Black bulbs don't work for heating??

[Little Byrd]

I've read a lot saying that black bulbs are better because they give off more heat and less light than other bulbs, so I bought a 75w black heat bulb and a 60w regular black bulb. I decided to try them out to see how hot they get, but they are useless. They heat up like curling irons, meaning the bulbs themselves get extremely hot, but you can't feel heat coming off of them from more than an inch away. I can't get my thermometer over 91 degrees with both of them on at the same time.

Whatever heat does come off of them goes straight up instead of radiating down like a regular heat bulb, which is not very helpful to cold chicks underneath them. I wasted my money buying 6 of these . Anyone know if red heat bulbs work any better?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I've read a lot saying that black bulbs are better because they give off more heat and less light than other bulbs, so I bought a 75w black heat bulb and a 60w regular black bulb. I decided to try them out to see how hot they get, but they are useless. They heat up like curling irons, meaning the bulbs themselves get extremely hot, but you can't feel heat coming off of them from more than an inch away. I can't get my thermometer over 91 degrees with both of them on at the same time.

Whatever heat does come off of them goes straight up instead of radiating down like a regular heat bulb, which is not very helpful to cold chicks underneath them. I wasted my money buying 6 of these

. Anyone know if red heat bulbs work any better?

Are you still using a heat shield? That is what causes the heat to be directed down.

ETA Where did you get the 75W black heat bulb? I use a 75W red heat bulb (reptile bulb) but would prefer black because even the red is bright at night and sometimes they are up and about instead of sleeping.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

BTW I just looked at the charts for both bulbs (black and red) and it does show that red puts out more heat, maybe because of the coating.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

One last thing, 91 is fine. That 95 thing really is overkill. Most of the time I brood mine outdoors using a heating pad, so they are living in temps that get down in the 20s at night from the first week. I only use a heat bulb if my outdoor brooder is full and I have to put some on my unheated front porch, that only stays perhaps 5 degrees warmer than outside at night. If you keep your chicks overly warm they will be more prone to pasty butt and slower feathering, which means slower acclimation to outdoor temps.

 

[Little Byrd]

I got my black heat bulb off eBay, and idk what a "heat shield" is. The bulbs are in regular heat lamps.

 

[BobDBirdDog]

I get a the standard TSC red brooder bulbs 250 watts (2 for $7.xx+) so I don't have to worry about some other types of heating schemes. Of course I have my brooder contained and on a thermostat as well to save electricity. Just saying.

After incubating for 16-25 days, the last thing I want to have to do is worry about keeping the little critters warm using some bulb that is not doing its job.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I got my black heat bulb off eBay, and idk what a "heat shield" is. The bulbs are in regular heat lamps.

The heat shield/reflector is the dome part of a heat lamp.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I get a the standard TSC red brooder bulbs 250 watts (2 for $7.xx+) so I don't have to worry about some other types of heating schemes. Of course I have my brooder contained and on a thermostat as well to save electricity. Just saying.

After incubating for 16-25 days, the last thing I want to have to do is worry about keeping the little critters warm using some bulb that is not doing its job.

IME my chicks would be cooked with a 250W bulb. I think that is an issue for a lot of people using rubber totes as well. I find 75W more than sufficient, and saves electricity as well, though I don't use a dimmer and instead just adjust the height. I usually have mine off of heat by 4-5 weeks.

 

[Little Byrd]

I'm thinking about just using a floor heater. It's small, has a gentle blowing fan, high or low setting, and automatic shut off if it gets knocked over or too hot. I'm thinking about just hanging it over the brooder floor like a heat lamp and turning it on low. What do you guys think? I'm gonna try it right now

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I'm thinking about just using a floor heater. It's small, has a gentle blowing fan, high or low setting, and automatic shut off if it gets knocked over or too hot. I'm thinking about just hanging it over the brooder floor like a heat lamp and turning it on low. What do you guys think? I'm gonna try it right now

The problems are see, assuming you can anchor it securely, is that it is blowing and heating the whole space. They don't need the whole space heated. They should be able to self-regulate their temps, with cool areas and warm areas to go to as desired.