Melting Acrylic?

[jcook54]

I recently installed a new BRS titanium heater with controller. It's the one that they recently came out with and is nearly identical to the Inkbird's that quite a few folks use. The titanium heater itself is a little different than the one I had on there (shorter and fatter) and it didn't quite fit as well in my sump in the exact location as the previous one. Because it had a slightly larger diameter, it was nearly pressed up against one of the acrylic baffles. The solution to the problem was pretty straight forward - locate the heater in a different area. But it did get me thinking, how big of an issue would it be if part of the heater touched something acrylic? Would it potentially melt the acrylic? That was my concern because the baffle was fairly thin but was I concerned for nothing? My thinking was this - if any amount of water can get between the heater and the hot part of the heater, it would be fine because the water would absorb the heat and keep flowing. However, if part of the heater was actually touching the acrylic, it wouldn't allow for the water to dissipate the heat at that exact point and might just heat up the acrylic enough to bend or make it a weak point. So, what do y'all think? Should all of us be a little careful where we place out heating elements?*

I'm looking at you @tonytran509

*it's possible that I'm the only one dumb enough to try and place a heater between baffles and this question really only applies to me.

 

[Steve Burton]

In my experience I think you would only have to be concerned if there was no water. You would have to pay special attention when doing water changes if you lower the water level in the sump.

 

[lmm1967]

You're not the only dummy - I have heaters between sump dividers. Mine are glass though so I can't help much Justin - sorry.

 

[tonytran509]

hi... im here lol.... so first we need to figure out what kind of acrylic... is it extruded vs cast... color pigment vs clear.... also then how hot that titanium actually can get...

so we have titanium heaters that we use to bend acryic here at the shop but they are running between 300-800 degrees to bend certain thickness acrylic...

I would say that i dont think that our in tank heaters wont be hot enough to truely cause any issues.... but if it does lay up right against it it still would take sometime before it would cause any major damage... only issue here is that if the acrylic does melt, it does give off a chemical substance that will mostly kill off the tank. So if you actually take a soldering iron and melt into a piece of acrylic you will notice that its a black smoke and it literally burns your eyes... also if you sniff it enough it gives you a crazy high... dont ask why... i just know lol....

but on a side note... ive been looking at like hundreds of sumps lately... ive seen heater holders.... but ive notice that those were more for glass heaters... i would assume that titanium heaters can get a lot hotter than glass.... some more input from those that have had both would help solve this....

 

[Adam]

I'm with Steve. Try taking a lighter to the bottom of a paper cup full of water. Or ever try sweating copper pipe with even the smallest amount of water in it? (Electrical soldering is also a pita if there's any moisture)

In this case the thinner acrylic would be better because of its insulating properties. Thinner would allow the heat to dissipate quicker. Also the heater would have to be on with no water around it or the other side of the baffle.

If it really bothers you then take a heat gun to that area when there's no water in it and gently bend the baffle to make more room.

 

[Steve Burton]

In my experience I think you would only have to be concerned if there was no water. You would have to pay special attention when doing water changes if you lower the water level in the sump.

I know about removing water from the sump by experience, while cleaning I drained heater section below heater level and smelled melting acrylic before remembering to turn heater off, I'm sure a long enough time would cause major problems.

 

[kwl1763]

if the water is moving around it will be fine. If you leaved it touching and stagnant water (because it will heat that micro layer of water) or dry will absolutely melt. But as long as not touching will be fine.

 

[Doberman13]

@Reefchef Is that heater bracket you have made out of acrylic?

Like others have said I believe you would be fine as long as there is water in the tank. I think there are quite a few heater brackets made out of acrylic.

 

[Reefchef]

Yes it is acrylic and I haven't had any issues.