Authentic Woods KD (Knock Down) 10' by 16' Coop Build

[aart]

I am hoping that the heat will cause the propylene to circulate as I will mount it on an angle but i do not know for sure.

Hmmmm....maybe?
Got an infrared temp gauge to test different spots on the loop?

 

[Ted Brown]

Hmmmm....maybe?
Got an infrared temp gauge to test different spots on the loop?

No such luck, I will test by feel.

 

[jthornton]

The pipe wrap uses 7 watts per foot, I bought a 3 foot length but they come in many lengths so one could get a longer length and put it on all the PEX lengths.

You might try a bit more wattage 21 watts is not much heat. Think about a percolator when you put the heat tape on... and you may need a smaller tube on the hot end to get circulation. My water bucket has a 250 watt heater in it and I'm usually don't get temps below 0°F. A heating pad or heat mat might be a better option.

Another thing to consider is the heat loss in your nest box, if it exceeds the wattage you don't win. Your hand will know... if it's above freezing or not.

JT

 

[Ted Brown]

You might try a bit more wattage 21 watts is not much heat. Think about a percolator when you put the heat tape on... and you may need a smaller tube on the hot end to get circulation. My water bucket has a 250 watt heater in it and I'm usually don't get temps below 0°F. A heating pad or heat mat might be a better option.

Another thing to consider is the heat loss in your nest box, if it exceeds the wattage you don't win. Your hand will know... if it's above freezing or not.

JT

Heating pads have auto off and reset if the power goes off. I would like to put the egg heater on a timer so would need to reset every night, can do but not my preference.

I will pickup eggs "quickly" and only have a 7-10am window when they get laid. I will play with what I have and buy a longer pipe heat wire if I need more.

Thanks for the smaller tube suggestion, will try to figure out how to modify what I have.

 

[aart]

Have you seen this @Ted Brown ?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/heated-nesting-boxes-help-stop-frozen-eggs.67252/
He used seedling mats.....and there are heating pads that do not have an auto off or digital controls(which I believe is what makes them not turn back on when power comes back on)

 

[Conan]

Have you seen this @Ted Brown ?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/heated-nesting-boxes-help-stop-frozen-eggs.67252/
He used seedling mats.....and there are heating pads that do not have an auto off or digital controls(which I believe is what makes them not turn back on when power comes back on)

There sure are. Many of us use them for the MHP setup with chicks. Here is the one I use for such endeavors.
I also use them to sprout seeds.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005NZ66KU/?tag=backy-20

 

[aart]

There sure are. Many of us use them for the MHP setup with chicks. Here is the one I use for such endeavors.
I also use them to sprout seeds.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005NZ66KU/?tag=backy-20

Link took me to this...which has auto off and digital controls, not what Ted needs for heating nests.:

 

[Conan]

Link took me to this...which has auto off and digital controls, not what Ted needs for heating nests.:
View attachment 1954891

It has a "stay on" setting. You can use the "auto off" setting or the "stay on" one. I have two of them.

ETA: If the power goes out, then yes, the pad resets to whatever default it is set to, which I think is the turn off after two hours one.

 

[Conan]

Another option is a reptile heating mat. I used one many years ago when I had a gecko. It just plugged in, and stayed on all the time at a somewhat low temperature. Likely very similar to a seedling mat.

 

[Ted Brown]

It has a "stay on" setting. You can use the "auto off" setting or the "stay on" one. I have two of them.

ETA: If the power goes out, then yes, the pad resets to whatever default it is set to, which I think is the turn off after two hours one.

I have one of these that I used to build a mama plate using @aart description. Worked great for that application as we were back and forth to tuck the chicks in every evening.

For the egg warmer I want to turn it on around 5am until ~10am using a timer so the AutoOff defeats that unless I get up real early. The seedling mat does seem like a good bet for this application. I have assembled a substitute using pipe heat wire, since I have already spent the money I will see if it works.

Thanks!