View Full Version : Cheapest thermostat?
vincentmolino
04-26-2012, 01:18 PM
hot water heater thermostat....7 bucks at Home depot, 90 deg lowest setting to kick start my palms.
http://s16.postimage.org/ey5ggzu8x/IMG_0055.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/ey5ggzu8x/)
http://s16.postimage.org/xezv7ta75/IMG_0051.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/xezv7ta75/)
http://s16.postimage.org/ep7vr2hgh/IMG_0049.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/ep7vr2hgh/)
is this low voltage bulb?
If not low voltage, should maybe insulate the thermostat connections (with tape)?
Thanks for this idea !
vincentmolino
04-26-2012, 01:26 PM
yes, the lowest i found was 40 watt, i siliconed the screws and around the bulb
Excellent choice , i guess that over 40 watts , it will start cooking the palms and burning the wood plate!
(even with thermostat)
the idea is good, i will try
trebor
04-26-2012, 02:20 PM
If you have the proper receptacles Xmas tree lights work great for stuff like that the outlets are fairly water prof. Some of the string lighting with white bulbs would work perfectly. My Brother and I used them to incubate chicken eggs :ha: Road Island Reds ... We would increase the heat to produce roosters and drop it below 102 to get hens.. Worked pretty good for us. Never seen any one do that to a palm so I'm learning something here today! Great stuff !:woohoonaner:
vincentmolino
04-26-2012, 02:49 PM
I coulndt find xmas lights this time of year, that would be better though, more evenly heat, id figure the lava rocks would help with that.
I was really frustrated how expensive thermostats were,..... I looked at incubators, lizard warmer mats, even aquarium heaters. Was thinking about putting a 3 inch metal pipe with with a cap filled with water.
Also was gonna run hose from my hot tub, lol
vincentmolino
04-26-2012, 02:52 PM
If you have the proper receptacles Xmas tree lights work great for stuff like that the outlets are fairly water prof. Some of the string lighting with white bulbs would work perfectly. My Brother and I used them to incubate chicken eggs :ha: Road Island Reds ... We would increase the heat to produce roosters and drop it below 102 to get hens.. Worked pretty good for us. Never seen any one do that to a palm so I'm learning something here today! Great stuff !:woohoonaner:
Yea I got that palm bare rooted from Hawaii, Hawaii talls are the fastest growing coconut palms at 5 ft per year. Im trying to increase that speed. Im too impatient to wait 5 years for it to look like a cool palm with trunk on it.
sunfish
04-26-2012, 03:14 PM
Gro-Quick Soil Warming Cable 6' - FarmTek (http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10052&productId=39503&pageId=PrintItemDetail&parent_category_rn=&top_category=&breadcrumb_trail=&breadcrumb_categoryIds=&isDoc=)
Darkman
04-27-2012, 03:16 PM
You had a good idea with the aquarium heater. Bury a large jar (even plastic) in the ground and put the AQ heater thtrough the lid, seal with silicone. You'd have a low cost heater with a lower temp range. If you didn't want to do that you could still use the thermostat part of it and just hook your light bulb up to it.
RandyGHO
04-27-2012, 03:31 PM
For another project I stumbled across heaters for bird baths.
Bird Bath Heater : Shop Bird Bath Heaters at BirdBaths.com (http://www.birdbaths.com/bird-bath-accessories/bird-bath-heaters/159+162+4294965384.cfm)
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