Help with new light bulbs

[Dustystrail]

Discovered I am out of smaller wattage light bulbs(40,60,75) the other day. I use these in a couple of small brooders. I know the little florescents don't put off much heat but I'm wondering how (or if) any of the other bulbs compare to the old incandescents. Sorry if this has been discussed. I didn't find anything.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I much prefer ceramic heat emitters to any type of lamp. They're more efficient, more reliable and if they break, they don't make a mess.
More importantly, they don't put out any light so one can provide hemeral lighting to chicks (light/dark period) which is much better than 24/7 lighting.
They come in sizes from 25-250watts.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25W-250W-11...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item35e0374d1c

 

[Dustystrail]

I have seen these before. How do they compare to an equal wattage bulb. In other words if a 60 watt provides the right temp, would I need a 60 watt in these?
My current setup is a small bin with a window screen over the top. The brooder lamp sets on top of the screen. I use a towel across the other half of the screen to control temperature if needed and decrease bulb wattage if they start to avoid the heat.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It's kind of an apples to oranges thing. Infrared does get hot but it heats what it is aimed at rather than dissipate heat all around.
If in the rare instance I just have a few chicks, I hang the emitter above a corner of the box then check the temperature under it and at the opposite end. Right now I have 3 chicks in a tub. When they were day old it was about 104 under it and about 70 at the other end. I'll probably raise it a bit in the next couple days.

 

[Dustystrail]

Well I just found a bunch of 60 watt incandescents on sale at Rural King! 4 pack for $.98 - I stocked up. That should buy me plenty of time to experiment with other options.
I very interested to hear how others are dealing with the end of incandescents although the ceramic heat bulbs sound like a possible good alternative without having to change my setup.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've heard that as the big box stores clear their shelves of them, they can often still be found in little mom and pop type stores till they sell out. It would probably be a good idea to look for them whenever out shopping.


After day 3, chicks are much better off with a dark period each night. That's where ceramics shine (so to speak) along with being more efficient. Just heat/no light.

I don't think halogens have been phased out. The whole idea of the rule was that there had to be a certain amount of light output for a certain watt input. LEDs, CFLs and halogens meet that rule, incandescents don't. Halogens put out heat if you want to go that way.
CFLs certainly aren't perfect. They're not great for hot or cold places. That means their life is shortened by putting them in enclosed places like ceiling fixtures. Changing over most of the lights in my house to CFLs years ago did cut my energy bill but I still had to change them as often as incandescents in ceiling fixtures.
I think it's a good idea to use new technologies for specific purposes rather than a one size fits all thing like incandescents.
All the energy input into LEDs goes to light, no heat. They last many years.

I once used incandescents for brooding small spaces like you're doing. I used a droplight with a 75 watt. I also used various wattages for homemade incubators. Another problem with using them for heat is their short service life. With chicks and incubating eggs you don't want to lose your heat source. I've only had one ceramic fail. It cracked right across the neck. I changed to metal heat elements for incubation. They don't fail.
When I was watching the controller constantly cycling on and off, a light bulb went off in my head so to speak. I realized that the constant cycling would dramatically shorten the life of an incandescent and doing so for up to 25 days, 24 hours a day would make it likely I'd lose an entire hatch.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Our local Dollar General has a ton of incandescent and halogen bulbs on their shelves. I didn't see any 100 watt bulbs, but they had lots of 60s. They keep them in stock (I should know, I'm a manager there ). Maybe you could check your local DS to see if they also carry them?

 

[Dustystrail]

They haven't had incandescents in months. I'm pretty sure that is the last place I bought them though. I need to make a trip to the Home Depot. Someone told me they just put the last of their 40W out on clearance.

Does anyone know how the halogens compare? If I'm thinking correctly, they put off some heat.