Pampered Chef Stoneware in the coop

[Dar]

Quote:
WOW... I got about 3 words into that and was lost.... lol
are you saying heat water and place it into a seal-able bucket and heat with that?

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Okay, I think my head just exploded. Ow. RocketDad wins.

So what you are saying is that I should take out a milk jug or sealed bucket filled with almost boiling water and that will keep the little buggers warm longer than a heated stone or a hand warmer thingie. Yes?
I am really nervous about moving this lot outside. I have never had babies this late in the season and I'm terribly fond of them. I have nightmares of moving them out and finding little dead babies the next day. It is staying around 64-67 degrees in the house. Outside temps are anywhere from high 40s to low 30s right now. And it's wet. I can keep them in for another week or so until the last are completely feathered out, but they are quickly outgrowing the brooder.

Do we think the hot milk jug would work all night in an enclosed wooden brooder?

 

[kjk]

i fill plastic cat litter buckets with very hot water and put the lids on to raise the temp in the coop on very cold nights. you can also set the waterer on top of the bucket and it keeps the water liquid a bit longer. hope that helps.

 

[estpr13]

Quote:
What Rocket dad is saying; I think, is that if you get a 5 gallon bucket at lowes or home depot or a paint store and put hot water from your hot water heater, then put a lid on it and then set it in the middle of your coop. And extra hint would be to put a small piece of wood in the bucket as well so that if it does freeze up the wood would help prevent the bucket from being busted by absorbing some of the expansion. The water bucket would be so much more efficent that the stoneware.

Then again... are these chicks 8 weeks old or 12 weeks old? Are there other chickens in the coop? What breed of chickens? A lot of chickens do well in very cold weather with out heat. They just need water.

 

[2DogsFarm]

If you don't mind spending $30-40 there's a product PetSmart sells called SnuggleSafe - it's a gel-filled plastic disc you heat in the microwave. Stays warm for 8h.

It would be a totally fire-safe solution to keeping your chicks warm.

Google it and you might find one cheaper.

 

[write2caroline]

RocketDad wrote:
The thermal capacity of water is mathematically "1" and everything else is a decimal less than one. A bucket (with lid, to prevent evaporation and disaster) with hot water would hold more heat than any equivalent weight at the same temp. The only advantage of lower heat capacity stuff is that is can be heated hotter than water. But do you want to deal with 500 degree bricks?

5 gallons of water (@8.35 #/gal) would dump 7515 BTU dropping from 200 degrees to 20 degrees. The specific heat of brick is 0.2, so you would need about 200 lbs of bricks at the same temp to hold the same amount of heat. Electrically, this is equal to about 2.2 KWh.

Is physics not the coolest? I seriously love how it all works out mathmatically!

Simply stated, with your permission Herr Professor, a water bucket with a lid holding 5 gallons of hot water at approximately 200 degrees would be more effective than a hot brick due to the natural properties of water and that heat which transfers as it will cool (disapate) over time, would transfer the heat to the surrounding air, making it warmer. Kind of like a radiator heating an apartment.

Actually, just like a radiator heats an apartment!

Caroline​

 

[Ladyhawke1]

Quote:
I noticed your quote..."I may appear "online" but I may not really be here I leave my computer on most of the time"

Be advised that this is a great way to be "hacked."

A word to the wise is sufficent.

 

[Dar]

Quote:
I noticed your quote..."I may appear "online" but I may not really be here I leave my computer on most of the time"

Be advised that this is a great way to be "hacked."

A word to the wise is sufficent.

DH is a computer GEEEEEK...lol we have fire walls and whoozz it and whatzzzits out the wazooo...lol thanks tho

I had to vote for anne with ipod cause the security settings wont let me do it from my computer
and i shut down my computer at night but i will boot up in the morning and then walk away and go do something.. come back 3 hours later sorta thing

 

[mountaintopchicken]

The thermal capacity of water is mathematically "1" and everything else is a decimal less than one. A bucket (with lid, to prevent evaporation and disaster) with hot water would hold more heat than any equivalent weight at the same temp. The only advantage of lower heat capacity stuff is that is can be heated hotter than water. But do you want to deal with 500 degree bricks?

5 gallons of water (@8.35 #/gal) would dump 7515 BTU dropping from 200 degrees to 20 degrees. The specific heat of brick is 0.2, so you would need about 200 lbs of bricks at the same temp to hold the same amount of heat. Electrically, this is equal to about 2.2 KWh.

Wow. The reason BYC is so great is because people pop in with answers like this. Cool.​

 

[Bookworm chick]

Quote:
they have them at walmart, and lowes, or home depot too

They also have them in Harbor Freight stores, although there might not be one nearby. They really do work. I've used them when walking in the frigid winter and usually end up taking them out of my mittens periodically because my hands get too hot. I'm usually not out for more than an hour and the hand warmers are still warm hours later. I don't know if there's anything toxic in them in case a chicken pecked through. The covering seems pretty tough, but you never know. They're curious critters and use their beaks to investigate things.