Cookie Tin water heater

[Ivywoods]

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[cabincrazyone]

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I had been skipping around on this thread and didn't see this post until just now. This is great. I've been wondering if I could get my hands on those little watering cups. Putting them in a bucket is just what I was thinking about. Lotsa folks way ahead of me! Thanks much for the vendor links.
Here in Minnesota I think the water in the cups will freeze ever though the water in the bucket stays liquid because of a cookie tin heater under it. Maybe if I found some sort of tin that was big enough to have the bucket AND the cups on top of it .... and three 100W bulbs inside it .....

 

[Ivywoods]

Well, back to the cookies. I got tired of eating cookies. I still have some left. I got tired of dumping ice out of bowls every morning. I found 3 little heated "pet dishes" that hold about 1 quart of water. I bought all 3.

Guess what!: They don't work. I put them in 3 small pens in the barn, the temp got down to about 20 degrees in there. The next morning they were all froizen! I could see bubbles moving under the ice, indicating that the water at the bottom of the bowl wasn't frozen, but there was a thick layer of ice above that. The box said they were supposed to work to for sub-zero temperatures, but they don't. It got even colder here last night. Everything was frozen so my hubby unplugged them. I'm going to bring them back in and return them. What a waste of time.

I thought I had stuff around here from some old lamps to build the cookie tin heaters, but as it turns out, I do not. I'm just going to go out and buy some lamp kits. They are about $5 apiece but that will still be a lot cheaper than these ones I bought that do not work.

 

[crazyhen]

I love my cookie tin water heaters. It was 1 degree here one morning and the water was not frozen. Yeh!!! I used a 40 watt long type bulb in mine. I use the large one under a 2 peck bucket of water, we use to call it a foot tub. I used the small one under a 1 gal container of water. Both are metal. I love, love , love mine. Gloria Jean

 

[ihavechicks]

Love, Love, Love my cookie tin water heater. The water is never frozen. My chicks run to that water spot every morning.

 

[averytds]

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Very little water remains in the cup if any. So far I've only had one morning 2 degrees outside, water thermometer read 38.? degrees, where one of the triggers was stuck in the little bit of ice in the cup. I dripped a little bit of water from the bucket into it and freed it up in seconds. If we had a lot of temps like that for extended periods, I'd either have to set the thermostat inside higher or just take it out completely.

If you keep it inside, you could probably get by with 40W running all the time or 60W at the most. Without a thermostat in there, your sides might get warmer and put out a little bit of heat too, at least around the top.


Next one I make I'm leaving out the thermostat.

 

[nwfl]

Thanks for these ideas! The popcorn tin is great for my setups. The cookie tin works for my silkies. And all these years I have been taking waterers in home and swapping them out as they froze.

An extension cord with xmas lights inside large tins for my breeding coops - outside watering application ? Gonna work on this.

 

[cabincrazyone]

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Is there any heat given off by those tiny things? Or do you mean the big old ones, like from the 1940s?

Talking regular light bulbs now: There's a "type B" light bulb that fits into a regular socket, but is shaped like a tear drop. Many of the latest ceiling light fixtures for kitchens and bathrooms are too flat for regular bulbs the size of a baseball, so they make these type B to fit. They'd fit in most cookie tins and give off more heat than a Christmas tree light.

 

[swift4me]

Great idea. Maybe I missed the answer, but can a plastic waterer sit on top of the tim without getting too hot?

Pete

 

[hinkjc]

yes, this is perfect for plastic gallon waterers. That is what most of mine are that I use the cookie tin water heater for. Thanks so much for everyone posting their experiences with it. I find it very helpful with all the waterers we have here, it would be impossible to keep up with swapping during our winters. These can be a lifesaver and the chickens love their water first thing in the morning.