Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:58 pm
The tricky part about putting the heating element inside the chamber is that it needs to be elecrically insulated from the water and chamber. I believe Coffee pots and the like don't put the heater wire in direct contact with the liquid. I believe they consist of a resistive heater wrapped around a metal tube.
So, for a resistive heater you need a suitable insulated heating element and a way to get it's electrical contacts into the chamber. And, you probably need a pretty significant amount of power into the heater so it doesn't take all day to heat the system up.
There are the cheapo "coffee cup" immersion heaters. Probably get one at the local K-mart for a couple bucks but it'll probably take a long time to heat your chamber.
http://www.moriluggage.com/Prod-19-1-57 ... Heater.htm
Plus you need a way to plumb it into the chamber.
There are immersion heaters used in chem labs that would work. You might take a look at http://www.hotwatt.com/immersio.htm They have threaded and insulated fittings. Probably not exactly cheap (I don't see any prices on the site).
https://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/prod ... ku=3613600 has various types. The linked one is 100watt for $130. You probably want something bigger than 100W.
Perhaps the best and cheapest approach would be to get a replacement hot water heater element from the local hardware store. See for example http://www.plumbingsupply.com/eemaxelements.html. Looks like they run about $50 each. I'm not sure what kind of fitting(s) these heaters have, threaded, compression, ....?
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Homedespot lists some pretty cheap hot water heater replacement elements. For example, search for SKU 258152;
3500 Watt
240 Volt Screw-In Water Heater Element
Model 15152
$7.97/EA
Most hot water heaters run on 240VAC. I don't know of any reason you couldn't run it at 120VAC, thought the power output will be cut in half.
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Please be very careful. 120VAC can kill you. Metal + water + 120 VAC is a good way to end up 6' under. In addition, you must have some kind of reliable safety pressure relief in the system.
So, for a resistive heater you need a suitable insulated heating element and a way to get it's electrical contacts into the chamber. And, you probably need a pretty significant amount of power into the heater so it doesn't take all day to heat the system up.
There are the cheapo "coffee cup" immersion heaters. Probably get one at the local K-mart for a couple bucks but it'll probably take a long time to heat your chamber.
http://www.moriluggage.com/Prod-19-1-57 ... Heater.htm
Plus you need a way to plumb it into the chamber.
There are immersion heaters used in chem labs that would work. You might take a look at http://www.hotwatt.com/immersio.htm They have threaded and insulated fittings. Probably not exactly cheap (I don't see any prices on the site).
https://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/prod ... ku=3613600 has various types. The linked one is 100watt for $130. You probably want something bigger than 100W.
Perhaps the best and cheapest approach would be to get a replacement hot water heater element from the local hardware store. See for example http://www.plumbingsupply.com/eemaxelements.html. Looks like they run about $50 each. I'm not sure what kind of fitting(s) these heaters have, threaded, compression, ....?
---
Homedespot lists some pretty cheap hot water heater replacement elements. For example, search for SKU 258152;
3500 Watt
240 Volt Screw-In Water Heater Element
Model 15152
$7.97/EA
Most hot water heaters run on 240VAC. I don't know of any reason you couldn't run it at 120VAC, thought the power output will be cut in half.
---------------------
Please be very careful. 120VAC can kill you. Metal + water + 120 VAC is a good way to end up 6' under. In addition, you must have some kind of reliable safety pressure relief in the system.