Is anyone using the Premier "heat plate" brooder for chicks?

[aart]

I received an email back from Premier regarding my question regarding ambient temperature since the Brinsea is only good to 50 degrees F. After not getting a response I emailed them again and they finally were able to get the info from the manufacturer. This is the reply:

Hello Penny,

Below is the information that we received from the manufacturer in response to your question.

Thank you for your e-mail.
In general the heating plates are good for any temperature but of course somewhere is a minimum. The insulation (PU) is the best and very little heat escape from the top.
Personally I suggest to say that the room temperature should not be below 0°C (so 32°F).
First of all the water will freeze because outside the heating plate it is not heated.
Second for the small chicks it will be too cold to leave the heating plate.
The ones from Brinsea need a minimum temperature of 10°C/50°F.
Note that they have an insulation of EPS. The insulation of EPS is only halve the value of PU with the same thickness.
This means the ones from Brinsea need a higher room temperature to keep warm.
Really if you check the quality of the ones from Brinsea and compare with ours, the difference is huge. Also the price is almost double.
When you want to measure the temperature note that only a Infra-Red thermometer will work to do it.​

This will give you a good indication of the surface temperature. Note that testing with a normal thermometer does not work.​

Hope this helps. Thanks


So it looks like the Premier heat plate would work in outdoor brooders as long as the temperatures are above freezing.

Penny

I think they both will, Brinsea is just a bit more CYA than the Premiere supplier(what is the company name?)Neither supply the surface temps..... don't think the type of insulation really matters when the sides are open <shrug> only way to really know is to try it.

ETA...thanks for pushing thru to get some communication Penny!

 

[SIMZ]

@SIMZ Remind me - which size did you get and how many chicks are now using it?

I got the 20-chick heat plate. I have a total of 17 chicks using it - 8 are regular chicks and 9 are bantams.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thank you. I have to say I'm surprised that it's working for 18 chicks! And glad to hear it. But I suppose the bantams only count as 1/2 a chick

 

[aart]

Thank you. I have to say I'm surprised that it's working for 18 chicks! And glad to hear it. But I suppose the bantams only count as 1/2 a chick

Maybe 3/4?

Curious as to how they will as they grow?...or maybe by the time they're too big to fit they'll have enough feathers not to want to be under it?

 

[Caitlin_VT]

I have 9 bantams under a ecoglow 20 and 12 LF under the 25 chick premier.. So far so good!

 

[SIMZ]

I would be concerned that they'd have enough room as they grow, but I'm hoping to sell 6 of the big chicks. Although, they currently have plenty of room. Actually, I counted the bantams as 1/2's when I was adding things up to see if I could put them all under it. LOL

 

[henless]

I received an email back from Premier regarding my question regarding ambient temperature since the Brinsea is only good to 50 degrees F. After not getting a response I emailed them again and they finally were able to get the info from the manufacturer. This is the reply:

Hello Penny,

Below is the information that we received from the manufacturer in response to your question.

Thank you for your e-mail.
In general the heating plates are good for any temperature but of course somewhere is a minimum. The insulation (PU) is the best and very little heat escape from the top.
Personally I suggest to say that the room temperature should not be below 0°C (so 32°F).
First of all the water will freeze because outside the heating plate it is not heated.
Second for the small chicks it will be too cold to leave the heating plate.
The ones from Brinsea need a minimum temperature of 10°C/50°F.
Note that they have an insulation of EPS. The insulation of EPS is only halve the value of PU with the same thickness.
This means the ones from Brinsea need a higher room temperature to keep warm.
Really if you check the quality of the ones from Brinsea and compare with ours, the difference is huge. Also the price is almost double.
When you want to measure the temperature note that only a Infra-Red thermometer will work to do it.​

This will give you a good indication of the surface temperature. Note that testing with a normal thermometer does not work.​

Hope this helps. Thanks


So it looks like the Premier heat plate would work in outdoor brooders as long as the temperatures are above freezing.

Penny

I know when I had mine out in the shop, the outside air was 22 degrees, and the air in the shop was 29 degrees. I did have a thin curtain over the top of the brooder, it was to keep them from flying out. The water never froze in the brooder.

Thank you. I have to say I'm surprised that it's working for 18 chicks! And glad to hear it. But I suppose the bantams only count as 1/2 a chick

I have 21 chicks under mine. The box says it is good for 20-25 chicks. As they get bigger, there is less room, but the older ones with more feathers tend to nest around the outside of the heater. I won't be able to get a pic in the morning, but will try on Sunday to get out there before they get up and take a pic of them. Mine range in age from 2 wks to 4 wks now.

 

[henless]

It's 40 degrees here this morning, so really not all the cold. I went out and tried to get a pic of the chicks with their Premier. It's not all that clear since it was dark and I didn't want to turn the light on and bother them.

I have 21 chicks. All are under the Premier except for 3. One of my EE's is on top. She is almost fully feathered except for her head and breast area. The two to the right are a Golden Comet and I believe one of my other EE's. She is almost fully feathered also. If you can tell, one of my BO's, on the left was coming out to see me, and another Comet was coming out in the front towards me.

I couldn't take a pic right in front since I have some clear plastic up for wind break. The winds yesterday/last night were gusting up to 30 mph.



The chicks are different ages. One of my Barred Rocks will be 5 wks this Thur. My EE's, Australorps, RIR's, Golden Comets and 2 of my Barred Rocks will be 4 wks this Thur. My BO's and SLWyandottes will be 3 wks tomorrow.

 

[SIMZ]

Another update:

I really like the plate - it's working very well. My garage is around 40-45 and they're doing just fine. The only problem I've run into is that they come running out as soon as they see light. That's been a problem with our garage at night because they seem to have trouble finding the plate again. I've put a low wattage bulb above the brooder as a nightlight for them.

 

[cjwaldon]

Mine are starting to move from sleeping around the edges to sleeping on top. They're three weeks old, in the house, temps are usually in the upper 50s to low 60s in their room. I keep a light on over them for light only. At bedtime I turn the light on in the adjacent room and turn their light off. I give them five to ten minutes. It only takes them about three minutes to settle in for the night. They've learned it's about to get very dark and find their spots quickly.