Well house heater issue

[MoreAmmoOK]

I found what I hope to be an alternative to using incandescent bulbs for keeping the well house from freezing. I had been using two bulb fixtures in case one burned out. I got tired of having to check to see if the bulbs have burned out not to mention, I've run out of incandescent bulbs (FJB). After several hours of searching I found this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294808409338?

It has a 0 to 100 degree thermostat and is 400 watts. I think 400w is a bit much for this area but with the thermostat control I think it'll use less power than two 60w bulbs burning 24/7. I've put a remote temp sensor from the fridg in there that shows 24hr hi/lo temp to monitor the temp.
I've set the thermostat at 40 degrees and it should get cold enough tonight to see how it works.

Thank you to our all-knowing rulers for getting rid of those nasty incandescent bulbs that I could buy 4 for $2.00. FJB

[shootbrownelk]

I found what I hope to be an alternative to using incandescent bulbs for keeping the well house from freezing. I had been using two bulb fixtures in case one burned out. I got tired of having to check to see if the bulbs have burned out not to mention, I've run out of incandescent bulbs (FJB). After several hours of searching I found this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294808409338?

It has a 0 to 100 degree thermostat and is 400 watts. I think 400w is a bit much for this area but with the thermostat control I think it'll use less power than two 60w bulbs burning 24/7. I've put a remote temp sensor from the fridg in there that shows 24hr hi/lo temp to monitor the temp.
I've set the thermostat at 40 degrees and it should get cold enough tonight to see how it works.

Thank you to our all-knowing rulers for getting rid of those nasty incandescent bulbs that I could buy 4 for $2.00. FJB

I just bought 4 incandescent extreme duty bulbs for $16.00 off Amazon. Thanks Bidenomics.....not!

[MoreAmmoOK]

With the current price of bulbs and the power saving of thermostat control it shouldn't take long for it to pay for itself. I've been going through at least 6 or 8 bulbs a winter. I've thought about a thermostat control for the bulbs but the frequent power surge turning on would shorten the life of the bulbs. I just hope the heater will be reliable for a few years.

[Prepared One]

It gets cold enough a few times in the winter but nothing like up north. My pump is enclosed in a pump house and I usually just use thermal blankets to keep pump and tank warm. If we get a real bad cold snap I bought a chicken coop heater with a thermostat pretty cheap. Haven't needed it yet.

[MoreAmmoOK]

It gets cold enough a few times in the winter but nothing like up north. My pump is enclosed in a pump house and I usually just use thermal blankets to keep pump and tank warm. If we get a real bad cold snap I bought a chicken coop heater with a thermostat pretty cheap. Haven't needed it yet.

It doesn't get a lot colder here in Oklahoma than it does where you are but it can be below freezing for a weeks at a time. I can remember once when it was below freezing for more than 30 days, hasn't happened in years though. My pump house is built of cement blocks with an inch of styrofoam on the walls and ceiling. It is only about 6'x5' and 4' high so it's not a large area to heat. I'm just real tired of going out there when it's 5 degrees and the wind is blowing 40mph to check to see if the bulbs are good.
This heater looks industrial, no fan, and unlike household heaters it has a thermostat that can be set for below 65 degrees. It is simple in design and I hope it will be more reliable and trouble free than the crappy light bulbs that are made today.

[Sparkyprep]

You mean to tell me that where you live, water can freeze, just sitting OUTSIDE!!??

:butthole::shitstorm:

[MoreAmmoOK]

Seems to only do it when it's cold.

[T-Man 1066]

You mean to tell me that where you live, water can freeze, just sitting OUTSIDE!!??

:butthole::shitstorm:

Yesterday at 4PM we were 78 degrees, breaking records. mosquitos went apeshit.

This morning at 7 AM. 17 degrees, 30 MPH winds, wind chill of 6. And about an inch of white death.

[Dwight55]

Hey guys . . . there is a very simple cure for your wandering out in the snow in your BVD's to check a light bulb.

Go buy a piece of clear plastic round rod . . . 1/2 inch or so in diameter.

Drill a hole thru the wall of your pump house . . . that faces your house house.

Insert the clear round plastic rod . . . and stuff cotton or something around the rod so air don't leak into the pump house.

Then just wait till dark . . . look outside . . . and see if you see the little dot of light on your pump house. As long as you do . . . all is well . . . bulb(s) a burning.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Prepared One]

It doesn't get a lot colder here in Oklahoma than it does where you are but it can be below freezing for a weeks at a time. I can remember once when it was below freezing for more than 30 days, hasn't happened in years though. My pump house is built of cement blocks with an inch of styrofoam on the walls and ceiling. It is only about 6'x5' and 4' high so it's not a large area to heat. I'm just real tired of going out there when it's 5 degrees and the wind is blowing 40mph to check to see if the bulbs are good.
This heater looks industrial, no fan, and unlike household heaters it has a thermostat that can be set for below 65 degrees. It is simple in design and I hope it will be more reliable and trouble free than the crappy light bulbs that are made today.

This house was built new when we bought it but for some reason they skimped out on the pump shed. It was basically some busted up plywood with a tarp over it and they had a heat lamp in there just laying on the ground. MG and I were not having any of that shit. We had a guy come in and build a pump house properly so now it is protected from the elements and looks way better. I bought a chicken coop heater with a thermostat although I haven't needed it yet. We had 2 or 3 days with temps below freezing this year but we can get as much as week or so on occasion. I remember back in the 80's I think where it went a couple of weeks. Thermal blankets and pipe wrap does the trick most of the time.

[MoreAmmoOK]

This house was built new when we bought it but for some reason they skimped out on the pump shed. It was basically some busted up plywood with a tarp over it and they had a heat lamp in there just laying on the ground. MG and I were not having any of that shit. We had a guy come in and build a pump house properly so now it is protected from the elements and looks way better. I bought a chicken coop heater with a thermostat although I haven't needed it yet. We had 2 or 3 days with temps below freezing this year but we can get as much as week or so on occasion. I remember back in the 80's I think where it went a couple of weeks. Thermal blankets and pipe wrap does the trick most of the time.

I couldn't find a chicken coop heater that wasn't IR or didn't have a fan and with a thermostat that could be set as low as 40 degrees. Most that I saw were also over 500w, I don't need that much heat. One 60w light bulb will keep it plenty warm. The thing I've learned about bulbs is that they can and will burn out at any time. I've checked them one day and there burning and the next day they are burnt out. Reliability is why I got the simplest most basic heater I could find. Hopefully this heater will be reliable.

[Prepared One]

I couldn't find a chicken coop heater that wasn't IR or didn't have a fan and with a thermostat that could be set as low as 40 degrees. Most that I saw were also over 500w, I don't need that much heat. One 60w light bulb will keep it plenty warm. The thing I've learned about bulbs is that they can and will burn out at any time. I've checked them one day and there burning and the next day they are burnt out. Reliability is why I got the simplest most basic heater I could find. Hopefully this heater will be reliable.

Should work just fine.

[Dwight55]

A common 24 v house thermostat will go down to 45 or 50 degrees . . . set up with a relay that turns on a receptacle . . . turns on your blanket, heater, light . . whatever . . . and you don't ever have to worry about it.

It can be set up in all of an hour.

May God bless,
Dwight

[MoreAmmoOK]

A common 24 v house thermostat will go down to 45 or 50 degrees . . . set up with a relay that turns on a receptacle . . . turns on your blanket, heater, light . . whatever . . . and you don't ever have to worry about it.

It can be set up in all of an hour.

May God bless,
Dwight

I thought about that but I couldn't find my old mercury bulb thermostat, or the transformer and relay that goes with it. I decided to go the ready-made route.

[Chiefster23]

I thought about that but I couldn't find my old mercury bulb thermostat, or the transformer and relay that goes with it. I decided to go the ready-made route.

Contact a person or company that installs new furnaces. Good chance they have old parts around from a new furnace and thermostat install. When my furnace was replaced 2 years ago they also put in a new thermostat.

[Mad Trapper]

Contact a person or company that installs new furnaces. Good chance they have old parts around from a new furnace and thermostat install. When my furnace was replaced 2 years ago they also put in a new thermostat.

The new digital ones are POS. They suck up batteries and stop working. I saved the old mercury one and it's going back in.

[Broncosfan]

We used to use a thermostat made for baseboard heater. Wire the Thermostat into receptacle in a double box. Used it for several years to run a small heater in the greenhouse. I still have the setup around here somewhere.

[MoreAmmoOK]

That's one of my future projects, a greenhouse, and how to keep it from freezing without using a lot of fuel or electricity.