How do you keep your water from freezing?

[KettermanHillCoop]

Yeah you put it under the block not between the block and the waterer.

In order from the ground up:

Leaves
Cinder block (holes facing the side)
Plywood
Insulation
Waterer

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

In order from the ground up:

Leaves
Cinder block (holes facing the side)
Plywood
Insulation
Waterer

This is what my set up looked like... The insulation board is now in between the waterer and the piece of plywood...

 

[CapricornFarm]

View attachment 1211689 I made this, need to put a cover on and it is done.

Edited to add, i had to take the insulation out as the bulbs overheated and quit working. Works fine now. Very cheap to make.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I have to report that with our cold as )(*$% temps we've had in CT lately, my vertical nipple system froze. So... we put up the 5 gal bucket with the vert nipples and now they have one of those rubber grain feeders (that you grain horses with) with the water heater in that.

 

[CapricornFarm]

What kind of a top will you put on it? (Photos requested )

I used sheet metal. Had to take the insulation out, but nothing else had to be done.

 

[aart]

I would recommend one of these:

http://www.hydor.com/eng/prodotti-tecnici/heaters/mini-heater_.php

The nice thing is that these heaters are not made of glass so I don't think they will cause a catastrophic hazard even if the weather gets so cold that it freezes. For me a single 15W heater is enough to keep the water from freezing when the outside temperatures are around 20F (it didn't get any colder this season so I cannot say until what temperature they would stay effective). If it gets much colder in your area, it could be better if you use a couple instead of one.

This setup really helped me as I no longer have to replace the waterers every day.

Hope this helps,
Oguz

"Helps increase by a few degrees Fahrenheit/Celsius the water temperature of mini aquariums compared to the room temperature where they are positioned."
Did you test the water temp? 23F would still freeze, wouldn't it?
What is the diameter of the heater?

 

[oguzakyuz]

This all depends on your water volume. The spec says that it can raise the temperature of 40L (~10 gallons) of water by 2 C (~3.5 F). So if your waterer's capacity is 2 gallons (like mine), it may be able to increase the water temperature by a greater margin. Also using two (or more) of such units will definitely give you better protection.

In any case, I made a controlled experiment one night when the temperature dropped to around 20 F. I had two of the identical waterers side by side, one with the mentioned heater and the other without. In the morning, the one without the heater was frozen rock solid whereas the one with the heater was cold but had no ice formation whatsoever.

I am pretty sure such a setup will not help you in Alaska but may work in milder climates where frost is still an issue.

Oguz

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

I am pretty sure such a setup will not help you in Alaska but may work in milder climates where frost is still an issue.

Oguz

Right now, Anchorage Alaska is 24 degrees warmer than my yard here in PA.... lol

 

[tlsandm]

I have 5 hens-I use a large nipple waterer with an insertable heater that I bought at Agway. Works well and no mess.

This-http://www.midlandhardware.com/211007.html?dfw_tracker=14396-211007&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs5WBt5u92AIVjiOBCh03Rg8IEAQYASABEgIFo_D_BwE

With this-https://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-9070-farm-innovators-cast-aluminum-utility-de-icer.aspx

 

[oguzakyuz]

Right now, Anchorage Alaska is 24 degrees warmer than my yard here in PA.... lol

lol. Actually forget about Alaska; I saw some news that some parts of US will be even colder than Mars . See this: http://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/03/us/cold-weather-arctic-outbreak/index.html