[APD] Re: AZoo Heating Cables

[Bill Wichers <billw at waveform_net>]

> Can I use the longer cable in a smaller tank? This would mean placing the 
> cables closer together than AZoo recommended but I can't see any other 
> solution. Will it work or is it a recipe for disaster?

Probably won't be a problem. There are usually two considerations with 
minimum cable spacing:

1 - Cable BEND RADIUS. Too tight a bend radius and you risk damaging the 
cable. The minimum bend radius is usually slightly less than what the cable 
would "naturally" allow if you let it hang freely at a 180° angle. The 
curved part of the inverted "U" shape shows the minimum bend radius. 
Tighter bends may break insulator and/or parts of the conductor.

2 - Cable PLACEMENT. Most heating cables specify that any coils made with 
them can not contact any other part of the cable. While I've never heard 
the exact reason for this, logic would indicate that the area where the 
cable contacts another part of the cable would experience higher localized 
heating (due to the fact that there would not be a heat dissipating medium 
present at the contact point), which might be a problem for the cable's 
insulation.

Easy summary: Don't bend the wire sharply enough that it "fights" you, and 
don't let any part of the cable touch any other part. If you follow both of 
those guidelines, then you should at least not have any electrical-type 
problems. Whether or not it works as well as heating cable in the water 
YMMV :-)

     -Bill



*****************************
Waveform Technology
UNIX Systems Administrator

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