Electricity in the coop - Page 2

This is a great coop electricity thread-- everyone seems to have so much good info!

I purchased it from Habor Freight...they have a website www.harborfreight.com or google them  I think it was $40-$50

Thanks, I just realized we are actually pretty close to each other. I live just the other side of Canandaigua, so I know where the Harbor Freight store is. I'll have to run up there this weekend. Thanks again.

Codes call for different depths in different regions. They are there to cover the worst case situations. HOWEVER- a piece of NMW (or even plastic NMD) wire that is burried in 8-12" down is going to be safer than an extension cord running thru the mud.
If the wire is in sandy, or loamy soil (no sharp stones) and you are not going to hit it with a rototiller or shovel, it will last indefinitely. Frost won't hurt it, neither will wet ground. If it runs under a driveway, then put some sand in the trench to surround the wire and then cover it with a pressure treated 2x4 or 2x6, anything to protect it from damage.
You can also run a 3/4" plastic pipe underground and pull an extension cord into it. This way you can plug it into an outdoor outlet.
None of this is legal, and a home inspection MIGHT pick it up, but it sure beats an extension cord laying on the ground....
If you use a GFI circuit then it will trip if anything does start to short out.

Just put a plug on each end of the 12-2 and you will be legal.  Hardwire it, and it will not likely be to code.

If you are buying it, and its just for lights and a small heater in the coop, buy #14. #12 is a real challenge to put plugs on.....
By small heater, I mean a couple of hundred watts, not 1000 or 1200 watts....

Have you any pics of the type of solar lighting you use. We`re going to be building a chicken house soon and i`ve been exploring the various sources of energy for lighting and or heat. 

Ya, im debating on whether to put a small heater in the hen house this winter. I'm thinking maybe i'll just insulate the nest boxes with styrofoam on the tops, sides and bottoms. Surprisingly alot of people up here don't insulate or power their chicken houses at all and the birds do well as long as they are not in a direct draft. I've got a neat hanging solar light that i bought. the solar panel is small and goes on the roof and the bulb hangs inside.

I ran 12-2 wire in electrical conduit buried 18" deep. Fortunately, I only had to run it about 60 feet. We have a light, a Pullet-shut automatic pop door and a couple of wifi cameras in the coop. I have a spare outlet available for use in keeping water unfrozen come winter. I'm really glad I wired it.

KJF

Chickens have feathers and are protected from the cold like they have always been.  dig a trench a couple inches deep and put in 12/2 under ground direct and you will never have any problems with it as long as you are not digging there...