Brinsea Ecoglow chick brooder - one BIG flaw!

[Gypsy07]

If you know the cost of your electricity in Kilowatt Hours the sums are easy to do:

My electricity is 9 pence (£0.09) per KwH.

The calculation is £0.09 divided by 1,000, multiplied by the wattage of the lamp/heater.

This gives the cost per hour.

So for a 250 watt lamp: £0.09/1000 x 250 = £0.0225 or 2.25 pence per hour.

Multiply by 24 for one day then by 7 for one week then by 52 for one year:

£0.0225 x 24 = £0.54 per day; £0.54 x 7 = £3.78 per week; £3.78 x 52 = £196.56 per year

 

[Lark Rise]

My chicks won't go under the Eco Glow. We had it set up on one end of the brooder, but also had a 75W red reptile infrared light on the other side of the brooder. They all hang out by the red light.

I finally took the Eco Glow out and have the light hanging in the middle of the brooder. Now they lay wherever....go figure. I think the Eco Glow might be a loss.

 

[Gypsy07]

Mine weren't too keen at first either, but I just removed the other heat source and gently stuffed each chick under the Ecoglow one by one.
They soon got the idea. Don't give them a choice of heat sources! Then they'll have to use the Ecoglow...

 

[featherz]

Just got mine. it's hilarious! I shoved em all under it and now I have a brooder with no chicks visible. They are all under the ecoglow, not even a fuzzy butt sticking out. Took them just a few minutes to decide they liked it there. Will update my positive review if they are all roasted in the morning.

 

[chickenlady81]

Quote:
Well, it's 18W compared with a 250W heat bulb. Just think of the money you'd save on electricity!
And it only costs about the same as a heat lamp and a couple of bulbs in the first place.
Have I talked you into it yet? It's an absolute bargain. And the chickies really seem to like it...

where did you order it?

 

[gryeyes]

From where I always order Brinsea stuff: http://www.brinsea.com

 

[wsdareme]

I was just looking at ordering an EcoGlow, too. I know a while back there were a lot of complaints that is didn't put out enough radiant heat. Brinsea has redesigned it and, according to their UK website, "IMPORTANT - The latest EcoGlow brooders from Brinsea now have a modified design which has increased radiant output more than tenfold. All EcoGlows now supplied will be of the new design but if any users have EcoGlows with shiny 'silver' finish on the underside please return them to Brinsea Products Ltd for modification without charge."

I have been impressed with Brinsea's products, and certainly now with their attention to customers' input.

I did send Brinsea an email asking about minimum environmental temperatures (i.e., if my garage gets down to 40 degrees like it did in the last cold snap, will the EcoGlow be warm enough?) and about using it in a room where the temperatures fluctuate (my husband wants this next hatch to brood in my tack room/office -- when I'm not in there I keep the temp around 50, but turn it up to 70 when I'm using it -- I don't want to cook any babies). If anybody knows the answers to these questions, that would be great. I don't imagine Brinsea will answer my questions until at least Monday...

I have not been able to find Brinsea products cheaper than on their website. Does anyone know if there are better prices from a distributor?

I SOOOOOO want to stop using heat lamps!!!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Cutler has it a bit cheaper. $58

 

[wsdareme]

Okay guys, I did the math based on US $ and KwH costs in my area. Here's how it worked out (you can just use your KwH cost in place of mine to see what your savings are):

My electricity is $.103561 per KwH

250 watt heat lamp:
$.103561/1000 x 250 = $.025875 per hour
$.025875 x 24 = $.621 per day; $.621 x 7 = $4.347 per week; $4.347 x 52 = $226.044 per year
Cost for 8 weeks use = $34.776
Cost for 12 weeks use = $52.164

Brinsea EcoGlow:
$.103561/1000 x 18 = $.001863 per hour
$.001863 x 24 = $.044712 per day; $.044712 x 7 = $.312984 per week; $.312984 x 52 = $16.275168 per year
Cost for 8 weeks use = $2.503872
Cost for 12 weeks use = $3.755808

That is a savings of:
$32.27 for 8 weeks of usage
$48.41 for 12 weeks of usage

Doesn't take rocket science to figure out that it will pay for itself in less than two uses.

Updated: I used 14 watts for my first calculation -- apparently that was the wattage of the old version of the EcoGlow. I redid the figures using the 18 watts that is listed on their website.

 

[featherz]

Ok, day two with mine and 13 baby chicks. They seem happy with it and the room temp is about 55-60 (we are on oil heat here $$). Chicks stay under it, but they are coming out and milling around so they aren't huddled under there 24/7. I like it so far! I can put my hand on the heated part and it's definitely not hot enough to start any fires.