Etching tank temprature - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: RigorM
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 12:20:30 pm
content: Hi,i'm building a DIY etching tank. I pretty much have everything except for the heater. Looking around, and people seem to use aquarium heaters.. so I went to my local pet shop and what I found is, the adjustable ones goes max to 32C. and I found that for best results, you need a 35C-45C in the tanks.What are you guys using ?Thank for any input on this

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 12:31:52 pm
content: You can get heaters without any temperature control. They are used for large tanks with an external control, i.e. you have to add your own control. Or you could look for spare heaters for small etch tanks.

author: RigorM
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 12:40:34 pm
content: you mean aquarium heaters on another type ? Encapsulated in glass I would imagine ?

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 12:41:31 pm
content: None. CuCl2/HCl+H2O2 doesn't need heating really.

author: RigorM
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 12:51:49 pm
content: Yeah, I tried that method.. but, for some reason, it takes ALOT of time.. granted that I did not try in a etching tank.. only in a bold with two parts H2O2 and 1 part HCL.Would if be faster in a tank with air bubbles on the the board ?for now, I went back using Ferric chloride + citric acid + water (The Edinburgh Etch). Works good.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 12:58:50 pm
content: Quote from: RigorM on May 19, 2015, 12:40:34 pmYes, glass or titanium. I had the same problem with a small commercial etch tank and a broken heater. No spare heater was available, spares for other etch tanks didn't fit, aquarium heaters only up to 32°C, so I've bought simple aquarium heaters without any control. And because I didn't find any glass types I had to use titanium ones, and they work fine. Just make sure you ground them to PE for your safety. And I've added an ATtiny based control.

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 01:04:11 pm
content: It's not too hard to modify the heaters to go a little higher. Some you just wind past the max temperature shown. Some you may have to carefully prize the top off.I also hacked my small (50W?) one to quadruple the power by rewiring it to take half the supplied length of heater wire and connecting the two pieces in parallel. It glows pretty brightly but hasn't self-destructed yet.

author: RigorM
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 01:07:42 pm
content: Back in the day when I had aquariums, I had a NON-submersible heater.. there was a mechanical thermostat. i'm sure that one could of been opened, bypass the thermostat and use my own control (I have a ton of NTC 100K thermistors from my 3D printer builds).I found those old aquarium heaters on ebay but price +shipping from US to Canada, that would be more than 60$US (75$CAN). So, i'm trying to find and alternative.Mind telling me where you found your heater ?

author: RigorM
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 01:10:56 pm
content: Quote from: RigorM on May 19, 2015, 01:07:42 pmYeah, that was My first try.. but the submersible one are sealed good.. I broke the glass on the one I found (a 200W electronic one with a preset of 25C found at walmart). 27$ down the drain LOL !

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 01:20:22 pm
content: The brand is "Schego" but a search for "titanium aquarium heater" at your preferred market place should give you a lot of hits. Select one without any temperature control.

author: RigorM
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 01:33:52 pm
content: Quote from: madires on May 19, 2015, 01:20:22 pmYou mean this one :http://www.amazon.ca/Viaaqua-Watt-Titanium-Submersible-Heater/dp/B005DGHQQW/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1432042160&sr=8-10&keywords=titanium+aquarium+heater?Just remove the external remote et insert a custom controller ?

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2015, 05:54:38 pm
content: Quote from: RigorM on May 19, 2015, 01:33:52 pmYes, or modify the controller if possible. The simplest way would be to play with the sensor to add a temperature offset.

author: RigorM
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2015, 05:53:43 pm
content: Finally ordered a titanium version (like the one in the amazon link above ) but the 200W (same price as the 100W, go figure!)10 in size so should be pretty good for a etch tank.Thanks to all for there ideas and feedback

author: SArepairman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2015, 08:06:27 pm
content: you can always double wall a coolant jacket around the enchant tank.

author: M4trix
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2015, 08:15:49 pm
content: Rigor,This is exactly what you need -->http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-Etching-Plating-Heater-EPH-20-KINSTEN-220V-300W-Taiwan-/171120293419?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d790762bThese heaters are specially designed for etching tanks. The max heating temperature is around 55-60°C. I bought couple of these and they work perfectly.

author: ozwolf
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2015, 10:59:04 pm
content: Thanks M4trix, didn't know these where available.I'll order the Australian voltage version this weekend.Ozwolf

author: M4trix
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2015, 12:08:06 am
content: Quote from: ozwolf on May 21, 2015, 10:59:04 pmNo problem Oz.Btw, some important tips that you won't see in the manual:1. never switch on the heater if it's not submerged in the solution.2. after etching, give some time to the etchant and heater to cool down. Then you can empty the tank.3. in case you wanna wash the tank with cold water, do it when the heater is completely cooled down otherwise it will break the heaters glass.I've learned this a hard way.

author: ozwolf
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2015, 12:17:35 am
content: Thanks for the tips.

author: Dago
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2015, 05:32:42 am
content: Quote from: M4trix on May 21, 2015, 08:15:49 pmLooks interesting. How long is the element to the minimum submersion level from the end?

author: M4trix
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2015, 08:37:12 am
content: The overall heaters length is approx 330mm. The length between the bottom and the minimum water level line is 200mm.

author: RigorM
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2015, 01:04:41 pm
content: Quote from: M4trix on May 21, 2015, 08:15:49 pmCool, thanks, I should of looked at "etch tank heaters" on ebay.. I tried "Aquarium heaters" so I found all thoses that were wrong !LOLI just ordered 2 of that model in the 110V range.Hope I can return the one that I orderd on Amazon

author: RigorM
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2015, 01:09:34 pm
content: Quote from: M4trix on May 22, 2015, 08:37:12 amWow, that is quite long.. I want to get a plastic container from walmart, make a hole on the bottom side and silicon that sucker in the horizontal way and install a bubble wall just on top of it (already have the pump, may change the "bubble rock" to install a perforated rigid tube.and the project continues !