darran

Hi Darran,

Thinking of going this route this year. I like the idea of a frost free van in the morning!

What 1kw heaters did you use before you went to the 1000l tank? I've looked on Evilbay and can't find a 1kw tank heater?

Cheers

[tonycarr]

hi darren...with the water being heated to 25-30 degrees would i have change from using minibore hose to thermobore hose?

tony