Heated water bowls and extension cords

[19maycraft]

My Chicken Coop is about 100 yards from the house, and I buried my extension cord about 10 inches in the ground all the way out to it..and have not had any problems for a year.it is attached to a power strip, that I have a heat light and security cameras plugged into..I like to see my chickens on TV, to make sure they are ok..I thought about digging it up and putting it inside some PVC pipe, but just have not gotten around to it

 

[ChickenTender63]

You will be safer to use the heavy duty cord and try to run it as short as possible. The problem here is that there is voltage drop with every foot of extension cord that you run, and if the heater has to run a good while, you run the risk of over heating and starting a fire.

I know a lot of people here say you can do it, but, I am a little different. If I was home and running it, it would be a different story, because I could keep a close eye on it, and feel the cord once in awhile to see if it's getting hot. I would NEVER go out of town for a weekend and let it run. I would first try to find someone to come over a few times a day to water for you.

My wife is a burn nurse, and it is very, very sad to see the number of people that are mamed or die each year from using extension cords for heaters. Even though you will not be home to be injured, the risk is there that you could possibly lose everything you have.

The question is: Are you willing to risk it because folks here have not had any problems, yet? That is an answer that only you and your family can come up with. It really saddens me everytime my wife comes home and tells me that a young child died last night in a fire, or that they lost everything because they didn't head the warnings and thought it would be ok.

I know it's a hard decision, but it can also be one of the most important decisions you will ever make.

Good luck.

 

[ChickenTender63]

Quote:
You sure are flirting with disaster here! Your problems are:

1. Running an extension cord this distance and plugging in more than item into. The voltage drop caused by this distance is huge. How many do you have plugged together to run this far, at least 3?

2. Extension cords are not rated for direct burial in soil. This will cause the insulation to breakdown and it is going to short out at some point. Hopefully it will only trip the breaker or at the worst, shock someone. Chances are you may burn down your house or barn though.

3. What outlet do you have this plugged into at the house in order to supply power? Is it a dedicated 20 amp outlet, or is it an outlet inside the house that is only 15 amps and has several outlets and lights on the same circuit?

You really need to stop using this immediately! This is not safe, and you are going to possibly hurt someone! I am a licensed electrician and have seen the devastation from doing things like this and it is not pretty!

Folks, using cords in this manner is risking your life. There are good reasons why manufacturers put these warning labels on and also why we have the licensing process to work with something that can possibly kill you. There are more people that die each year from using extension cords in an unsafe manner than you realize or hear of on the news. Please do not be one of them!

 

[MissPrissy]

It is very important to follow sound advise and practice extreme caution with electricity.

Each of you take your own risks and any ideas you glean from other people's less than ideal practices is at your own risk.

Electrical fires have burned down many barns.

Check your local codes and practice safe measures with electricity.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Oh man, that kinda scares me.

The problems you have, and I would bet real money that given more than a mere year of service with this setup you WILL have problems, have a considerable chance of involving fire and/or electrocution.

It's all well and fine to say "hey, I'm a grownup, I accept the risk" but you can't really say that on behalf of everyone else living in your house. Plus of course the potential for roast chicken.

There needs to be a mandatory course in Basic Household Electrical Safety, And What Happens When You Do Otherwise, given in every high school in the country.

Please tell me this is at least a heavy-duty cord and a GFCI-protected outlet... not that that'd make it actually safe...

Pat

 

[annmarie]

Well thanks for everyone's advice. It's nice to know that people are plugging these bowls into extension cords without a problem, of course, I'm now a bit freaked out by some of your warnings. I would use an outdoor cord of course, and it is a GFCI outlet that I'd be plugging it into, and it will not have to be a long cord at all. The whole distance is probably only about 15-20 feet from location of bowl to outlet, but of course, yes, I'd be breaking rules that are rules for a reason. I wish I could just ask someone to come in the morning and give them fresh water but it would be Christmas morning and everyone around here celebrates Christmas and I wouldn't feel right asking anyone to do that Christmas morning. I'll definitely do a test run once or twice when I'm home to see if anything gets hot or seems risky in any way, and if I feel okay after the test runs, I'll probably do it. I know it's a risk, but if some people are doing this day after day, and I'd only be doing it one day a year, I suppose I'll take my chances, while doing everything as safe as possible of course. Thanks again!

 

[patandchickens]

You know what, annmarie, from what you've described (and assuming you use a HEAVY DUTY extension cord, that is no longer than necessary -- really, the heavy duty *matters*) I would not have any reservations about doing it myself. For whatever that's worth.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[ametauss]

I run my extension cords thru PVC pipe or the black drain hose just to keep the animals from chewing on it.... Obviously it doesn't go all the way to the socket but mostly along the ground to and from the electricity...

I had to learn the hard way about extension cords.... Funny thing was it wasn't a barn animal that did the damage, it was the squirrels that did the chewing... poor DH lost the electricity to his shed and we came up with the pipe to deterr the squirrels and it seems to work with the chickens/goats/etc....

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

To my first coop my dad ran one of those heavy duty cords through a pvc pipe and buried it...brought the cord up through a hole at the bottom of the coop so the plug was inside the dry coop...then we used one of those thermostatic plugs and a red heat lamp...it kept their water from freezing...i think the water bowl sounds even more safe than that...we had it running 50ft and used it for 10yrs without issue. Maybe just luck, but it was never a problem. I would set it up a week or two before and just watch it...if there is no problems i'd hope you'd be ok for one morning away.

 

[Marcy]

I don't have anything to add on the extension cord end of things, but my husband and I have found that a really effective way to keep our hens' water from freezing is an aquarium heater from a petstore. They're extremely inexpensive, and are about the size of a sharpie marker. They have a suction cup and attach to the inside the waterer, and have only a small cord that's easily threaded out of the waterer. We've been using ours for years now with great success.