100W Ceramic Heat Emitter - How warm should it get?

[CityChook]

I just bought a 100w ceramic bulb for my 6x8 coop. Man they are EXPENSIVE! I plugged it in under my desk to make sure it works and I can barely feel the heat at all. Seriously - like AT ALL. Even the general air under my desk doesn't feel warmer.

When I put my hand close to it, I can feel the heat, but once I back off 4-6 inches, it's all lost.

In my MN coop it is going to be a complete waste of time (and money).

I know there are zillions of you out there who don't believe in heating your coops, and believe me, if I can get away with it, then I won't.... but I only have 4 hens and they don't even begin to heat up their insulated coop with their body heat. And it's a l*o*n*g and bitter winter season here in MN... so be patient with me here, okay?

How warm are these things supposed to get? Do they take a long time to reach peak heat potential or something? It's been going for 30 minutes and I'm not feeling impressed. In fact, I'm feeling kinda gypped. I envisioned heat like a red bulb, but with no light. This isn't even close.

Did I get a bummer bulb or have I chosen the wrong tool for the job? I wanted to save it for when the temps start hitting single digits (and below) but I can clearly see that this particular bulb won't even matter. Can some folks with ceramic heat experience teach this young padwan learner?

Thanks!

 

[ams3651]

i dont know if it makes any difference but I havent got one yet because I read you have to get a ceramic socket for it and the clamps with those are a few more bucks. We have had nights in the 20's and will again starting sunday night, I dont think I will worry about it till its in the teens and blowing cold. So far they have been just fine.

 

[panner123]

You are much better off using a plain old 60 or 100 watt light bulb. This is all I use. My sister i law in Id. doesn't use any form of heat in her coops. I don't need to , but I use it more for the light than the heat. Even when it get around zero and no light the inside of the coop is about 40. And when it is 40 outside it is 40 to 45 inside.

 

[CityChook]

Panner - not to get off subject, because I really want to learn more about this odd heat source, but....

so you say that as it gets colder, the temp stays pretty constant in the coop? I haven't found that to be true - at least not yet - and my coop is insulated (walls and roof) and draft free.

Can you tell that I'm getting worried about what to do when it really starts to rock and roll around here?

 

[JackieK318]

If you want to keep the chickens in lay, you do need to keep it warmer and provide more light for them. Once the days get shorter, it cues the hens to go into moult, but you can trick them with heat and light. This can be bad though if not in the proper ratio as too much light has been known to cause cancer - so, no 24 hour lights.

 

[digitS']

If your heater uses 100 watts over an hour it will produce 341.2 BTU's of heat.

If your heater uses 1000 watts over an hour, it will produce 3412 BTU's of heat.

I don't think there's any getting away from that

.

Most portable bathroom heaters are larger than 1000 watts.

Steve

 

[joanc]

The red heat lamps have always worked well for us, we've never tried the ceramic style.

Our big coop is 12 x 20 and we have 2 heat lamps (250w). That keeps it between 40-45 degrees in our coop. We have 22 adults in that coop.

We also have a smaller brooder coop that is 8 x 16. We currently have 18 chicks (10 wks old) in there and have 2 heat lamps (250w) each. That keeps it between 40-50 degrees during the day when the door is open, and between 60-70 degrees at night when the door is closed.

We keep the windows open slightly in both coops to allow for fresh air without the drafts.

We live 40 miles NE of the twin cities.

 

[ebonykawai]

I used one in the early spring in my coop when temps were still freezing and my babies were just fine. Not sure it would work if you're trying to actually heat an area, but clamping it at a set distance for chicks works great. These are specifically made to heat small bodies in a contained area, thus they are generally used for reptiles and such.

 

[ams3651]

I would like a little heat in the coop for those nights that its in the teens or lower and when the wind gets blowing up here. I dont want to use a 100w bulb as I dont want the light in the coop at 3am but Im afraid the 250w will be too warm. They are fine right now in the 20's at night but its our first winter and Im not sure if I did a good enough insulation job.

 

[babsh]

In my MN coop it is going to be a complete waste of time (and money).

I know there are zillions of you out there who don't believe in heating your coops, and believe me, if I can get away with it, then I won't.... but I only have 4 hens and they don't even begin to heat up their insulated coop with their body heat. And it's a l*o*n*g and bitter winter season here in MN... so be patient with me here, okay?
-----------------------------
I am in the Twin Cities too (south burbs) and I am rearing up for winter as well. We just insulated our coop (we walled off part of our shed) and I wanted something extra as well. I'm imagining 30 below for 3 weeks at a time and i can't see it staying anywhere near 30 or 40 degrees above when it is that cold out.

I just ordered and received a heater from ShoptheCoop.com. I wanted warmth, but didn't want to have light on them 24/7. This seemed to fit the the bill. I haven't set it up yet, but i can let you know how it works. I'm optimistic.

Barb