how to heat up water in 35 gallon brute?

[carolgyrl1]

sooo, I have been lugging water to my stove from my garage to heat up the water in my brute container.-- getting water-- all over the stove, floor, ect, I swear i'm not going to do that this winter!!! does anyone have a great way to heat up the water without melting my container? I have to heat up about 35 gallons at a time.

[BigCity]

Pretty simple just put a small aquarium heater in the can. That's what I do and it does fine. Mine is only rated for like 10 gallons but with a sealed lid it will heat it over night easily.

[MuffsAbby]

That's what I do too, along with a powerhead to mix the salt, which likely also adds a bit of heat.

[muttley000]

Yep, as above. I have mine in a piece of PVC where the current from the small powerhead blows through it because I am paranoid about melting through

[BigCity]

I guess I should note that I have a water change system that has an external pump that is connected to a fresh water brute and a salt water brute so that I can transfer the fresh and then recycle from the bottom of the salt and back in the top. Works great but the pump probably also adds some heat too.

[fishgate]

If it is in your garage I don't know if you are going to be able to do much when the weather turns cold. You'd need a 200 watt or so heater plus a circulation pump (750gph) and the heater would probably run all the time. If I am within 10 degrees, I just put mine in.

[ReeferBill]

As long as the plastic container never gets empty your heater will not melt throgh it.

[carolgyrl1]

so an aquarium heater will not melt through a brute container? i was going to try a 200 watt one, it just seems that if I throw one in, it will be touching the sides of the container.it won't melt?

[BigCity]

I haven't had any problem with mine, if you want to be extra cautions just rig up the cord such that it is suspended in the bottom middle portion of the container from the lid.

[Sk8r]

Don't submerge it. be sure it's safely installed.

[jeff@zina.com]

Don't submerge it. be sure it's safely installed.
Had to smile. I haven't used anything but submersible heaters for years. Barely remember the ones you hang on the tank. :)

For the OP -- Move your Brute indoors.

Jeff

[Dino]

As mentioned, throw a heater in there. It won't melt through the container, if you're really worried you can always use the little suction cup clip that pretty much all heaters come with to space it out away so it won't have any contact with the container. I simply have an old titanium heater I use though that I find tends to float towards the middle of my mixing container anyway. As long as it isn't exposed the water will dissipate the heat :).

[MattinIdaho]

I have a 300 watt in a 32 gallon trash can. I had it in there for about 4 months with no signs of any melting. Last time I emptied it I put it in a piece of pvc just to be safe though.

[thegrun]

+1, a 300 watt heater will do the trick.

[ryeguyy84]

I never even thought of the heater melting through the container... hmm that's interesting. I have mine suction cupped to the side wall and it's only 50 watts.

[TreyK]

Had to smile. I haven't used anything but submersible heaters for years. Barely remember the ones you hang on the tank. :)

For the OP -- Move your Brute indoors.

Jeff

LoL yup I was a little confused:hmm5:

[snorvich]

I keep my spare water (240 gallons) at 76 F for water changes. I use a Ranco controller for controlling temperature using an aquarium heater.

[Uncle Salty 05]

Had to smile. I haven't used anything but submersible heaters for years. Barely remember the ones you hang on the tank. :)

For the OP -- Move your Brute indoors.

Jeff

Even if a heater is submersible it is not a good idea to submerse it.
The best seal on earth can fail.

[yz250motoxrider]

The heater will NOT melt the container. It’s similar to the flame on the water balloon; the balloon will not pop because the water disperses heat away from the balloon. Same happens with the container as long as there water in it.

[ryeguyy84]

Even if a heater is submersible it is not a good idea to submerse it.
The best seal on earth can fail.

What are you supposed to do with it then? I had one give me a nice shock. Not fun

[carolgyrl1]

it does kind of make sense that it would not melt the brute, I tried to have the heater come down from the middle of the lid, but it was kind of floating around. I can see why some people use a piece of pvc, as the suction cup things are for the birds in that container

[ccreef11]

just think about heaters like the fluval e series. it is encased in plastic and yet the plastic does not melt. regardless of that fact, i was concerned about the same thing in a similar application. one idea i thought was good, as someone else mentioned, was to attach the heater to a piece of glass or plexi. the other option is just to go with something like the fluval e series.. that provides a built in barrier between the heater and your container.

[Dr Colliebreath]

I think a 150 watt heater will suffice. Keep the lid on the container to prevent heat loss.

[mc-cro]

I use a spare mag drive pump in my rubbermaid for mixing salt water, it usually raises the temp of the water to mid'80s overnight. I cant believe how much heat those mag drives put off.

[Shells4]

I've been using a submergible heater in a brute container for years. Just throw it in with a powerhead/pump to circulate the water. Never had a problem.

[dbartkow]

sooo, I have been lugging water to my stove from my garage to heat up the water in my brute container

Wow, how long have you been heating your water on the stove? That is a pretty big task!

Dave

[The Punisher]

I use a spare mag drive pump in my rubbermaid for mixing salt water, it usually raises the temp of the water to mid'80s overnight. I cant believe how much heat those mag drives put off.

Was just about to post this, I usually have to cool mine down before a water change.

[00Warpig00]

I use a spare mag drive pump in my rubbermaid for mixing salt water, it usually raises the temp of the water to mid'80s overnight. I cant believe how much heat those mag drives put off.

Was just about to post this, I usually have to cool mine down before a water change.

Me too! lol. I use a large utility pump to mix my salt in my can for a water change. There has been at least on occasion I fell asleep with the pump circulating the water in the can and the next morning the water in the can was 102 degrees lol. Then I have to wait all day for it to drop to do my water change...

Nick