Xmas Light Seedling Heat Mat - Page 2

Douglas_OW · January 14, 2008

I thought that I would try to push this up to the active threads now. If anyone is interested in making a heating mat like this, you will be able to get Christmas lights very cheaply soon. I paid less than $1.00 for mine, when they were on clearance. Buy one set for the mat, and another just for the spare bulbs.
Or you can just not use any heating mat at all; that seems to be the consensus of the knowledgable folks here.

This is the heating mat that I made from some scrap lumber and Christmas lights. The frame is made of 1x3's and the top is pegboard. I use it in the basement where the temperature it is a steady low sixties F. If I think it is running too warm, I just loosen a couple of the bulbs. It does speed up the germination of tomato seeds and is very useful for peppers, too. Here are some pictures:

the999bbq · January 15, 2008

I have a little propagator (60x40 greenhouse+thermostat mat) and I am very pleased about the results of pepper, melons, tomatoes and other heat loving plants...
I move my seedlings as soon as they open their two first leaves to/under the lamps, out of the heated propagator because they need the light more than the heat at that stage I believe, and it is not exactly cold in that part of our house either so they'll cope. My alternative before that was all the flats on the radiators indoors but the misses wasn't too pleased about that technique. I tried the method of germinating first (on wet tissue on locked bag, cannot remember the fancy name of this technique) and sowing later, with good germination results but I didn't like the fuss of handling the newly germinated seeds myself but lots of amateurs use this technique so it has many supporters.

salix · January 20, 2008

Hello all, I germinate all of my indoor seedlings on the wire shelves of a wheeled cart (2' by 5', 4 shelves). I have found that the fairly small amount of heat generated by the fluorescent lights (4 x 4 footers) are just about right in an already warm room. My question is: I tried to use a water bed heater for pepper seeds and other hard-to-germinate varieties, but found it was VERY uneven heat. Thought it would be a good "recycle" project, and it is larger than a regular heating pad. Does anyone have any experience with modifying, or ? or ?? It does have a thermostat, but it does not seem to be very sensitive or controllable. Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts on the matter.

the999bbq · January 21, 2008

@salix : you could consider buying a thermostat that controls the power supply (as the thermostats sold/combined with the out-of-the-box propagators) - so you don't rely on the thermostat of the bedwarmer; the bedwarmer I had years ago at my parents home just had three positions : don't warm just waste energy / hmm feeling something there but not nearly warm enough / autch burned my feet ... so not too sensitive equipment. I don't think those seperate thermostats are that expensive but they are more sensitive and you can program them.
Did you unwrap the heating coil from the bedwarmer and reset it under your soil ? My guess would be that this 'resistance' should be even through the length of the coil so that positioning it would make it uneven (too far apart less heat, too close too warm...)

**Mischka** · January 21, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas_OW

This is the heating mat that I made from some scrap lumber and Christmas lights. The frame is made of 1x3's and the top is pegboard. I use it in the basement where the temperature it is a steady mid sixties. If I think it is running too warm, I just loosen a couple of the bulbs. It does speed up the germination of tomato seeds and is very useful for peppers, too. Here are some pictures:

That's a very creative setup, Douglas! I really enjoy seeing examples of good, old-fashioned ingenuity, borne from necessity.

Thanks for sharing.

TomatoDon · January 21, 2008

Yep, that was a good one. Maybe light bulbs are the answer.

After this thread I'm not sure I need a heat mat. It just seemed like the flats were a little too cool last year. This is done inside, so I'm sure the air temp couldn't have been that cold. Maybe mid or low 60's in that part of the house, but that should be good enough for starting tomato seedlings.

Great posts! Thanks!

Don

**tomatoaddict** · January 21, 2008

Douglas your light mat is very clever.

robin303 · January 21, 2008

I have tile floors and bay windows. I just move them around on the floor following the sun a couple times a day. The next day I just spin them a 180.

the999bbq · January 22, 2008

The recycled (or just double use?) of the christmas lights is a nice idea indeed but I wonder how much the total wattage of these lights is ... maybe you are better of with a small investment in the long run (heating coil, propagator,...) - I don't know for the USA but in Europe energy bills are high and rising like rocket so activity costs are maybe more important than the start-up cost.

**tomatoaddict** · January 22, 2008

Quote:

I have tile floors and bay windows. I just move them around on the floor following the sun a couple times a day. The next day I just spin them a 180.

LOl

You be funny. Welcome to our alternate universe of Tomatoville Robin!!

Douglas_OW · January 22, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by the999bbq

The recycled (or just double use?) of the christmas lights is a nice idea indeed but I wonder how much the total wattage of these lights is ... maybe you are better of with a small investment in the long run (heating coil, propagator,...) - I don't know for the USA but in Europe energy bills are high and rising like rocket so activity costs are maybe more important than the start-up cost.

Thanks to all for the kind comments.
The GERMINATOR 2000 is not my original idea; I'm sure that I read about similar setups here and there. As for power usage, there are 25 bulbs, 9 watts each. The frame will support 4 standard trays at a time. It uses a total of 225W, but I only have to run it for 3 to 5 days. If necessary, I can loosen most of the bulbs and warm a single tray, using about 54 watts. Because of the design, almost all of the energy is converted to heat. I can't find any wattage info on standard growing mats to compare to, but I'm satisfied with my setup. But maybe I am culturally inclined to casual use of power. I have an office mate who uses Christmas lights for Christmas lights. He routinely covers his house, trees and yard with them. About 60,000 of them. And more each year. They are lit for 5 to 7 hours a day, for about 4 weeks. We all wonder about him.

Jim

the999bbq · January 22, 2008

You're are probably right about the christmas lights during the christmas period : there are lots of lights then and we don't even think about the consumption (we will in the future ;-) you even saw it already in my region this year : far less lights, and not from 6PM to 6AM).
The (commercial) propagator I bought has a 50W coil that is placed in a insulated shell with the electric thermostat it goes on and off for the duration of the germination (now onions, after that peppers, than tomatoes, than melons, than flowers; so in my case less is more); I think you could squeeze a few bulbs out of the setup if you incorporate some thin insulation sheets in the design. Indeed as we all know bulbs are better in generating heat than light so it is a nice gardening DIY project if you have them lying around...
but as for every project there is room for improvement 'till perfection ;-)

Douglas_OW · January 22, 2008

I considered many refinements for the GERMINATOR, but I am actually proud that I was able to suppress my normal engineering instincts and just say "Good enough". I could insulate the whole system, add a dimmer to control the temperature more precisely, and put in a thermostat, so that the lights would be on almost constantly, but at a lower level, that just acheived the the desired temperature. But, I didn't want to be in a R&D project. It took me about 30 minutes to slap that wood together, and I suspect that I will be using it for some years to come.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler".
Albert Einstein

Jim

the999bbq · January 22, 2008

hehe, you can't argue with Einstein can you, so I give in ;-)

(however I would insulate it, even it were potato chips sacks)

rxkeith · January 22, 2008

i have never used a heating pad to start seeds. i have used the top of an old steam radiator in a bedroom of my old house in calumet. most everything would pop up in a week. at the house in ironwood, the upstairs bedroom has an electric radiator that you dial up or down. seed flats were placed on the floor near the heating unit. most seedlings were up within 10 days. tomatoes took a bit longer than usual because i turned the heat down once the peppers popped.
i wouldn't use a heating pad just for tomatoes. top of the fridge or hot water heater or near a registor should work well enough.

keith in calumet

January 21, 2008	#21
TomatoDon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MS Posts: 1,521	Yep, that was a good one. Maybe light bulbs are the answer. After this thread I'm not sure I need a heat mat. It just seemed like the flats were a little too cool last year. This is done inside, so I'm sure the air temp couldn't have been that cold. Maybe mid or low 60's in that part of the house, but that should be good enough for starting tomato seedlings. Great posts! Thanks! Don __________________ Zone 7B, N. MS

January 21, 2008	#22
tomatoaddict Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: zone 5 Posts: 1,459	Douglas your light mat is very clever. __________________ Secretseedcartel.com

January 15, 2008	#17
the999bbq Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 191	I have a little propagator (60x40 greenhouse+thermostat mat) and I am very pleased about the results of pepper, melons, tomatoes and other heat loving plants... I move my seedlings as soon as they open their two first leaves to/under the lamps, out of the heated propagator because they need the light more than the heat at that stage I believe, and it is not exactly cold in that part of our house either so they'll cope. My alternative before that was all the flats on the radiators indoors but the misses wasn't too pleased about that technique. I tried the method of germinating first (on wet tissue on locked bag, cannot remember the fancy name of this technique) and sowing later, with good germination results but I didn't like the fuss of handling the newly germinated seeds myself but lots of amateurs use this technique so it has many supporters.

January 20, 2008	#18
salix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: north central B.C. Posts: 2,310	Hello all, I germinate all of my indoor seedlings on the wire shelves of a wheeled cart (2' by 5', 4 shelves). I have found that the fairly small amount of heat generated by the fluorescent lights (4 x 4 footers) are just about right in an already warm room. My question is: I tried to use a water bed heater for pepper seeds and other hard-to-germinate varieties, but found it was VERY uneven heat. Thought it would be a good "recycle" project, and it is larger than a regular heating pad. Does anyone have any experience with modifying, or ? or ?? It does have a thermostat, but it does not seem to be very sensitive or controllable. Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts on the matter.

January 21, 2008	#23
robin303 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Austin, TX Zone 8b Posts: 531	I have tile floors and bay windows. I just move them around on the floor following the sun a couple times a day. The next day I just spin them a 180.

January 22, 2008	#24
the999bbq Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 191	The recycled (or just double use?) of the christmas lights is a nice idea indeed but I wonder how much the total wattage of these lights is ... maybe you are better of with a small investment in the long run (heating coil, propagator,...) - I don't know for the USA but in Europe energy bills are high and rising like rocket so activity costs are maybe more important than the start-up cost.

January 22, 2008	#28
Douglas_OW Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: NJ z5 Posts: 281	I considered many refinements for the GERMINATOR, but I am actually proud that I was able to suppress my normal engineering instincts and just say "Good enough". I could insulate the whole system, add a dimmer to control the temperature more precisely, and put in a thermostat, so that the lights would be on almost constantly, but at a lower level, that just acheived the the desired temperature. But, I didn't want to be in a R&D project. It took me about 30 minutes to slap that wood together, and I suspect that I will be using it for some years to come. "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler". Albert Einstein Jim

January 22, 2008	#30
rxkeith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in da U.P. Posts: 1,839	i have never used a heating pad to start seeds. i have used the top of an old steam radiator in a bedroom of my old house in calumet. most everything would pop up in a week. at the house in ironwood, the upstairs bedroom has an electric radiator that you dial up or down. seed flats were placed on the floor near the heating unit. most seedlings were up within 10 days. tomatoes took a bit longer than usual because i turned the heat down once the peppers popped. i wouldn't use a heating pad just for tomatoes. top of the fridge or hot water heater or near a registor should work well enough. keith in calumet