Heater for Black Rubber Tubs

[SandyK]

Does anyone know if the light bulb tins will work on the rubber tubs to keep them from freezing like the 3 gallon plastic waterers? This tub sits outside the coop and will freeze pretty much solid without something. Any ideas??

Thanks,
Sandy

 

[farmin'chick]

It ought to work. Depending on how big your tub is, you might need more than one, or a bigger tin with more lightbulbs. Try it out during the day so you can keep up with whether it's too warm for your tub or not.

 

[SandyK]

Thanks Farmin'chick. I looked through the whole thread on the water heater tins and didn't see that anyone tried it. Sure would be nice. Mine is about 3 gallons I think.

 

[Tala]

I guess I fail to see why the tin is necessary? Does it concentrate a lower wattage bulb or something? I've always just hung a light over the top of the water

 

[RocketDad]

Quote:
The tin captures the output, so none is wasted as radiated light.

About 80% of the wattage of an incandescent light is heat. If you hang a 100W bulb over the water, how much of the light hits the water/waterer? Maybe half, if it's in a reflector. If you put the light inside a tin, the light bulb becomes a toaster coil. All the light is absorbed by the various surfaces of your system and converted to heat.

 

[oberhaslikid]

Yes it does work BUT,I built mine out of 2x8 boards and covered the top with aluminum flashing and the bottom. I screwed metal license plates.So its not the cookie tin ,but same thing just square.Now if you had a larger cookie tin.The rubber pan would fit better.
I put mine inside the coop.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote:
It also protects the bulb from breakage and spills, as well as keeping it out of the bedding.
Without the tin, you'd also have a light on most of the time

Hanging bulb OVER the water is the least efficient way of heating it , since most of the heat rises
Using the tin allows you to put the heat source UNDER the waterer

 

[EweSheep]

I have a problem with this..........if the rubber bowls get warm enough, would you think the water would taste "rubbery"? Imagine the leach that the rubber imparts when it is out on a warm day. I sure would not. My chickens do NOT like the taste of rubber leaked water and their intake of water was alot less.

 

[Akane]

Black rubber waterers and feed pans sit out in the sun all day in the summer. I highly doubt you'll get them any warmer than that in the winter. Think about southern states and the heat that would generate. I've never heard of problems with it. Actually the only problems I've heard of were not with the rubber waterers but regular plastic poultry waterers.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
It also protects the bulb from breakage and spills, as well as keeping it out of the bedding.
Without the tin, you'd also have a light on most of the time

Hanging bulb OVER the water is the least efficient way of heating it , since most of the heat rises
Using the tin allows you to put the heat source UNDER the waterer

BUT water freezes from the top down . . . . at least it does here in the south, dunno what might happen in more extreme cold.

I could forsee a cookie tin waterer at my place flooding during a rainstorm and water being entrapped in the tin, possibly causing an electric shock problem. Seems much more likely than my lamp falling off the fence (has never happened). Considering that I've recently been shocked by a storebought fluorescent shop light that was dry and encased in non-conductive plastic...maybe I'm just afraid of cookie tin heaters.