One day I while reading up on gardening, I came across some info about heating mats used for starting seeds which help warm the soil in the pots to help with germination time and other blah-blahs that my mind cannot recall (all this gardening stuff is new to me and a lot to take in). [Can anyone say, "Run-on sentence?"] Well, after a little researching online, I quickly realized these things are expensive. Then, I discovered a link to a blog where this guy explains how he made his own .... I found it very interesting. It uses some wood and an incandescent rope light to create a heating mat.
So, I went to Walmart, Home Depot, & Rural King to price out the rope light. Of the three, only Home Depot had it. Devon (my son) pointed out that they had some lit up on a display. I felt the rope and it was warm, but nowhere near hot enough to burn my hand. Price: $16.48. Rural King had a square heating mat for $25 dollars. Yikes! That's not big enough for any of the 4 trays that we have.
A few days later, I got serious about building it. I went and bought the lights at Home Depot along with a package of screw-down tie wraps and some screws for attaching the furring strips to the base board. Then I dug out some scrap lumber that one of the previous owners had left in the rafters of the garage. There was a piece big enough for the base and I could rip down some of the others to make the furring strips if I was willing to piece 2 of them end-to-end instead of having single pieces long enough to Score! I was saving money on the wood. Some of the wood was unfinished and some was painted/wallpapered. I found myself wishing it was all unfinished, but I figured it was free wood. Since it was going to be under the seed trays, looks weren't that important. I decided I would just paint it all the same color after cutting and assembling the pieces.
I took the wood out to my father-in-laws to cut to size on his table saw. Since it was his equipment and I had never used it, Tom was helping me. The first piece we cut was the board for the base. One side was painted white. The other side was painted/stained a dark brown and had wallpaper applied to it (which was barely hanging on). Below is a picture of two strips showing the finish on each side of the wood used for the base.
I tore off the wallpaper, most of which was loose anyways. You should have seen the look on our faces when Tom made the first cut. We discovered that what I had assumed to be a piece of pine or plywood was anything but. I picked up a piece and smelled it. Nope, not cedar. Tom looked at it and stated that it was Black Walnut. All I knew was that it was beautiful.
I finished cutting the rest of the wood which was pine and realized I didn't bring enough with me to make the furring strips. We had cut a long piece off of the base and decided to use that to rip down into furring strips as well. Now I had 2 furring strips of the Black Walnut and 4 pieces of pine to use for the other 2 furring strips. I was wishing there had been enough wood left over from the base to make all 4 furring strips, but I'll work with what I've got... it's still free.
I take my furring strips into the other part of the woodshop to find Tom sanding the finish off of the base.
I quickly figured out that taking the time to sand it back to bare wood would look much better than painting it. Tom said something to the effect of, "No, that would look better with some urethane on it to protect the wood." Arghh, that means I'm not getting it built tonight. Okay, I agree it is an awfully nice plank of wood. So, I finish sanding all of the wood pieces back down to bare wood and head home. Tom said he'd apply the finish to the base tomorrow night (Tuesday).
That was Tuesday night and I had to work 12 hr shifts the next three nights. Sunday, I asked about it and Tom told me that he'd applied filler into a knot hole, let it cure and finished one side. The other side was still waiting for the wood filler to cure. He said it would be another couple days before he could get the urethane on and cured enough to complete my work. ARGHHH! Okay, nothing I can do about it. Plus, he's helping me and doing it all for free... can't complain there. He's an awfully nice chap!
Forward to the following Friday night. I call my father-in-law up and ask if the wood is ready. He told me yes, I could go out and finish it up. So, I drive out to the farm and walk into the shop to see the following.
(1st pic is with the overhead lights on and the 2nd pic is with the lights off)
WOW!! Tom did a fantastic job and it was worth the wait. Thanks, Tom!!! The base is finished and the furring strips are unfinished, which is going to give this piece a unique look. But, it shows off the Black Walnut both ways which I think is pretty cool.
Tom had told me I could use his nail gun to attach the furring strips to the base and I quickly decided that would look much better that using the screws I'd bought. Sounds good to me. I'm trying to measure out my distances and quickly realized that the paint stirrers [in pic above] were great for that. So, I got everything aligned close enough for my satisfaction and nailed 'em down. I then attached the rope light using the screw down tie wraps and some screws from a jar that my dad have given to me awhile back (another freebie...Sweet!) Thanks, Dad!!!
I got it all assembled and it was time to test out the lights. Fingers crossed...
I ran home (actually I drove; running doesn't work for me), got 2 of my seed trays onto the mat and plugged 'er in. This easily holds two 72-cell seed trays.
After approximately 1 hr and 20 minutes, I walked in to discover what looked like condensation forming inside the plastic cover. I raised the lid and swiped it with my finger; yep, condensation. Cool it is working.
I turned the mats off for the night a couple hours later. Fast forward to this morning (Saturday). I find my wife's Pampered Chef digital thermometer, plunge it to the bottom of a cell and check the temp: 67.1 F.
I check it again after approx 1.5 and 2.5 hours:
After 4+ hours, not sure exactly, the temperature at the bottom of the cell was 89 F. The soil on top of the cells still feels cool to the touch. I pulled the thermometer out and pushed maybe halfway into the cell next to it. It registered 73.5 F. Okay, so warming it up, but not too hot. Hopefully the seeds will like it. I've read good reviews on another blog where some other people had built their own like mine. Fingers crossed. Prayers said. Let's see how it does. Time to wait...
Okay, I'll give you an update later. Honestly though, this is my first year gardening; so, I don't have anything to base the success or failure of this project on other than whether I get seedlings or not. And there are other factors to consider, like did I pack the starting mix down too much, are the seeds any good, etc, etc.
Actual total cost to me: $24.95 + tax
Incandescent Rope Light: $16.48
8" UV Black Mounting Ties 100pk : $8.47 (only used 6)
Hmm, that's the price for a small square one at Rural King.
Thanks and credit goes to Greg Holdsworth for the inspiration and how-to guide on building a DIY Heat Mat.
- Steve
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