Finishing a brooder

[Ravishaw]

So I started a pretty grandiose brooder this evening. I have a finished 8'x4' 34" tall framed brooder. Don't ask me what exactly I plan on putting in there, but it's framed now.

My question is for a brooder I'd like to be able to "plug it in" to a nearby outlet and have a switch inside that I can flick on. I'm planning on being able to split it in half with a divider if I have a brood and a broody at the same time, so I'd have two lights inside it theoretically. Should I run 12gauge wire between the studs and then cover them up inside and out like a "finished" frame would be? I'm in Arizona, so I don't really get cold, but I am concerned about it getting hot, and thinking of having another switch for a fan to turn on... cripes!

Any idears?

 

[moetrout]

Well, you have to figure your potential maximum load. Two 250w heat lamps is like 5 amps. Add a fan and that's probably only 1 amp each. You should be able to use 14 guage wire which is good for 15 amps of service. You didn't say if this was stationary or not, but let's assume it can be moved. Buy a pigtail (electrical cord) and run that to a box with a GFIoutlet. Then run the heat lamps and additional outlets for fans or whatever off the GFI so everything is protected. You could easily wire in a bank of switches for each device. Also if you are pluggin this in somewhere you might want to check the circuit you are plugging it into. Can it handle the load and what is it's rating. I hope this info is helpful. If you need anything else let me know.