rack temperature

[dsirkle]

Just buy yourself an oil filled space heater and hook a Ranco up to it placing the probe on the outside edge of your rack and set it w/ a 1 degree temp differantial shut the door to the room the rack is in and that should help alot.
I keep my house temps in the low 70's ( 70-73 ) because my son and I both have bad sinus problems and to hot causes us nose bleeds. I place the heater about 2' from the front of the rack. I also place something on the top of the rack ( for now a blanket ) to help hold the heat in there also. The temp on my ranco stays at about 79-80. I have my Helix set at 93 and have my probe taped to the bottom tub's flextape w/ clear packing tape.
My tubs stay at 80.9 to 82.9 cool side to 91.9 to 93 hot side.
I do notice that the bottom tub will be a little cooler and the two middle tubs warmer and the top tub right in the middle temp wise.
And this is with my rack on an exterior wall, no less.
I do plan on this winter putting some insulation on the back wall of the rack and maybe lifting my rack about 6-12" of the floor.
The bottom tub stays cooler because of draft and that cooler air flows to the bottom of the room.
Hope this helps

[dsirkle]

Now that you mention it there was an oil filled space heater left in the basement by the people that I bought this place from.I have never used it. I might be able to plug it into the Ranco that is controlling the rack. That would keep cutting off the power to the heater.It also has a thermostat on it anyway I believe.

[rockyhorror]

I think I read you were from Michigan? I have no problems with my racks and having my house ambient temps at 68/69.

I do exactly what others have said, run up to the store and buy a space heater. They have built in thermostats and timers on them, cheaper than buying a heater and a thermostat.

[Ginevive]

I keep our home heat at 71 degrees. The rack is in the dining room, the warmest room of the house.. my temps stay fine with the Helix at 94 degrees.
Keeping the heat at 82-84 degrees really sounds unhealthy though! I feel bad for whoever pays your heating bill if you keep it that hot. As it is, we do not pay for our heat, having a gas well on the land here. But still, I could not stand it to be in the 80s in our house; I think I would pass out.

[dsirkle]

I put a space heater in the room and I am experimenting with that now.

[Ginevive]

Sounds cool. Of all rooms, our bedroom has no heating vent. So we use a fan-type space heater. It helps out tremendously and we have not gotten frostbite overnite yet If you get a nice consistent temperature in the room in the high 70s, your t-stat setting should be closer to your heating-element temp.

[jotay]

Don't hook your heater up to the Ranco that controls your flex in your racks.
I purchased a seperate Ranco just for the heater. I understand heaters have their own t=stats built in but it was suggested to me as a safety precaution to keep the room from getting to hot in case the heater t-stat stuck or the room/outside temps change.
The t-stat on the heater is just to cool the heater down it is not affected by room temps. So say you got a heatwave and the room/outside temps went up into the 80's your heater would still run where as on the Ranco when the room temp hit 80 or whatever it was set at it would cut it off.



This picture you can see the Ranco in the back on the wall and look to the right on the front of the rack and you can see how I have the probe from the Ranco that the heater is plugged in.

[GirDance]

Our thing: Heat rises, and we're on the top floor.... So everyone else's heat seeps into our unit first, our living room taking the biggest hit: Windows open - 80... But I love it warm, except our bedroom, but that stays cooler.

Just a herp room though, walk in and its toasty. I didn't mean to come off as implying your whole house should be 80, but a space heater could probably close most of that gap for you. I'm the sort of person who can be comfy in a sweater in the summer, and gets cold any time it drops below 70...

PLUS I'm a Canadian, so everyone can drop any eskimo sorts of beliefs if they have them.... You being in michigan I've most likely spent most of my life further south... lol

[dsirkle]

You may well be South of me. But I just have watch it on the Hydro eh? The Loonies arent that easy to come by.

[GirDance]

LOL Definately! Especially now My old place was oil heat, electric was cheaper. If you're going the space heater route, you can get some really good energy saving ones... Toss the rack in a closet or small room for less heating area and you'll be good to go. OR... Just stick with your current crazy variance for the thermostat, but I'd suggest watching the ambient temp in the bins closely for how warm that is.