For a while there, every Black Friday Walmart (and others) offered an electric griddle for ten bucks or less. I bought more than one because they did get 'used up' after burning this meal or that to a crisp or trying too hard to restore them to pristine clean.
So, no problem, I've got 'spares' brand new in the closet. I'll come back and add a picture or two, but for now, let me describe what I've done rather than purchase a bucket heater or similar for $39 or so. I took the six gallon plastic drywall mud bucket with the three red plastic watering cups and mounted it on top of two concrete blocks (8 x 8 x 16" each) with one old griddle (devoid of its plastic feet, handles and such) in between and set the dial to ON, but LOWEST setting and plugged it into an extension cord running twenty feet or so to an exterior duplex outlet on the shop (when I built the place I put exterior outlets at every corner - just in case) into which I plugged one of those temperature switches that turns things on when the temperature drops and off when it returns to something above freezing. Soon enough I noticed that the bottom of the bucket was getting a bit too soft, So I interposed a SS Tray thing between griddle and concrete blocks and couple of pieces of 1.5" thick boards between griddle and bucket. Figuring convection would serve better than direct contact in this case.
After a week or so of below freezing nights - it appears to be working just fine.
Eventually, I intend to tap into the contacts on the griddle control to power a (red) indicator lamp I can see from the house and another (green) lamp into the extension cord so - at a glance - I can tell if the temperature dropped (green light) and the system is getting power and when the control on the griddle is turning the griddle elements on (red light). For now, I confirm (belatedly) by walking out in the morning to see the water's not frozen.
I have a similar situation on the well heater that let's me know that that jury-rigged system's working w/o the need to venture out of doors on a winter's evening.
And, experience has demonstrated that the water in the bucket does not get contaminated - though there's no hope for those little cuplets!
So, no problem, I've got 'spares' brand new in the closet. I'll come back and add a picture or two, but for now, let me describe what I've done rather than purchase a bucket heater or similar for $39 or so. I took the six gallon plastic drywall mud bucket with the three red plastic watering cups and mounted it on top of two concrete blocks (8 x 8 x 16" each) with one old griddle (devoid of its plastic feet, handles and such) in between and set the dial to ON, but LOWEST setting and plugged it into an extension cord running twenty feet or so to an exterior duplex outlet on the shop (when I built the place I put exterior outlets at every corner - just in case) into which I plugged one of those temperature switches that turns things on when the temperature drops and off when it returns to something above freezing. Soon enough I noticed that the bottom of the bucket was getting a bit too soft, So I interposed a SS Tray thing between griddle and concrete blocks and couple of pieces of 1.5" thick boards between griddle and bucket. Figuring convection would serve better than direct contact in this case.
After a week or so of below freezing nights - it appears to be working just fine.
Eventually, I intend to tap into the contacts on the griddle control to power a (red) indicator lamp I can see from the house and another (green) lamp into the extension cord so - at a glance - I can tell if the temperature dropped (green light) and the system is getting power and when the control on the griddle is turning the griddle elements on (red light). For now, I confirm (belatedly) by walking out in the morning to see the water's not frozen.
I have a similar situation on the well heater that let's me know that that jury-rigged system's working w/o the need to venture out of doors on a winter's evening.
And, experience has demonstrated that the water in the bucket does not get contaminated - though there's no hope for those little cuplets!
