Frozen water heater...

[Cindy in PA]

I don't use a heated unit like that, but I use a metal heated base with a metal waterer on top. My original one circa 1993 would keep water ice free down to at least 0F sometimes below. The one I replaced it with is seemingly the same, but in between the waterer walls & on top it now freezes when it gets below 10 for more than one day. I have to bring it in & run it under hot water to open it. I don't think many of these things do the job.

 

[Doc7]

OK, I agree, I don't think mine would be able to take that apart. So is the light bulb underneath the water bucket?

Yes - I think a socket that has a plug on it like this was a dollar at Home Depot.

The 5 gal bucket itself rainproofs the setup.

The gap under the door for the extension cord is less than 1/2” which is my allowable gap anywhere in my set up. With half inch mesh hardware cloth, there is not much point to making door tolerances any tighter than 3/8”, which gives you a lot of leeway and forgiveness in construction.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I use to use heated waterers for poultry. Junk. They freeze up, and are brittle so if the heat unit doesn't break on you in a year the plastic falls apart from sun exposure. Junk.

Black rubber livestock bowls work wonders and when in deep freeze a good heated dog bowl. You'll never look back once you use one of these. Unplug and empty each night to save energy and of course use black rubber bowls when temps are high 20's and above. They stay thawed via solar radiation on black.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/farm-innovators-round-heated-pet-bowl-6-qt

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fortex-4-qt-rubber-feeder-pan?cm_vc=-10005

 

[Doc7]

I use to use heated waterers for poultry. Junk. They freeze up, and are brittle so if the heat unit doesn't break on you in a year the plastic falls apart from sun exposure. Junk.

Black rubber livestock bowls work wonders and when in deep freeze a good heated dog bowl. You'll never look back once you use one of these. Unplug and empty each night to save energy and of course use black rubber bowls when temps are high 20's and above. They stay thawed via solar radiation on black.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/farm-innovators-round-heated-pet-bowl-6-qt

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fortex-4-qt-rubber-feeder-pan?cm_vc=-10005

The problem with a set up like this is the maintenance involved. Chickens poop and scratch into open top buckets. I check if the light is on in my mine from my bedroom window when I go to bed (the bucket glows an eerie blue that is visible from hundreds of yards away) and dump and refill water once per week.

 

[chickens really]

Just a quick note that anytime something is plugged in outside for animals it should be plugged into a GFI cord too, to shut off so it won't electrocute the animals...

 

[PirateGirl]

I use to use heated waterers for poultry. Junk. They freeze up, and are brittle so if the heat unit doesn't break on you in a year the plastic falls apart from sun exposure. Junk.

Black rubber livestock bowls work wonders and when in deep freeze a good heated dog bowl. You'll never look back once you use one of these. Unplug and empty each night to save energy and of course use black rubber bowls when temps are high 20's and above. They stay thawed via solar radiation on black.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/farm-innovators-round-heated-pet-bowl-6-qt

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fortex-4-qt-rubber-feeder-pan?cm_vc=-10005

I used to use a heated dog bowl and when it died, bought some black rubber livestock bowls. For the ducks, the play in the water so much, there is always a hole in the ice and always some fresh water even on bitter days. The chickens, I fill it in the morning, there are no small holes or openings to freeze and clog with ice, and it stays thawed for a good chunk of the day even in bad weather. If the chickens are still awake when someone gets home in the afternoon we replace the water, if not, they just get fresh in the morning. Yes, it still freezes eventually, and yes my chickens may have some days that they have no water for 2-3 hours before bed. This is not exactly ideal, but if you couldn't drink water after dinner you'd be fine too with just getting some first thing in the morning. Most times I'm surprised that despite freezing temps, when I get home in the afternoon, there is still thawed water available. It takes awhile to freeze a gallon or more solid to the point that they cannot drink it, even in extreme temps.

 

[PirateGirl]

The problem with a set up like this is the maintenance involved. Chickens poop and scratch into open top buckets. I check if the light is on in my mine from my bedroom window when I go to bed (the bucket glows an eerie blue that is visible from hundreds of yards away) and dump and refill water once per week.

Actually I find that the water stays cleaner than when I used something like this

The walls of the bowl are higher than the lip of the above style waterer and even though the chickens scratch around in the dirt and straw, very little of it ever actually makes it into the livestock bowls. Also the bowl cannot get clogged up the way the above style waterer can.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Just a quick note that anytime something is plugged in outside for animals it should be plugged into a GFI cord too, to shut off so it won't electrocute the animals...

Goes without saying. I'd hope everyones exterior outlets are up to code now that we are well into the 21st Century.

 

[imnukensc]

The temp was 8F when it froze and this week the temp is expected to go below zero, possibly feeling -11F. Feeders and waterer are under the covered portion of the run and not possible to move to the more open sunnier portion. It is raised about 5 inches also and for the same reasons as yours.

I suppose your heated waterer has possibly malfunctioned, but in any case I would have it higher up than it is by at least 3 or 4 inches (at all times) to at least keep the water cleaner. Your idea of using wood under it just might help.

 

[Cryss]

My water bucket is on a cinderblock turned so the holes run vertically. I used a hammer and knock out a 1” spot for the extension cord to go in and plugged in a light bulb socket with a 60W bulb (actual 60W, not fluorescent equivalent).

It takes a LOT for water to freeze as the light bulb prevents the water from losing enough latent heat of fusion to freeze even when the water itself reaches 32F.

sounds like a great set up. Clever. My waterer is already a heated system. It was 8 F during the day, colder than that the night before.

I don't use a heated unit like that, but I use a metal heated base with a metal waterer on top. My original one circa 1993 would keep water ice free down to at least 0F sometimes below. The one I replaced it with is seemingly the same, but in between the waterer walls & on top it now freezes when it gets below 10 for more than one day. I have to bring it in & run it under hot water to open it. I don't think many of these things do the job.

BUMMER!

I use to use heated waterers for poultry. Junk. They freeze up, and are brittle so if the heat unit doesn't break on you in a year the plastic falls apart from sun exposure. Junk.

Black rubber livestock bowls work wonders and when in deep freeze a good heated dog bowl. You'll never look back once you use one of these. Unplug and empty each night to save energy and of course use black rubber bowls when temps are high 20's and above. They stay thawed via solar radiation on black.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/farm-innovators-round-heated-pet-bowl-6-qt

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fortex-4-qt-rubber-feeder-pan?cm_vc=-10005

I may give the heated dog waterer a try in the future but for now this is all I've got. I've used up my chicken budget so it will have to wait till next winter.

Just a quick note that anytime something is plugged in outside for animals it should be plugged into a GFI cord too, to shut off so it won't electrocute the animals...

Excellent point. It is indeed.

I suppose your heated waterer has possibly malfunctioned, but in any case I would have it higher up than it is by at least 3 or 4 inches (at all times) to at least keep the water cleaner. Your idea of using wood under it just might help.

It has stayed thawed when the rubber bowl has frozen. I don't know how cold it got at night, I only know it was 8F during the day so it couldn't thaw out after freezing overnight.
When I first set it up it was on the ground and, like you said, got full of stuff mostly from them scratching nearby. Boy they can make that stuff fly! I put a double layer of bricks and a flat rock down under it and that ended the messy water.

Ok so while I was at work hubby put a framework of sorts from an old wooden chair with a couple of chunks of wood across it. It raised the unit about 8 inches and the chickens can stand on the wood if they need to. I'd take a picture but it was too dark. We shall see in a few days if it keeps it from freezing. Thank you everyone! Some very good points here.