# DIY inline heater build



## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

hey everyone,

So I went to Home Depot and purchased the parts I needed to make a DIY Inline heater. The reason I wanted to make it inline was because this is a DIY themed tank so I had to kinda And also because I read that inline heaters do a much better job of maintaining a uniform temperature throughout the tank. I read about the Hydor heaters and an issue in the way the switch works (bi-metal switch, I think it was) could cause it to jam either on or off permanently. As far as I know, normal submersible heaters do not have this issue as much. 
Here we go! So I bought a bunch of parts for the heater housing. This is listed as quantity, size, and part name.
1 - 1½'' Elbow, threaded on one side
1 - 1½'' Tee, threaded on one opening
2 - Reducers, threaded (1½'' to ½'') 
1 - 1½'' PVC pipe (approx. 7-8 inches long)
2 - ½'' Nylon Hose Barbs Adapter (½'' ID)
1 - Reducer, smooth (1½'' to 1'')
To join them, I used Teflon tape on all threaded ends and PVC cement on all smooth ends.

Assembly of the Tee and Elbow pieces. Attached the threaded reducers into the threaded elbow and tee pieces. Then put in the hose adapters. On the left side is another side project. I created an aquarium drain valve hooked into my intake tube for the canister filter. Makes draining water out of the aquarium a bit easier (I'm lazy, I know ). 









Next is the assembly of the housing. Rough, not cemented together yet.









Thermometer assembly. I silicone glued the thermometer into the smooth reducer with GE Silicone 1. From what I have read, any 100% silicone glue with no mold inhibitors should work. There are aquarium safe silicone glues out there as well. Another option would have been to use a cordgrip, but I did not purchase one. I know Heyco sells them. 









Finished product! :icon_bigg

















It has been working for 3 weeks now, very well and no hiccups yet. The heater I used was an Eheim Jager 150W. 

comments always welcome and questions if there are any. thanks for reading!


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I was just in line to post a blurb about why heaters may fail so some of the info is relevant to your question about the "bimetal". 

While there are various ways to control heaters, this is kind of prepresentive of many brands. This is a really cheap Penn-Plax while others use somewhat better parts but still many use the design and they have the same problems. 
This is the layout of the main parts.









Rather than step all over your build I will post the details of heaters in a seperate item. 

Your build looks like a nice job that should avoid many of the problems with heater failures.


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## MichaelMcG (Mar 16, 2012)

nice job! thanks for the pics. im going to be doing something like this in the near future. i like how you used a reducer instead of just drilling a hole in something lol. ill have to see what i can do with mine because my submersible heater looks a little thicker than yours.


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

PlantedRich said:


> I was just in line to post a blurb about why heaters may fail so some of the info is relevant to your question about the "bimetal".
> 
> While there are various ways to control heaters, this is kind of prepresentive of many brands. This is a really cheap Penn-Plax while others use somewhat better parts but still many use the design and they have the same problems.
> This is the layout of the main parts.
> ...


thanks planted rich  i was hoping to eliminate that problem though im not sure too much about it. only heard about it in passing. would definitely be interested to see/read about your thoughts on it. 



MichaelMcG said:


> nice job! thanks for the pics. im going to be doing something like this in the near future. i like how you used a reducer instead of just drilling a hole in something lol. ill have to see what i can do with mine because my submersible heater looks a little thicker than yours.


yeah the other options were to either use a cordgrip through Heyco (which will give you free items to sample, like a 1 time deal for however many) around a heater or use a cordgrip around a cord for heaters with exterrnal temp controls. i opted for the reducer so i could maintain the water line as close as posisble to what is recommended. should this heater fail, the cost of the housing wsa about 9 dollars, so not much. if you have questions please lemme know too and if i can help i will


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Heaters are improving and the Penn-Plax is among the worst design-wise. Just knowing Ebo-Jager, I would expect better and I can see from the outside some good points. The design of the top of your heater looks good. If you spill water on your heater it is likely to run off the edges. The brown cover on the Pen-Plax is a cup where the adjustment sets. Any water spilled on it will set in the cup and eventually find it's way along the screw and inside. I know we are not supposed to get water on them but that is like telling a five year old not to get wet when it rains. Just happens!


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

yeah i read many reviews on the eheim series. i believe this one i bought after eheim was bought out or something so it isnt the old school nuke-proof heater but it still got good reviews on this forum and others too. the way i assembled the top was to silicone it up to the edge. any water that lands on top would fall off yes. i had an incident with my heater and turkey baster full of bloodworms and fall off the bloodworms did...onto my floor  but at least no water got through that i knew of.


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## MichaelMcG (Mar 16, 2012)

did you hook it up to your inflow or outflow?


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

MichaelMcG said:


> did you hook it up to your inflow or outflow?


i hooked this up to my outflow (from filter to tank). that way the water coming into the tank is as close to what i want it to be (temperature wise) as possible.


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## ayobreezie (Aug 12, 2011)

Thanks, man.. I was gonna order a hydor, but I got one of these laying around I might try this first.


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

Yeah I was in your shoes before. I was going to get the Hydor but they are huge and the knob turns a bit too easily from what I am told. Both problems easily fixed but I figured that this casing cost me about 12 dollars to make and the heater was 32 through Dr. Foster and Smith. Still cheaper than the Hydor and I must say, about 5 weeks later, my temperature remains at 81 with almost no deviation. So I am happy


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## aquah20 (Jun 23, 2013)

pandamonium said:


> hey everyone,
> 
> So I went to Home Depot and purchased the parts I needed to make a DIY Inline heater. The reason I wanted to make it inline was because this is a DIY themed tank so I had to kinda And also because I read that inline heaters do a much better job of maintaining a uniform temperature throughout the tank. I read about the Hydor heaters and an issue in the way the switch works (bi-metal switch, I think it was) could cause it to jam either on or off permanently. As far as I know, normal submersible heaters do not have this issue as much.
> Here we go! So I bought a bunch of parts for the heater housing. This is listed as quantity, size, and part name.
> ...


Got any pictures of the finished project? I'm interesting in building one too.


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

That was pretty much it  It's not hard to build and it definitely saves money. I took my heater off though because I am no longer using a canister on that tank. PM me if you have specific questions aquah20!


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Old thread, I know, but I'm researching the photo links are broken. Are they still available?


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

I can upload some pics later tonight when I get home. I built a super simple pvc one. Took 5 min.


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## success (Feb 18, 2014)

Sub'd


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

Sorry im a terrible cameraman. If the images r not upright, idk what that about tapatalk is making them all rotated funny.

This is on my 25 gal. Its powered by a rena xp2 and has an inline diffusser also so....not the 300gph rated but its pretty close i'd say. Has a diy spraybar too. Pvc is awesome!









Hard to get a good pic but If I remember correctly its 2" pvc with a weird union. I just took the heater in lowes and pieced it together. Lol why not. Used some silicone to seal the heater in. And and little reducer ro add the water dump valve. Usually I just run that house out the window. Unless im out of house plant water. Those buckets r only for filling and acclimating. 

Its a 100w aqueon. I only keep it at 75f but it has no trouble with that. Sometimes my water change water is a little cold and it goes from 70-75 in less than an hour. I use two digi thermos on opposite sides and they are within a degree so its pretty even temps.

Pretty easy could be built for any size I guess. I dont unplug it or anything when I stop flow or whatever. Been working over a year now. 

If u got any questions let me know. Sorry for the bad pics.


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