Metal fount heater + bedding?

[FlockyFlockster]

Hi there,

I live in Alberta, which experiences cold winters, and this is my first year raising chickens. I have a metal fount heater (like this http://www.strombergschickens.com/prod_detail_list/fount-heaters) that I am using outside in a covered run with a large metal fount, and it works great. Currently, I'm thinking of putting another of the same setup inside the coop to keep water thawed, but am wondering if this fount heater will get too hot around the pine shavings and straw that I use as bedding within the coop. I've searched around on here, but most discussions usually just turn into folks describing what they use to keep water thawed (which is useful in its own right--don't get me wrong!). And it seems like most people using these fount heaters inside a coop don't have a lot of deep bedding that might get scratched around the heater itself (at least from pictures that I've managed to find).

Does anyone have any experience using a fount heater as I've described? My coop is built inside a garage, which leads to the run outside, and I've left the fount heater with waterer on just inside the garage to see if it felt too hot, and it seems like sometimes it gets quite hot, but other times it's fine. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[OR4-hmom]

I haven't used the heating element under my waterer but I do have deep litter. I have it elevated on concrete blocks to keep the girls from filling it with shavings. The blocks should work to disperse the heat back inside the coop and be fire resistant, won't say fire-proof since I haven't tried it.

 

[chfite]

I use a bird bath heater. Bullet-proof. No exposure problems. I just throw it into the bucket and leave it until spring. Here it is http://tinyurl.com/cw37xol

Chris