building for Godzilla- help? - Page 3

simpleyork · 09-18-12, 03:58 PM

i'll probably work on grading it some this weekend

Pirarucu · 09-18-12, 06:17 PM

Awesome! I'd love to do this in my backyard..

Danimal · 09-20-12, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

We are going the radiant heating direction, The actual boiler will not be in the barn, however a broken PEX tube could spray scalding water all over the place if precautions are not in place for that.

Are you, or have you heard of anyone using a wood-fired boiler for heat? I've done a little research on it for heating a barn and possibly the floor in my house, seems like it might be a viable option to provide heat for a reptile outbuilding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Was even discussing with Dorothy just the other day that I want to install a smoke detector with a trip switch in my existing Sav enclosure, so if one of the CFL lights goes bad, it kills the power to the cage completely.

If you have ever seen a compact florescent bulb fail, they spew black smoke and could be toxic to the lizards, also thinking that a ventilation fan (12 volt with battery backup) would be wise to draw the smoke out of the cage in the event that the system triggers.

Are you just using CFLs for light or uvb too? I love CFLs and have used them throughout my home with only a couple of exceptions for over 10 years but I have never like the idea of putting something, that already gets pretty hot during normal use, into an enclosure that will be kept at a constant high temp. Anyone using LEDs or know why we shouldn't?

infernalis · 09-20-12, 08:13 AM

Hi Danimal...

I live in a very remote town, so yes I know lots of people with wood boilers.

They are fantastic, all the smoke and soot stays outside, and the heat is very nice inside.

The only hard part, is going outdoors in the middle of the night in your pajamas to stoke the fire mid January in two feet of snow.

L.E.D. lights are great, but just don't throw out the lumens for a monitor cage.

I use L.E.D. lights on a couple snake cages, and in my living room, I like them. Super cheap to operate.

Aanayab1 · 09-20-12, 08:38 AM

I have all LED lights on my moray eel tanks and love them! Blindingly bright but they put out virtually no heat.

infernalis · 09-20-12, 08:40 AM

We have a whole bunch of the 12 volt ones, I use them at camp in the summer, and for power failures to light my home in the winter.

Out here in the sticks, one ice storm could mean a whole day without electricity.

We have a propane backup heater to stay warm, and keep the reptiles alive.

Danimal · 09-20-12, 09:32 AM

I am about to start replacing my CFLs with LEDs but until I read this thread and started thinking about lighting, it never even occurred to me to use them as a daylight source in an enclosure. Thanks for the input.

I was going to incorporate the boiler (+small generator) in as a back up but, like you, I will be in the sticks only with much milder winters. If I were doing radiant heating in my back yard now, I might consider a tankless water heater. At least here in the south. What about that?