Ecostat heating element and thermostat

Has anyone used one of these - usually sold for chicken egg incubators - in honey warming cabinets? In a well insulated cabinet can it reach high enough temperatures e.g. for OSR, and does it keep the temperature well with little variation?

I have built a cabinet that is sufficiently insulated to reach ~50 centigrade in a couple of hours with a single 60W bulb and am interested in using one of these Ecostat units ... if it keeps temperature accurately I may be able to use it to incubate queen cells as well (but not at the same time!).

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fatshark

Alternatively you could use a PID temperature controller, cheap from China via a famous auction site (see eg item number 180698140129). It might be a steep learning curve, depending on how much you know and how much you like fiddling with electronics and you would need to supply a thermocouple for a pound or two but it should give excellent temperature control once set up. Certainly much better than a simple thermostat. If I ever get any honey, that is what I will do.

Paul

fatshark said:

Has anyone used one of these - usually sold for chicken egg incubators - in honey warming cabinets?

Click to expand...

Thornes sell them as well,but for more ££££.

Hi Hivemaker ... Google them and you can find them for just over half the price Th0rnes charge, but what I cannot find is a detailed specification of the output wattage or the accuracy of the temperature it holds. I don't keep chickens but believe they need something around the mid- upper-30's for hatching ... a bit less than my buckets of OSR honey

There's a thread 'on the other side' (and an article here [PDF from Wiltshire Beeks]) of people using these for honey warming cabinets but no feedback as to how well they work.

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fatshark

I didnt know "the other" side still existed. My guess is this equipment would be fine for eggs or queen cells but wouldnt be manly enough to bring any quantity of honey up to temp.

Technically, one should have something safer than a 240V filament bulb in the bottom of a potentially wet box. 'Non-electrician' beekeepers have likely flouted the rules with regards safety for many a year - and got away with it.

Any of these options would be better, safety-wise, than a filament bulb. Just that they cost real money!!!

'Light dimmer' circuits (with a thermistor, as a temperature regulating transducer) are not a difficult project. Any mexchanical thermostat of the correct range would do too. Low voltage heaters would be preferable, also.

RAB

Edit. That PID controller looks to be an awsome device for a simple project like a honey warmer!

I use one and it works a treat the thermostat is a pulse thermostat as well which means the temp doesnt drop by say 5 degrees before it comes back on. It will sort your OSR no problem.

The one's Thornes sell are the same...from ecostat,100w temp range from 25c to 65c....i already have one of these and they will work fine.
Alternatively contact forum member Pandpoultry (P & T Poultry)...he sells incubators and fittings and may be able to help.

You could have a side business hivemaker making honey warmers using that e b a y thingie =)

chrisbond said:

You could have a side business hivemaker making honey warmers using that e b a y thingie =)

Click to expand...

No thanks,i prefer beekeeping.

I use an ECostat Heat element in an home made incubator (fridge+Heater+fan) and they hold the temperater well digital thermomerter within 0.5 degree C.

Compressor removed from fridge.

Thank you all ... order placed for one of these units. For those wanting a good price try a Google search for "Pinker" and "Ecostat" ... delivery is very reasonable and their list price is ~£35 less than certain well-known beekeeping supply outlets.

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fatshark

Which model did you go for? 25/50/100 egg?
Please report back on performance, would be interested to know about ease of installation and if it can heat and control at a range of 35-50 C.
At present I've got a home made cabinet that easily gets to 50+ C with one 25W bulb. As I'm not an intuitive electrician or happy playing with electronics I'll happily fork out for a decent thermostat + heater.
Thanks

Wonder if anyone has tried this one off the "flea pay" ?

Item number: 130476761726

Comes with a sensor.

100 egg ... I'll report back in due course. However, if VEG and Hivemaker have given it the thumbs up then you can be pretty sure it'll do the bizzo.

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fatshark

100 egg is the one I bought. I bought mine off e bay and when it came it had 2 labels on it. The top one said honey heater, I then peeled that off and underneath it said egg incubator lol. I did post a link to them quite a while ago. I usually warm two 30lb buckets in my warmer from set no problem.

Item number: 130476761726

That is simply a thermostat, comes without any load.

RAB

oliver90owner said:

Item number: 130476761726

That is simply a thermostat, comes without any load.

RAB

Click to expand...

Yes, but I thought it might be possible to add a couple of incandescent lamps (40W) as a load.

I'm no electrician, so don't know if it is capable of controlling such a load?

Wonder if anyone has tried this one off the "flea pay" ?

Sorry, I thought the thread was about a combined heater and control system and this was only one half of it.

The description includes the load rating as:- Relay contact capacity (Heating): 10A (max) 250 V

I think that might be enough for liquifying honey. You could control over 50 of those lamps.
Power in Watts = voltage supply x current

RAB