Rack Heating, w/water?

[Spreeguy]

Hello, just wondering if anyone has ever looked at the possiblity of heating a rack with water.

Just get a smallish (5-10gal) Water heater, pump, and piping (copper, plastic?).

Ignoring cost issues, would it be worth while doing? any potential saftey issues?

Just wanted to see if anyone has any thoughts/comments.

[Stockwell]

Well, that's an interesting idea!
It would be doable, but probably not better than heat tape. And of course it would be more costly
I've had experience with heated water systems for hotel rooms .
Water systems have rather slow response times,since it takes some time to heat and cool all the mass of the tank and plumbing lines, and that can be a disadvantage.
There's all kinds of other things to consider.
To start with the wattage of the standard tank heater would be much more than you need.
You'd need to control the elements with a proportional control like Helix or somilar but that would require the high power output module, unless the elements could somehow be replaced with much lower wattage ones.
The logistics of plumbing it all would be much more work than any electrical system, and if the recirculating pump failed you'd be in trouble.
Obviously the danger of leaks and water damage is also a factor. I suppose either half inch copper , PVC pipe or even flexible tubing could be used for your heat lines
With electrial heat tape different levels in a rack will often have separate dimmers or proportional controls to compensate for racks being hotter on the top.
Adjusting different temps for different levels would be much more complicated in a single loop water system. I suppose it could be done by moving the heating pipe closer or further away from the tray...
Yup, it could be done alright but there would be no advantage over the usual low wattage heat tape, put directly under or behind trays.

[Spreeguy]

Thanks for the input. I had been running the idea around in my head for a couple days, and figured it would be harder to execute than the heat tape.

One thing that i didn't think about was seperate heat control from shelf to shelf... I'm sure that could be a major draw back. One idea is, could it be controlled by an adjustable resistance (flow valve) for the seperate shelf levels.(therefore the shelves would need to be set up in parallel, not in series).

A question about the water heater having too much wattage, don't most have a built in thermostat. I have no experience with water heaters, so i could be mistaken.

Obviously leaks / water damage were the first "cons" that came to mind. What i didn't think was an issue is the slow response of the system. Since the system would be fairly small (only one rack system or two at most), as well as the small size of the heater's tank.

Just throwing out ideas,

[Linds]

Originally posted by Spreeguy
and figured it would be harder to execute than the heat tape.

What isn't harder than heat tape? One of the reasons heat tape is so popular is due to its versatility and ease of application. It is without a doubt, the simplest method to use in a rack

[Spreeguy]

i agree, it is simple/easy... but who likes easy? lol

[Jeff_Favelle]

I like easy when living things are concerned. If I want hard, I'll try and figure out a stupid calculus problem. I don't want to do things the ard way at the expense of another living creature that I am solely responsible for.

[Spreeguy]

I'd just like to clear up that i was joking about "but who likes easy?"

The reason i posted originally was to get some opinions on the fesibility of a hydronics set-up. But after re-evaluating the requirements the rack must meet, i've decided to use heat tape.

I hope no one thinks that i would risk the well being of any animals in my care.

Again, Thanks everyone for your input.