Water freezing

[Sharon Bee]

I agree Egg Collector. I made one and it has worked perfectly in -25 degree nights. No need to buy anything else.

 

[chad-o]

The idea of a cookie tin heater is great but what scares me is the hazard 110 volts under a bucket of water presents. A lot of folks run an extension cord never thinking to use a GFI outlet.

 

[pdirt]

I have been wondering about this too. What about putting a little bit of salt in the water to help prevent freezing? Or could that hurt the chickens?

It would take way too much salt to make have much effect on the freezing temp of your water. Your birds probably wouldn't drink it and if they did, they wouldn't live long, just like if you or I drank sea water for long.

I have been using the same aquarium heaters for 5 winters now. They work great they don't shatter and using them in a bucket with nipples means clean unfrozen water with no hassle. No electrocution, no high electricity bills. I say do it.

Jmagill...I'm curious as to the wattage of aquarium tank heaters you are using or even the brand. I bought a Petco branded 50w heater (shatter free) that is supposed to have a safety auto shut off. We left for 5 days and I thought it would be plenty of water for them. When we returned, I found the bucket nearly empty, the aquarium heater mostly exposed to the air and it was still on and heating. It melted one of the rubber suction cups! I kept using it, but will certainly keep more vigilant and aware to avoiding such an issue again.

 

[TheEggCollecter]

I have never run in to electrical problems with the homemade waterbeds, they work great!

 

[childrenschicks]

I have horizontal nipples in PVC pipe. I use a tabletop fountain pump to circulate the water from the end of the run back to the pail. Cheap $12.00  AND SAFE!!! Running water does not freeze.

Do you have a picture? I would LOVE to see it!

 

[mowgli457]

it says the video is not public ?

 

[sealmonk]

To keep my girls water from freezing I take a 100 watt light bulb in a cinder block. I do use a metal water can instead of plastic. Works like a charm. You do need to make sure you turn the light on long before the temp goes below freezing. The reason is it takes the light bulb a little time to heat the block up and keep it warm. And of course you need to make sure the water is not in the direct wind.

 

[Indoroowet]

Would this work, and has somebody tried this yet ?


I understand that moving water takes more cold to get it frozen,
so water dripping down constantly on top of the water supply in the coop will not freeze.
The nipples on the bottom of the water supply should be *heated* by the bottom heater,
which is a shallow container with a 15 watt solder iron in it .
Most coolers are at least 5 gallons big if not bigger ...

 

[mowgli457]

hi , someone mentioned using a 15 watt solder iron ??? single gal here so excuse me , can a solder gun be submersed in water ?? does it just sort of hang in there . if the poster can just elaborate on this type of heated waterer , 15 watts sounds real good to me ! thanks joanne

 

[Indoroowet]

hi , someone mentioned using a 15 watt solder iron ??? single gal here so excuse me , can a solder gun be submersed in water ?? does it just sort of hang in there . if the poster can just elaborate on this type of heated waterer , 15 watts sounds real good to me ! thanks joanne

Hi,
The original post says:

The nipples on the bottom of the water supply should be *heated* by the bottom heater,
which is a shallow container with a 15 watt solder iron in it .
Most coolers are at least 5 gallons big if not bigger ...

I meant that the solder iron is inside a shallow container, underneath the water supply.
Similar to a lot of other posters using a cookie tin.

Mine is a shallow baking pan, and a even shallower baking pan as the top of the container.

The solder iron is thus in a dry environment.

I did not want a 15 watt bulb, and I had this *extra* solder iron laying around.

The top of the shallow container, with the solder iron *ON* becomes about 120 degrees F.

The top surface of the heater is just a tad bigger than the bottom of the water supply.

I assume that when you said *someone*, you meant the post I have above your post ?
Did you take a good look at the picture ?

I have the bottom heater done and tested.
The two baking pans are *sealed* together.

Now just expanding the idea of keeping water itself from freezing.