greg bickel type de-icer

[louis]

i made this from a suggestion from greg a few years back and its been very dependable. i have two of them, i used a plastic dish pan, cutting the top off to accommodate a cover to change the bulbs. the cover has a reflective foil on it. i use two 60 watt long lasting halide bulbs and usually get through one season. the flotation is made from pond noodles. notice the temp in the housing when the outside temp was zero.

lou

[Timgod]

That is very cool....oh er um "warm" I should say. Looks like it works great and is very cost effective.
Tim

[frloplady]

used 2 flourescent 13 watt bulbs... maybe wasn't 100 in the box  but it doesn't need to be either.  I just needs to be warm enough to keep the ice melted. 

[Esther]

 Mine doesn't require wiring. I cheated. Did you put holes anywhere in the box for air exchange? It seemed that somewhere along the line that the water kinda vacuumed up inside when I didn't have holes. I never checked the temp inside but I used a 75 watt bulb and it did the trick. I did lift it fromt the water every so often to check and make sure it wasn't getting ice locked. I used clear tubs so that when the bulb went off, it was noticeable. Also I have it plugged into a thermo plug that goes on automatically at about 35 and off at 45 or so. I don't remember exactly now. I think I got it at Drs. Foster and Smith for about $10. Did you seal around your wiring at all? I kinda worried about water touching the exposed wires.

[louis]

Mine doesn't require wiring. I cheated. Did you put holes anywhere in the box for air exchange? It seemed that somewhere along the line that the water kinda vacuumed up inside when I didn't have holes. I never checked the temp inside but I used a 75 watt bulb and it did the trick. I did lift it fromt the water every so often to check and make sure it wasn't getting ice locked. I used clear tubs so that when the bulb went off, it was noticeable. Also I have it plugged into a thermo plug that goes on automatically at about 35 and off at 45 or so. I don't remember exactly now. I think I got it at Drs. Foster and Smith for about $10. Did you seal around your wiring at all? I kinda worried about water touching the exposed wires.

hi esther, yes i did place holes, they dont show in the photos

lou

[Joyce]

I have a much easier design. No bulbs to replace when they burn out.
(and no worrying about the bulbs burning out)
I used a reptile warming pad...just a little 10''X 11" 16 watt type, (about $15)
and duct tape the long edges to the roof of the floating raft, making a u-shaped semicircle.
The bottom of the semicircle dips into the water.

I also put one under my biofilter-trickle tower and keep it running all winter.
Of course I keep the outlet and connections dry with a water proof cover.

Of course there are all kind of sizes of these heating pads...
and they don't get too hot, will never 'melt' any part of your floating raft-device.

Now I just gotta go find the darned thing(s).
They're out in the shed, buried under something. 

[Esther]

Would 15 watts be enough for ice?

[louis]

Would 15 watts be enough for ice?

hello esther,
no 15 watts is not enough for heat generation,
i have found the minimum for me would be a single 60 watt bulb
lou