Homemade seed starting heat pad with rope lights
back in february i mocked up a heating pad with styrofoam and rope lights based off something i found on pinterest (links down at the end). then after it worked, my dad cut up the wood so i could make it out of plywood.
i had some old rope lights i'd bought years ago and then never used again, so after seeing the idea on pinterest, i thought hey, lets try this! not like the rope lights were doing anything else. and i live in minnesota, so starting seeds indoors is an important part of gardening with our short summers. i've struggled to get some seeds to start, and wanted a heating pad. but they're SO ridiculously overpriced. $89 to buy a heating mat this size at a store or online!
first i made a mock up out of some old styrofoam sheets i had on hand, just to see if it actually worked. i really didnt have that much faith in the rope lights raising the temps that much.
i cut strips of styrofoam and glued them to a piece of styrofoam and ran the lights in between the strips. its sitting here on a wire shelf of my grow light setup.
i measured the temperature difference and it actually worked! there was about a 10-12 degree temperature difference when it was turned on. but those temps melted the styrofoam a little
i worked out more precise measurements and went to my dad (who has a table saw) to see if he could make this for me. he said sure no problem, and actually had enough scrap plywood of the right size (3/4", 48" long) in his garage that we could cut this up and make it for free. (i love free!!!)
he cut me all the pieces and i took them home and worked on gluing them together.
my clamps are meant for edge clamping and could only reach the ends and edges. i looked around the kitchen to see what i had that i could weigh down the middle of the skinny strips and i had some bottles of powerade. made it work! (some of the boards had a slight bow, but hey, free!)
here is the finished piece fitting nicely on the shelf under my grow lights
with the rope light roughly wound in thru the spaces to make sure it all fits
i am planning on painting it, but the wretchedly hot weather is not cooperating.
pinterest link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/245798092132352630/
actual link: http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/11658/diy-heat-mat-speeds-seed-starting
2nd pinterest link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872241031011/
2nd actual link: http://doorgarden.com/2009/02/17/home-made-bottom-heat-seed-starting/
i had some old rope lights i'd bought years ago and then never used again, so after seeing the idea on pinterest, i thought hey, lets try this! not like the rope lights were doing anything else. and i live in minnesota, so starting seeds indoors is an important part of gardening with our short summers. i've struggled to get some seeds to start, and wanted a heating pad. but they're SO ridiculously overpriced. $89 to buy a heating mat this size at a store or online!
first i made a mock up out of some old styrofoam sheets i had on hand, just to see if it actually worked. i really didnt have that much faith in the rope lights raising the temps that much.
i cut strips of styrofoam and glued them to a piece of styrofoam and ran the lights in between the strips. its sitting here on a wire shelf of my grow light setup.
i measured the temperature difference and it actually worked! there was about a 10-12 degree temperature difference when it was turned on. but those temps melted the styrofoam a little
i worked out more precise measurements and went to my dad (who has a table saw) to see if he could make this for me. he said sure no problem, and actually had enough scrap plywood of the right size (3/4", 48" long) in his garage that we could cut this up and make it for free. (i love free!!!)
he cut me all the pieces and i took them home and worked on gluing them together.
my clamps are meant for edge clamping and could only reach the ends and edges. i looked around the kitchen to see what i had that i could weigh down the middle of the skinny strips and i had some bottles of powerade. made it work! (some of the boards had a slight bow, but hey, free!)
here is the finished piece fitting nicely on the shelf under my grow lights
with the rope light roughly wound in thru the spaces to make sure it all fits
i am planning on painting it, but the wretchedly hot weather is not cooperating.
pinterest link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/245798092132352630/
actual link: http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/11658/diy-heat-mat-speeds-seed-starting
2nd pinterest link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872241031011/
2nd actual link: http://doorgarden.com/2009/02/17/home-made-bottom-heat-seed-starting/