I just finished making 3 cookie tin water heaters. Once I got started it was SO easy!
Material needed:
3 Christmas cookie tins (Cheap!)
3 Bottle lamp kits ($4-$5 at
Wal-Mart)
3 skinny bulbs-I used 25 watt chandalier bulbs
Instructions-Leave cookies lying around so kids and hubby eats them, that way you don't have to and you can eat more chocolate. Search and rescue cordless (or corded) drill from it's incorrect location. Charge the dead battery if cordless. Put a drill bit in it. It isn't important to use an exact size. Drill the hole in the side of the cookie tin about half way between the bottom and top. It doesn't matter which side since the tin is round anyway. If the hole you drill is too small because most of your drill bits are lost or broken, ream the hole out by an improvised measure. The tin is thin and it's a heck of a lot easier than finding another drill bit. I used a lag bolt just a little larger than the hole I wanted and screwed it in and wiggled it around.
Insert the threaded brass thingy into the hole. Screw the bottom of the other thingy that goes next onto that. You'll figure out which part because it's the only thing it will screw into. Insert the wire through the brass thingy and into the cookie tin. Find the part with the two screws that the wires hook to. Unscrew the screws a tad and put the wire under them. I bent them into a little "U" shape and hooked it around the screw and then tightened it. Next snap that piece with the wires attached into the part that covers it.
For insulation I found a couple of 4' lengths of pipe insulation. I cut it in half lengthwise and then put it inside the cookie tin around the edge. Cut it generous enough that it fits snug with the "inside" of the pipe insulation toward the wall of the cookie tin and it will stay securely. My insulation said "fire retardant. I hope that means it won't catch on fire. I would hate to have a retarded fire in my chicken pens.
Next screw your skinny bulbs into the socket. Test to see if it works by plugging it into a wall outlet. Stand back in case it blows up, or let some one else plug it in for your first test if you are scared. Make sure you don't have a husband or other clown around that says, "BANG" the instant you plug it in.
Now you are ready to put them under your chicken's water dishes. Be sure to put the hammer away that you have been using to knock the ice out of the water dishes.
