Cookie Tin water heater

[nancypo]

It's been working great for us! My husband decided to hard wire a weather proof switch out side the coop, at standing level (so we did'n't have to get real low on bad weather) , works well for the heat lamp too. He also drilled a small hole in the side of the cookie tin, to make sure the light is on, if it dies.

Girls seem happy and fairly warm. Tonite we'll see, supposed to be around 0.

 

[nancypo]

I should add too- my hubby's brilliant idea

WE PUT 2 FUZZY SKI HATS OVER THE WATERER'S "DOME"! He got them cheap at a thrift store. It adds insulation to the thin plastic...

 

[hinkjc]

Quote:
I'm not sure I understand what you built or are using it on, but I use these in at least 12 coops every year with success. There is no way I could swap that many waterers or deal with ice in winter. These are a life saver!

 

[papeine]

would these tin heaters work for platic water(ers) or does the tin get too hot for those??

 

[nancypo]

My waterer is a standard plastic 1 gallon dome with the red trough that twists on

 

[hinkjc]

They are primarily for plastic waterers. I do not recommend using them on metal ones. We use the bought metal heaters for metal waterers.

 

[Smoky73]

I have several I use just as bases in the summer to make the waterers shoulder high, and then when winter comes on, all I have to do is plug them in. I have been using them for years. On occasion, after several years, sometimes the metal tins tend to rust and getting the lids off is a pain, so I might end up replacing one or two tins. I use 40w light bulbs, the skinnier ones not the normal round ones.

I love the ski hat idea...brilliant!

 

[catwalk]

Yay, I was going to find this thread and bump it, but it's still here at the top! I love these things, and the chickies love them. I put one in each pen for them to sit on.

 

[Sooner]

Quote:
What would be the issue with using them with a metal water?? I had planned to do that this year in my main coop...

 

[mgw]

I wish I would have seen this sooner we just bought 2 heated dog dishes for $50 yesterday GRRR.