Re: What setup would you recommend?
Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 3:21 pm
Using a "wall-wart" type AC to DC power supply is a good solution for powering the DC fan. You can run it constantly, or wire the AC side of the supply in parallel with the heater if you use an AC heater. I would choose the latter.
As my statistics professor used to say, "Life isn't ideal." DC is rarely pure DC unless A) it is a high-capacity battery source, or B) it is a source that is extremely well-filtered. Consider the DC power in a car -- the battery provides essentially pure DC, but the charging system generates time-varying fields due to the AC to DC conversion (ripple) of the alternator, and the various motors and switching systems all contribute varying fields. So what looks like a clean DC environment is a "polluted" one on the basis of time-varying fields. The case of the DC tank heater is much like that of the car because of the large currents required, which make effective filtering difficult and/or expensive. It can be done, but it isn't cheap.
Big batteries make pretty effective filters, so powering the DC heater from a battery stack that is located relatively far from the tank, with the batteries being charged by a relatively low-ripple AC to DC converter (or possibly an automotive battery charger) will probably best meet your needs.
I appreciate your desire to have a "clean" environment for the tank -- I've used an isolation tank several times, and was surprised by the experience of heightened sensitivity.
As my statistics professor used to say, "Life isn't ideal." DC is rarely pure DC unless A) it is a high-capacity battery source, or B) it is a source that is extremely well-filtered. Consider the DC power in a car -- the battery provides essentially pure DC, but the charging system generates time-varying fields due to the AC to DC conversion (ripple) of the alternator, and the various motors and switching systems all contribute varying fields. So what looks like a clean DC environment is a "polluted" one on the basis of time-varying fields. The case of the DC tank heater is much like that of the car because of the large currents required, which make effective filtering difficult and/or expensive. It can be done, but it isn't cheap.
Big batteries make pretty effective filters, so powering the DC heater from a battery stack that is located relatively far from the tank, with the batteries being charged by a relatively low-ripple AC to DC converter (or possibly an automotive battery charger) will probably best meet your needs.
I appreciate your desire to have a "clean" environment for the tank -- I've used an isolation tank several times, and was surprised by the experience of heightened sensitivity.