Freezing Water

[goodbye]

In the spirit of Christmas, in light of the ever-expanding "recession" we
are in, I give you this: 10 dollars worth of garage sale stuff. It works
awesome.

This has been run down to -2F with zero freezing.
Flock might take a few days to figure it out.
Water Run could easily reach 20 feet.

Water pump rated 5 watts, 1.8 Ft head, 66 gph.
Heater120 watt bird bath immersion heater.
Use a Ground Fault circuit.
Do not run dry.

Only a few square inches of water are exposed to
the elements, this keeps the heating costs down to
pennies per day.

Thinks I will change on the next version:

Having the water lower than the coop floor allows for a
larger tank, without raising the PVC run above the reach
of small birds. It needs flashing above the PVC to prevent
birds droppings from entering the water tank.



Put your container on piece of 1" foam.
Note the drip tube (return line) submerged in water. Splashing = Ice...

 

[enggass]

Quote:
Thanks, but I don't quite understand this...? How does this prevent the wattles from getting wet?
Is it because the sides are higher on the rubber bowl so they have to go up, over and down to the water surface?

 

[LynneP]

Yes, and they learn to sip cleanly...

 

[Cluckn Crazy]

Heated dog water bowl and plastic waterer set inside. So far this set-up has worked down to 5'F. The water stays cleaner and I don't have to replace it as often. We'll see how low the temperature can get before freeze up!

 

[kla37]

Quote:
Great plan!

 

[LynneP]

ClucknCrazy- that works very nicely!

 

[Ed62]

The polystrene can not be good for the chickens. My advice would be to cover it or get rid of it.

Regarding the frozen water, I'm using a cookie tin with a 40 watt regular light bulb. It has been down to right around zero F, with no frozen water yet. It's easy enough to put in a larger bulb if freezing does occur. Here's a link for it https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=107951&p=1 .

Ed

 

[Country Parson]

The home-made heaters that have been posted are terrific! I've used similar ones myself (back when I lived in Northern Michigan). However, I've since given them up. I've found it to be cheaper and easier just to take a 3 gallon bucket of water out to the chickens/geese/ducks twice per day (the reason its a 3-gallon bucket is because the geese/ducks need to be able to dip their entire beak in).

At 7:30am I take the bucket out, and the kids take out another one at 4:00pm (by 6pm its dark this time of year). I appreciate not having to pay for extra electricity, and the birds still get plenty of water. While its GOOD to have constant access to water, it is not absolutely necessary (in nature birds don't sit around next to a stream all day...they forage for water just like they forage for food).

 

[chrisarvor]

thanks for all the help
The cookie tin water heaters are going to be a superb help

As for the Polystyrene, as the pheasnats look so well and coping with -12C
i have started having it in my Muesli for breakfast

 

[lightfoot]

I made 6 chicken water heaters. At 46 degrees below zero Celsius they were ice free.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/70090_water_heaters_009.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/70090_water_heaters_005.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/70090_water_heaters_008.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/70090_water_heaters_003.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/70090_water_heaters_010.jpg
Heat gets directly to plastic not to tin then plastic. I tested this one dry for two hours in the house at 40 degrees Celsius, no melted plastic.
1-cut hole in top, use extension cord, attach plug socket, 60 watt bulb, insulation holds socket and bulb in place.
2-added foil to reflect heat, added four eye bolts and rubber cords.
3-hole for extension cord. see how much wider the tin is than the font. cut hole in top allowing full support of red trough.
hot edge of lid keeps the trough warm and frost free. the smaller tins will keep tank warm, but the trough will frost up or freeze.
i use the taller tins to keep fount clean. this one is for Silkies. You can hang this font, the rubbers will support the weight keep the
heater and font tight together.
my dw came up with many suggestions and ideas. also thanks to henney penny and her dh, post 100550 and brooky, post 107951.
regards, Bob.