Info re: flat panel heaters & sealed oil filled radiators, please

[Catskill Lily]

Could anyone tell me how effective the flat panel heaters actually are? And for those who use the radiators, how are you setting them up so that there is no contact w/combustables? The coop is 8x8x3, insulated, but we get to -30 all too often here and I'd prefer not to use heat lamps again this year. Thank you.

 

[patandchickens]

All electrical heating appliances give you pretty close to whatever heat their wattage is. So a 250w white bulb will give the same BTUs of heat as a 250w red bulb or a 250w infrared emitter or a 250w anything else electrical.

The difference is "just" price, safety, and where/how the heat is applied.

To my way of thinking it is inefficient to try to heat the whole coop (unless it's a small one) -- you are better off setting up a 'warmth station' where the chickens can get themselves under a lamp or whatever and take advantage of localized warmth. That way you can run less wattage i.e a lower electric bill.

The main application of oil-filled radiators, IMO, would be in very small coops where you *may* want to heat the whole thing, and where in any case it can sometimes be awful hard to rig any OTHER sort of heating appliance in a way that will not be hazardous to chickens or too close to flammable bedding, ceiling, walls.

Is your 3' dimension a width or a height? If it is a height, you should be able to run a normal lightbulb (not even a heat bulb) or a lower wattage IR emitter (like for reptiles) at one end or corner of the coop for the chickens to gravitate towards if they wish. And in such a low space it might make a noticeable dent in overall temperature too. If OTOH the coop is 8x3 and 8' high, you may wish to put in a drop ceiling on the whole thing and especially 'box in' an area over the roost, which again you can run a normal lightbulb or suchlike and just warm *that* area for the chickens to go to when they wish.

Hopefully someone else will wander by and comment on the flat panel heaters, I have no experience with them other than seeing ads.

JMHO, good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Catskill Lily]

Thank you for your response. The coop is 3 ft high and houses 7 hens - two flocks who peacefully merged but opt to roost on separate sides of house (of course).

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

I have both types of heater - and have never used either in my coops.

The oil filled heater I worry that they will perch on it and burn themselves - the panel heater, well, I've just never hooked it up - I use heat lamps - regular brooder lamps with the 250 watt red bulbs. It puts just enough heat in there to make it not frigid - but not so much that it heats it way up.

eta - my coops are also 8x8 but they are 6 foot high.

meri