EcoGlow reviews??

[AZBootsie]

Has anyone out there tried the Brinsea EcoGlow?? How do you like it??

The risk of exploding heat bulbs and house fires have me paranoid. I finally just broke down and ordered the thing, maybe I will sleep better.

 

[wsdareme]

I just bought one and have 11 4-day-old chicks under it. I really, really like it. And the chicks love it.

I have the brooder in the house at around 65 degrees. The chicks spend more time out and about in the brooder than I thought they would. They do love to run under it and huddle, but I think that maybe we coddle our chicks too much in the 95 degree brooder boxes.

I was afraid of having a fire with the heat lamps. I can sleep at night now!!

Also, I did the math calculations, and for my area it will take about 8 weeks of use for the savings (over a 250w heat lamp) to pay for the EcoGlow.

 

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
No, it only warms the area directly underneath it, and maybe an inch or so in front and behind. If you put your hand under it, you hardly feel the heat unless you actually touch the hotplate. It's not supposed to warm up the brooder at all - the way it works is the exact opposite to that. The rest of the brooder is supposed to be cold in comparison. Brinsea says it's not suitable to use in temperatures of less than 10C (50F) so that means anything above 50F in the rest of the brooder is fine. The chicks run about the brooder without heat and then when they feel cold they run back underneath it to get a heat, just like they would with a mother hen.

At the moment I am using an Ecoglow with four 3-day-old chicks. And they don't actually spend all that much time under it. Out of interest I just stuck a thermometer in their brooder and it's measuring a little under 75F. The chicks are all running around in there quite happily.

I also have another Ecoglow that's currently supposed to be keeping three 2-week-old chicks warm. But they haven't actually been under it all day! They do sleep under it at night when the temperature gets down to about 55F but apart from that they mostly just like to roost up on the plastic sides of it. Oh, and I also have five 4-week-olds who are off heat altogether and perfectly happy with those temperatures. According to the standard chick-rearing guidelines of starting at 95 and lowering it by 5 degrees after each week, they should be in a brooder that's 75-80F right now.

I suspect a lot of the health problems people have with their chicks are due to them being kept constantly at a much higher temperature than they ever would be under a hen. They're MUCH hardier than most people think. Anyway, I think the Ecoglows are brilliant and I don't think I'll be going back to heat lamps any time soon. And yes, the chicks are a LOT quieter at night without a lamp keeping them awake.

 

[gryeyes]

<*ahem*> I am waiting for my second one as I type...

How's that for a review?

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

im saving up for one!

 

[gryeyes]

I just took one out of the box and am going to set it up for 3 brand new hatchlings tonight. I have another brooder with older chicks in it, so if there is a problem with the EcoGlow, I do have a place to put the new chicks.

 

[Sassafras]

Quote:
Ditto.
It sounds much more natural than having a giant red bulb over you day and night.

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote:
Very cool. Please let me know how it works out.

 

[Momagain1]

what I'd like to know; and maybe this has been discussed but I missed it; is when they are bigger; how do they stay warm? do we raise it? does it radiate heat all around so that being in the area w/it it'll be warm enough etc??

 

[featherz]

well, I have one with 13 chicks. They are about three weeks old. I set it on the highest setting just today and they still squish under it at night but they rarely use it in the daytime except to roost on top and run under now and then . I think they will outgrow it in a week or so, but that's really when they won't need it anyways. Had no losses and my house is 55F or so. I really like it!