Jump to content

A question or three on heat packs


blueether

Recommended Posts

Heat packs = pocket warmers from any outdoors shops,

they normally sit around the 30 degree mark (depending on brand, it is normally written on them) and last around 12-20 hours depending on brand.

they are not designed to heat a volume of water but around 1-2 in a standard poly box is what the commercial guys use (2 if its cold and going down south)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I (work) want them for is to transport queen cells at around 33deg. I was thinking that using a body of water as a thermol mass would be the best bet to keep a stable temp in the package. I might have to do some testing...

Hah, I was thinking something along the lines of cell cultures and thought surely that would be valuable enough for a professional temperature controlled setup. Wasn't thinking bees. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you can get a heat box that plugs into the cigarette lighter

may be no good if shipping overseas though :facepalm:

We have them, but want something to stick in a poly box and chuck on a courier. Then they cant forget to plug them in and we don't have to pay for postage both ways for the cell box. It will be from the waikato to wirarapa probably on net day postage.

For overseas the queens go as mated queens with a thousand or so bees, so not so much of a problem.

We can send cells in a box of bees but for some reason couriers don't seem to like packages marked "Live Bees" that buzz :slfg:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Be aware that heat packs use oxygen to generate heat. They are OK with fish because they are in a bag and seperated from the pack. When using them to send reptiles I used to make a hole in the lid of a polybox and place the pack under the hole and the oxygen came from outside. Now I don't use them because the couriers wont take reptiles if they spot stuff like that. I think you can get them up to 40 hours and they would be OK if you could isolate them some how.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Alan, I know how they work but hadn't thought about them using up all the O2 in a box

If it's a well ventilated box it won't be enough to worry about. But more oxygen available=more heat production=burns out quicker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I send reptiles I use a solid ventilated plastic box inside and stuck to a polybox (with double sided cellotape). I am thinking of lining the polybox with a plastic bag stuck with double tape then tied at the top with the plastic box stuck to the inside of the plastic bag. I could then place a 40 hour heatpad on top of the plastic bag and it would give off heat but be isolated from the oxygen in the bag. Unfortunately I won't have reptiles to try the idea on until xmas when I will not need a heatpack.You want to do the experiment?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...