How warm is your cookie tin water heater? Looking for

[mechanic57]

I tried out a 40w bulb and it got too hot. It was up to 170 within 2 minutes so I shut it off. Next I tried a 25w bulb. It heated the tin to 122 degrees and the temp stopped rising there. Consider the average human core body temp is 98.6, 122 is a tolerable temp. I was able to touch the tin without discomfort.

I next put a glass on top with 16 oz of water in it at 65 degrees. Room temp was 72. I took about 30 min to bring the water to 75. This concludes the controlled environment testing. I'll see how it does whenever it gets below freezing.

 

[JackE]

This will be the 5th year, I'll be using a cookie tin fount warmer (The same one). My fount warmer is about the same dimensions, as the O.P. It is set up on top of a couple of concrete blocks, with the water fount on top of that. I use a 40W bulb in it, usually. But, when the temp approaches 0 F, It's not enough, so I put in a 60W. When you put the tin outside, with the cold weather we get, it will not reach 200 F, it just won't happen. With the cold, and a water fount, filled with cold water, sucking the heat away, it will not get hot enough to burn anything. And, like I said, it gets cold enough, the 40W is not enough. So put it in there, with a 40W, and as long as it is properly constructed/wired, don't worry about it.

This fount warmer is just a cheap, and as long as you built it right, safe way, to keep your water supply unfrozen. Those fount warmers you can buy on-line, or at T/S, are garbage. You are looking at "fine" RedChinese engineering. It may last a week, or a year, but it will fail, and you will be out right around $60. It cannot be repaired, it's JUNK. The cookietin craps out, put in a new, cheap bulb, and fagetabouit.

I added a pic, so you can see my setup.

 

[RonP]

Has anyone taken a thermometer to their cookie tin water heater? I'm interested in what wattage bulb you have, the diameter and depth of the cookie tin, and what temp the outside of the cookie tin is.

I made one today. The tin is 3.5 inches deep, 10 inches across, and I used a 60w bulb. I plugged it in on my kitchen counter (73 degrees in the kitchen) and it got to 213 degrees in less than 3 minutes. Its a digital thermometer I use for HVAC work so I know its good and accurate. I don't want this to burn my coop down and I don't want the bulb to keep blowing out from the heat. Interested in your guys heaters and looking for more precise data besides "warm to the touch."

I do not see the value of taking the temperature of the cookie tin out of it's intended environment.

As a point for reference, the surface of a 60 watt incandescent bulb will reach about 250F at 70F ambient.

The filament will be dangerously hot, but will burn out instantly once exposed to oxygen.

The fixture (cookie tin) will be much cooler, as there is considerably more surface area exposed to the heat source.

Cellulose (wood, paper, etc.) requires 451F to smoke, considerably more to ignite.

As usual, use common sense and safe measures when operating any electrical device.

When you put your water supply on a cookie tin heater, and use a thermo cube - on at 35F off at 45F, once on, the hot tin and cold water supply will form condensation and make a direct conduit from the heat source to the cold water supply. This conduit will draw the heat away from the source, making a 40w bulb heat sourced cookie tin barely warm to the touch.

Personally, I use a 38w bulb. My water supply of 2 gallons at the time, remained fluid at -9F (coop thermometer), my coldest recorded nighttime temperature to date in the coop.

At that temperature, the tin was cold to the touch, as was the water. Both tin and water seemed like ice cold...but not frozen.

My inexpensive infrared digital thermometer is useless below 32F ambient, as are most, so more precise data was not readily available, but I hope this helps.

 

[mechanic57]

Thanks for the info. I do have the thermo cube and I plan on using that in the coop when it gets cold enough. I'll keep an eye on it the first time I use it.

 

[Hholly]

I went to Goodwill yesterday and picked up 2 tins and 2 ugly lamps for $10. Made them into 2 water heaters and used those candle flame shaped bulbs. They worked great last night and I felt them this morning when it was about 23 degrees out. They were pleasantly warm, but not hot. I'm so happy!

 

[beginnergirl]

I went to Goodwill yesterday and picked up 2 tins and 2 ugly lamps for $10. Made them into 2 water heaters and used those candle flame shaped bulbs. They worked great last night and I felt them this morning when it was about 23 degrees out. They were pleasantly warm, but not hot. I'm so happy!

Did you drill a hole in the cookie tin? Would you be able to post a picture? I would love to try this. Right now I can just change the water in the morning and it is unfrozen. But we do get some cold snaps here where the temperature stays below freezing.

 

[Hholly]

Did you drill a hole in the cookie tin? Would you be able to post a picture? I would love to try this. Right now I can just change the water in the morning and it is unfrozen. But we do get some cold snaps here where the temperature stays below freezing.

Yes, I drilled a 3/8 in. hole. I'll go shoot some pics for you in a bit.

 

[Hholly]

Did you drill a hole in the cookie tin? Would you be able to post a picture? I would love to try this. Right now I can just change the water in the morning and it is unfrozen. But we do get some cold snaps here where the temperature stays below freezing.

Here's mine.

 

[beginnergirl]

Here's mine.

Awesome! Headed to Goodwill today

 

[mechanic57]

UPDATE: Today it was the first time this winter where it was finally cold enough to freeze the water. I went out this morning and the ice was too thick for the birds to peck through it on their own. The high was 32F for a short while with a steady 20mph wind. Tonight's low will be in the teens and wind chill between 0 and 7 degrees. I put the water in the coop and hooked up the cookie tin heater. I have it sitting on a cinder block with the metal water tin sitting on top of it. Its plugged into a thermo cube. The 40 watt bulb did not prevent the ice from reforming. There was ice in it by late afternoon. It didn't get thick enough that they birds couldn't peck through it, but it will if it sits over night so I went with the 60 watt bulb. The surface temp of the cookie tin was nowhere near as hot as having it in the house with no water on top.