General Heater Information
jsgabr...@gmail.com
There are several different types of baptistery heaters and batistry
heater kits/systems available on the market today. Normally, there are
three types of heaters, Electric, Gas and Immersion. Electric, the most
popular of the three, comes in a variety of sizes ranging from 3kw to
12kw heaters. Basically, a baptistery heater has an input and output
spout with a water pump which flows water from the baptistry, through a
heater, then back out to your baptistry. Unlike your typical water
heater found in homes and churches, a baptistry heater doesn't hold
the water in a tank, rather it uses the water that's in your
baptistry and recycles it. Since water comes out of the ground at 54
degrees, a heater is needed to continuously warm the water in your
baptistry to a comfortable level. Most Baptistry heaters have some kind
of thermostat on them ranging from 72 degrees to 105 degree, plus or
minus a few.
Please be aware that the size of a heater depends on both how large
your tank is and how much space there is around your tank. Some heaters
are quite large and some are quite small. You wouldn't want to
purchase a 3kw heater for a 700 gallon baptistry, it would take for
ever to heat. The idea is to turn on your baptistry heater the night
before use. A good rule of thumb is to take at least 12 hours to heat
your unit (if you have a 900-1,000 gallon tank as most churches do).
If your looking at a Gas Heater for your church, then you will need to
pick from LP Gas or Natural Gas. These heaters do an excellent job at
heating water for your baptistry and it can also provide hot water to
other areas of the church, restrooms and kitchens as well. Now this is
not to replace your water heater already installed in the church but it
will help keep your hot water hot. Gas unit typically run a little
higher in price and you will need to make sure you have gas available
in your area before purchasing the unit.
The Immersion heater is a heater like the electric except you place the
unit in the water. Heat from coils will heat the water to warmer
temperatures. Immersion heaters are usually cheaper than all others,
but they will heat much less than typical heaters also. You will also
need to make sure that you have access to a 240v plug instead of a
110v. These are good units for small baptisteries and historic churches
that don't want to install a permanent unit in the church.
Pricing
You will often find the best pricing online over the internet. Most
places offer about the same thing as far as kilowatt size, fuel type
(electric / gas) and have similar pricing. The two major types of
heaters vary in size greatly. One unit is heavy and require you to
place it on the floor , under your baptistry, usually requiring more
plumbing work to install. The other is placed directly next to the
baptistry and is simple to install. All units should be installed by a
local plumber or professional, under any circumstances, do NOT attempt
to install it yourself. This may void the warranty from replacement of
the unit. Also be sure to keep your receipts in case you need to
replace your unit. Documentation is a good thing to have for your
investment.
The following is a current price list as of august 2005 of a few major
online baptistry heating companies.
(*available for purchase online)
Typical unit or kit without an extras**
Website Name Company Model
Price Online*
CyberSteeple.com CyberSteeple Pinnacle 11kw Ele
875.00 YES
CyberSteeple.com CyberSteeple Pinnacle 5.5kw Ele
775.00 YES
CyberSteeple.com CyberSteeple Immersion Ele
325.00 YES
Biuchurch.com Bowling United Model 650 5.5kw Ele
465.00 No
Biuchurch.com Bowling United Immersion Ele
345.00 No
Biuchurch.com Bowling United Model 810 Gas
755.00 No
Biuchurch.com Bowling United Model 825 Gas
955.00 No
ChurchOutlet.com ChurchOutlet Pinnacle 5.5kw Ele
574.00 YES
ChurchOutlet.com ChurchOutlet Pinnacle 11kw Ele
675.00 YES
ChurchOutlet.com ChurchOutlet Immersion Ele
318.00 YES
Jgoodsell.com jgoodsell.com Immersion
Ele 275.00 No
Jgoodsell.com jgoodsell.com AT-55 5.5kw Ele
450.00 No
Baptistryheater.com Calvary Supply 6kw-001kit 6kw Ele
392.00 YES
Baptistryheater.com Calvary Supply 11kw240 11.5kw Ele
524.00 YES
Baptistryheater.com Calvary Supply hot-o-matic2 Gas
684.00 YES
Baptistryheater.com Calvary Supply hot-o-matic3 Gas
819.00 YES
Baptistryheater.com Calvary Supply Immersion Ele
274.00 YES
Please note that prices may change and the price does not include
shipping. Also some companies do not include additional items to
finish the "kit" or "system" so be sure to read each website or
contact each company for more information. For example, Calvary Supply
offers each unit as a kit, comes with the pump and other accessories to
finish the installation, however biuchurch.com only offers the unit,
separate purchases of the pump and accessories are needed to install
heater.
Others
There are also other items you can purchase such as auto fill systems,
overflow drains and wall spouts. Just about every accessory has its
benefits and should be looked at when making an investment in baptistry
heating.