Mr Bickal

[Terri]

!welcomeGlad to have you!!! Hope to see lots of theose DIY ideas of yours ;)

[Busy B]

!welcomeGlad to have you!!! Hope to see lots of theose DIY ideas of yours ;)
Bout time!:lol:

[Merlin]

Welcome mate, I am still working on some of your ideas. !welcome :wave:

[Ahhuhz]

Hey Greg,
How you doin! Those tote box heaters are the rage over at the ADI website.

G. and I have a bunch of followers with the dreaded blue spaceships that work like a champ. Thanks again for that great idea!

[marla]

And then there are some of us who dragged there feet, and are glad they didn't totaly freeze over, but know what they're doing next year ;-)

[GregBickal]

Hi guys. :-? Well I brought my camera today so I could download and post some pictures, except I forgot my cord. :-x Sorry, it will have to wait till tomorrow.

Im ready for spring. This latest cold snap has me in the "downey dumps" :|

[Ahhuhz]

Here is one Greg!

[Ron C]

Greg when did you change the design of the deicer? I used mine all winter and the only thing I didn't like was that when one of the bulbs went out I couldn't replace it because the water was frozen to the pvc, but then again that is what redundancy is all about huh?

[Ahhuhz]

Ron,
Do you have PVC rather than the noodles?

By the way, I put in a dual socket with two extension cords. If one bulb burns out, I can unplug it and plug in the other bulb. You can also use a switch to switch on the second bulb.

[GregBickal]

I havent changed my design any. Other people have build spin-off designs. Duel bulbs for redundancy. Oh yeah !! If your deicer gets stuck in the ice and you need to replace a bulb, you should be able to pour a gallon or so hot water around the unit and it should pop right up.

Here is my design (instructions to build are on my DIY cd of course)...

[Ron C]

That is the one I built Greg. I bought your CD last year sometime. Next year if I lose a bulb I will try the hot water bit. The deicer worked great and did what it was supposed to do.

Thanks...

I havent changed my design any. Other people have build spin-off designs. Duel bulbs for redundancy. Oh yeah !! If your deicer gets stuck in the ice and you need to replace a bulb, you should be able to pour a gallon or so hot water around the unit and it should pop right up.

Here is my design (instructions to build are on my DIY cd of course)...

[Ron C]

Ron,
Do you have PVC rather than the noodles?

By the way, I put in a dual socket with two extension cords. If one bulb burns out, I can unplug it and plug in the other bulb. You can also use a switch to switch on the second bulb.

Yep I made the one with PVC that is on Greg's cd. I like the tweaking that you did to it, but wonder if using the rubber maid tote the light source is close enough to the water to keep the hole open?

[Ahhuhz]

I have used it for two years now in below zero temps with a bubbler under it and it has worked like a charm. It didn't even think about freezing under the box. Others that have built ones like the one I pictured also have had the same results.

[Ron C]

I have used it for two years now in below zero temps with a bubbler under it and it has worked like a charm. It didn't even think about freezing under the box. Others that have built ones like the one I pictured also have had the same results.


Cool beans.. Can you send me a pic with the bubbler attached?

[Ahhuhz]

The bubbler pump isn't attached, it is on a plant shelf about 18" under the box. Two separate units. Some people just use the pump to break the water surface. It is to cold where I live, it freezes over hence, the tote box heater over it.

[Ron C]

Okay gotcha...... It gets cold here too....

[Ahhuhz]

Ron,
This was the bubbler in the beginning of the first year, you can see the ice dome over the bubbler. The second pic shows the totebox with the bubbler under it and also the 100w floating heater.