Electricity help please.

[AlaskaDad]

I would like to have an external box on my coop be fed by the external GFI on my house. My problem is that I can't find a male receptacle for an external box to accept power from the female end of my 100 ft extension cord. I really don't want to cut/splice the cord and I'd prefer not to stick the cord through a big hole and leave it.

Also, I would like know if there is a wire-in timing device out there to separate my daylight bulb from my heat lamp on the same line. Since I live in Alaska, I would like to have 12 hrs of constant daylight without my heat lamp turning on/off too.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dheltzel]

Unless you are handy as an electrician, I would skip the idea of wiring a breaker panel, instead, make a very weatherproof box (maybe buy a heavy plastic box made for outdoors). Mount it on the side of the coop and drill a hole to the inside of the coop. Also, make hole at the bottom of the box just large enough to pass the female end of the extension cord up through. Inside the box, get a regular powerstrip. They have fuses to protect the circuits and you can plug in a standard timer for the lights and the heat lamp can plug directly into the strip, bypassing the timer.

I live in a less brutal climate, but I still suggest you research and rethink the heat lamp. Chickens survive fine all through Canada with no supplemental heat. For birds that really do need heat (Java Peafowl for ex), they preferred heating is to heat the roosts with heat tape and/or to use a radiant panel in the ceiling to warm the roosting area. Those heat methods can still cause fires, but heat lamps are notorious fire hazards.

 

[aart]

I did the same, heavy duty extension cord plugged into outdoor covered GFCI receptacle.....
......then to power strip in coop shed(but outside coop itself).
Timer for winter laying light(14-15 hours), thermocube for water heater.
I don't use heat in coop.

 

[AlaskaDad]

Thanks for the valuable information. So I found an RV weatherproof inlet box with male prongs (15A) to be fed from my extension cord (female end) and have wired this inlet to a single gang receptacle inside the coop. Thankfully I am quite the handyman. I'm assuming the only way a coop fire could result from a heat lamp is if the bulb gets water on it and explodes or if it somehow fell and remained on in contact with the pine bedding for a long period of time. Several people I've spoke to here in Alaska either don't insulate and heat or vice versa.

 

[RonP]

Thanks for the valuable information. So I found an RV weatherproof inlet box with male prongs (15A) to be fed from my extension cord (female end) and have wired this inlet to a single gang receptacle inside the coop. Thankfully I am quite the handyman. I'm assuming the only way a coop fire could result from a heat lamp is if the bulb gets water on it and explodes or if it somehow fell and remained on in contact with the pine bedding for a long period of time. Several people I've spoke to here in Alaska either don't insulate and heat or vice versa.

Click here and read about some issues with heat lamps causing fires.