How do you keep your nipples from freezing?

[pawtraitart]

Why would the horizontal nips work better, would i need to run that line to the nip. I have vertical nips with a 5 gal bucket and a 250watt stock tank heater the water is liquid but the nips are frozen. 12 degrees this am and they were frozen. Chickens got their first taste of snow yesterday, 4ft in 36 hrs gotta love buffalo!

You can use a heating mat (seedling or reptile) on a cinder block instead of a 250W stock tank heater if you want to save power costs. I've put a 2 quart drinker with a horizontal nipples on a seedling heat mat and it never froze even once last winter. Temps got down to -18 F and it was just fine. I was using that small of a container because I only had a trio of polish in that pen. I get my HN from Susan at Allboutchickens.com. She imports directly from Europe and has the best prices if you want more than 5. If you just want 5, Rich is a nice guy, too.

 

[Ankhdad]

I have a similar set up. Water in the bucket is good, but the nipples are still getting a little ice on them which is stopping them from working.
btw...sounds like you guys are about to get a few more feet of snow....

 

[aart]

thanks for the explanation aart, thats what I was interested in, but i could can do without the attitude

I did not intentionally imply any attitude, I'm sorry you inferred such.

I actually have a rather dry sense of humor, not always easily conferred online....I should use more smileys I guess

 

[woody1]

If you still need the horizontal nipples, you can email Rich directly at [email protected]. I just ordered some more from him and they shipped quickly. He's the USA distributor for Solway. Nice guy.

Thanks, I'll give it a go.

 

[pdirt]

thanks for the explanation aart, thats what I was interested in, but i could can do without the attitude

Ahh, the problem with conversing online, where we can't see each other's faces! I've read enough of @aart 's posts to know he's a jovial guy and meant his post in jest. But it can be hard to read that without knowing someone...I can see how you easily could have perceived it as "attitude". You know, one person's joke is another's insult.

You can use a heating mat (seedling or reptile) on a cinder block instead of a 250W stock tank heater if you want to save power costs. I've put a 2 quart drinker with a horizontal nipples on a seedling heat mat and it never froze even once last winter. Temps got down to -18 F and it was just fine. I was using that small of a container because I only had a trio of polish in that pen. I get my HN from Susan at Allboutchickens.com. She imports directly from Europe and has the best prices if you want more than 5. If you just want 5, Rich is a nice guy, too.

Do you know the wattage of your heating mat? That sounds very good at -18F! Also, have you noticed a difference in your electric bill using the seedling mat versus the stock tank heater?

Also, allaboutchickens.com does not seem to exist anymore. That link send you to a generic ad-based website. I recall visiting her site in the past and it wasn't what is showing up now.

 

[pawtraitart]

Ahh, the problem with conversing online, where we can't see each other's faces! I've read enough of @aart 's posts to know he's a jovial guy and meant his post in jest. But it can be hard to read that without knowing someone...I can see how you easily could have perceived it as "attitude". You know, one person's joke is another's insult.


Do you know the wattage of your heating mat? That sounds very good at -18F! Also, have you noticed a difference in your electric bill using the seedling mat versus the stock tank heater?

Also, allaboutchickens.com does not seem to exist anymore. That link send you to a generic ad-based website. I recall visiting her site in the past and it wasn't what is showing up now.

The link still works. If you spelled it allAboutchickens.com, that would be the reason. It's AllBoutchickens.com

The seedling heat mat is 17 watts. The drinker was inside the coop, so no wind chill. I have horses so I already have 5 tank heaters running so my power bill is outrageous in the winter. The little heat mats don't make a dent in that. hehe

 

[pdirt]

The link still works. If you spelled it allAboutchickens.com, that would be the reason. It's AllBoutchickens.com

The seedling heat mat is 17 watts. The drinker was inside the coop, so no wind chill. I have horses so I already have 5 tank heaters running so my power bill is outrageous in the winter. The little heat mats don't make a dent in that. hehe

Ahh, I see, tricky little URL! It's good to know there is another source of the horizontal nipples.

Some day I am going to buy a "kill a watt" device to measure our heating devices to know just how much electric each one is using. For example a 17W heater may be powered on 24/7, using electric ALL the time, whereas a 250W might only be on 10% of the time, because it heats up the water quicker. Of course it depends that each device has a built-in thermostat (the stock tank heater I use does) so it WILL shut off once it's reached a certain temp. A kill a watt device would make quick work of finding out which devices work best in terms of electric usage.

But you have horses! They are amazing animals. And I'm so glad my wife doesn't want horses...I know they can be expensive no matter what!

 

[lyford]

my apologies aart, and i mean that, i really did aprpeciate the explanation, shouldnt have jumped to conclusions

 

[lyford]

Ankhdad, yeah they are calling for 1-2 ft tonight, we really dont need it but at least its not something like a hurricane or earth quake, a little snow we can handle. The girls have a covered run and they had maybe a 1/2 inch in there, which they were not happy about.

 

[smschiller08]

Wrapped electric cable around bucket above and below, nipples then covered cable with insulation tape and FINALLY nipples were not frozen this morning after -25F temps!!! Deicer inside the bucket also.