DIY Instructions for Very EASY heated waterer for under $20 bucks

[wamtazlady]

It's hard to pinpoint electricity cost exactly. The power bill is lower than it was before using the new waterer, but a lot has changed in a month. First there is only one person in the house instead of 2 when we're at home. The house sitter is not using the air cleaners we need due to allergies.

 

[wamtazlady]

Sorry, that posted before i was done. Anyway because of the changes it would be difficult to give you a number. My personal guess is that we probably wouldn't even notice much of a difference in our costs.

 

[aart]

Doe stour devices consume lot of hydro?

I use a 50W aquarium heater and a thermocube(35/45F) on a semi-insulated 3 gal jug with HN's.
Last winter I used a Kill-A-Wat device to measure power usage and used 0.5 to 0.75 of a KWH in a 24 hour period, even with temps in the negative F's.
Sorry, you'll have to do the conversion maths.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples

 

[lazy gardener]

Aart, thanks for the excellent write up of how you put your jug together. I expect that I won't be forced into putting my jug together until cold weather forces me into it. I'm driven by the must do's while the need to do soon's take a back seat! Mine will be a 5 gal kitty litter bucket. I like your idea of insulation, and the addition of a thermometer. I may have to steal some of your ideas!

 

[aart]

Aart, thanks for the excellent write up of how you put your jug together. I expect that I won't be forced into putting my jug together until cold weather forces me into it. I'm driven by the must do's while the need to do soon's take a back seat! Mine will be a 5 gal kitty litter bucket. I like your idea of insulation, and the addition of a thermometer. I may have to steal some of your ideas!

I've added something this year, didn't document it yet tho...
....I added a sheet of thin, fairly hard but flexible plastic over the bubble wrap as they did peck a lot of the bubbles.
Didn't hurt them, maybe they liked the sound - haha, but still.

 

[lazy gardener]

I wondered how you were able to get away with that shiny insulation in the coop! I bet that a bit of insulation wrapped in a tarp feed bag would do very well as well! I wrapped the roof of the nest box in a feed bag, and it's nice and slippery to shed poop as well as discourage little chickie feet from trying to perch up there.

 

[aart]

I wondered how you were able to get away with that shiny insulation in the coop! I bet that a bit of insulation wrapped in a tarp feed bag would do very well as well! I wrapped the roof of the nest box in a feed bag, and it's nice and slippery to shed poop as well as discourage little chickie feet from trying to perch up there.

Yep, feed bag would work, that's what I used to wrap the block of foam under the jug.
Used electrical tape, on both bubble wrap and cover, placed on wall side of jug where they can't reach it...
.....and you can see I have a piece of hinged (just a couple wire loops thru holes in wood and mesh wall) plywood over the jug so they can't land on it.
There's a hook on wall to hold plywood up while refilling jug.

 

[mimijacq]

Yes. Not sure if I really needed the pump, but I thought that maybe it would circulate the water so that the thermometer inside the heater doesn't just feel the water by the heater. Also moving water doesn't freeze easy.

When you says "again"............ well it shouldn't freeze at all.

I p

 

[mimijacq]

silly question - I understand what the heater does, but why the pump? Is that to move the water around to help it from freezing again?

I I used the horizontal nipples with no pvc pipe with the aquarium heater and water pump. I have an insulated non heated coop. Water system worked fine until it hit 10 degrees in Wisconsin. Water inside the bucket was mostly non frozen with the exception of some ice along the edge of the bucket. Problem was with the horizontal nipples. Both of them froze solid. I decided to go with the heated dog waterer and it is working great. I keep the waterer outside of an additional run, (they can reach through the fence) that the hens have to keep the mess to nonexistent and to ease in topping off the water. I wish I would have done the heated dog bowl from the beginning,

 

[Cluckies]

silly question - I understand what the heater does, but why the pump? Is that to move the water around to help it from freezing again?

I I used the horizontal nipples with no pvc pipe with the aquarium heater and water pump. I have an insulated non heated coop. Water system worked fine until it hit 10 degrees in Wisconsin. Water inside the bucket was mostly non frozen with the exception of some ice along the edge of the bucket. Problem was with the horizontal nipples. Both of them froze solid. I decided to go with the heated dog waterer and it is working great. I keep the waterer outside of an additional run, (they can reach through the fence) that the hens have to keep the mess to nonexistent and to ease in topping off the water. I wish I would have done the heated dog bowl from the beginning,

this is interesting, last year my heated dog bowl froze, and the horizontal nipples didn't. Are your nipples right at the bottom edge? Or up an inch or 2?