finding proper heating element

[brookbend]

re: producing outdoor towel warmer
re: consumer backyard spa, jacuzzi use

Am commercializing a towel warmer enclosed in a cedar box, about 20" square. Used for heating DRY towels, only.

Challenge: heating element

Have ruled out a heater/fan. Want several stainless tubes to carry a resistance cable of some sort, but I'm not trained to figure this out, let alone source it. I would attach a thermostat. Can not use transformers or other expensive gear.

Box will use 2 sets of metal tubes, each set consisting of 4 tubes in which the cable will snake through. Ambient temp will range from 40F to 70F. will heat towels to 140F.

Help!

 

[dvd]

Congratulations.

Call your Chromalox rep. That person will help you with sizing and selection.

 

[SNORGY]

If it's for a spa or jacuzzi and the bath temperature is warm enough, maybe drive a slipstream of bath water through the tubes in the towel box and use them like heat tracers. With a spa or jacuzzi, depending on the pump, you might even be able to do it parisitically without a dedicated pump. The thermostat could energize / de-energize a solenoid valve on the hot water inlet.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[brookbend]

Thanx DVD I'll call.

SNORGY - that's clever. Would have an incredible marketing angle.. green, etc. A bit tougher to implement?

Don't spas have a notorious history of failure? Pumps always going bad, heaters, etc. Maybe not important. If you cant bathe why do you need towels?? Unless you use the pool as a backup?

Seriously, I'd have to have a plumbing fixture at the warmer for the intake, and figure out how to get water out of the spa. They must all have different piping access. Could be complicated but I'll keep thinking. I think a contractor would be required as the consumer ain't too bright.

 

[zekeman]

Reinventing the wheel?

Are you telling me there are no towel warmers out there?

I'm sure if you look enough, I guarantee you will find this product.

 

[Compositepro]

The cheapest heating element, and one very appropriate for your application, is an incandescent light bulb. Insulate the cabinet well and you need little wattage and no thermostat. You can find the appropriate wattage by trial and error. If you need a quick warm-up you need high wattage and a thermostat to limit temperature.

 

[brookbend]

zekeman I think you're right. But making my own has advantages. Buying components from commodity suppliers like stainless tubes, tracer cable, thermostat etc is very easy. I may in fact source ready-made product but I don't think there's ready-made product at the right price and special engineering may be rq'd since their finished product have parts that dont readily fit into a box. I mean they are all consumer finished goods. Curves, feet, wall attachments etc.

 

[SNORGY]

I'll bet a person could jerry-rig a modified women's hair curling iron to heat the inside of the tubes (sort of like an electric immersion heater in a capped pipe). Then all you'd need to do is plug it in. The thermostat could switch the curling iron(s) (or power supply) on and off.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[brookbend]

SNORGY Interesting. The cheap ones run about $25. So I figure I can buy them with small inventory at about 45% less, which makes the price point. I certainly won't be complaining about lack of heat! Those irons get damn hot! And better than a cheap fan-driven heater. No mechanical break-downs.

Now all I have to do strip off all the consumer hardware on the hand grip to expose only the heat element. I have to think the manufacturer would need (as they are guaranteed to be imported) big volume to modify the curler for me. Better is to find the guy that makes just the element. It may be someone different if the product is actually a system integration operation, not vertical manufacturing. Anyone have an idea on this?

 

[brookbend]

An expensive brand that describes a ceramic approach is seen at:

http://www.chiretail.com/technology

Maybe this is what I can find for the element.

 

[brookbend]

Subject re-visited:

The cost of UL is $8,000 for a fan or heating element. SNORGY's slipstream / spa water idea is good but pretty complicated, but it does escape the UL requirement, no?

Any other ideas to get around UL?