Pampered Chef Stoneware in the coop

[CityGirlintheCountry]

So I had a random weird thought the other day- Could you heat up an oven stone and use it to keep the coop warm at night? My sister broke her stoneware oven pan and I was wondering if I heated the pieces if I could put them in the outdoor brooder to keep the chicks warm at night. I have no electricity in the coop and running a long extension cord for a heat lamp makes me nervous. I'm trying to think of ways to keep the babies warm at night (temps in the 20s and 30s) when I move them outside. The chicks wer hatched in late October.

 

[Dar]

i dont think the stones would stay warm for long maybe an hour or so...

what about those hand warmers, i think they are called hot paws.. theya re about the size of a pack of matches and get warm/hot and last for 8 hours? (when i googled it, only canadian sites came back... maybe e-bay would have something)

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Ooooo... that's a good idea! I'll start searching.
I wonder if a hunting store would have them?

 

[Dar]

thats an idea Bass pro shop may have them
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...&langId=-1&CMID=TOP_SEARCH_GO&scSearched=true

jackpot... is there a bass near you?

they are kind of expensive tho... i would go that route if you would be using them only when the temp really drops... not every day

 

[fldiver97]

I have seen the hand and foot warmer packs at Walgreens. You should be able to also get them at sports/hunting stores. I don't know how long they would stay warm exposed but inside a pocket or glove or boot they are supposed to keep warm for u to 8 hours.

 

[Dar]

a few years ago when we moved our reptiles in the dead of winter... i heated my cooler with a heating pad first... then placed my snakes and lizards in the cooler with a bunch of these heat packs... they were in there for at least 24 hours and they were nice and warm

i had to re-heat their tanks after the move before i could put them in... and then the move and packing time.. it was about 24 hours, but that was in an insulated cooler... so exposed may be different

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

Quote:
they have them at walmart, and lowes, or home depot too

 

[melody123]

Is propane an option? You could put a propane stove or cooker on low, and keep them from freezing. Just make sure they don't burn the place down

 

[Dar]

Quote:
hehehe put the crock pot on in there with oatmeal... spoiled chickens

 

[RocketDad]

The thermal capacity of water is mathematically "1" and everything else is a decimal less than one. A bucket (with lid, to prevent evaporation and disaster) with hot water would hold more heat than any equivalent weight at the same temp. The only advantage of lower heat capacity stuff is that is can be heated hotter than water. But do you want to deal with 500 degree bricks?

5 gallons of water (@8.35 #/gal) would dump 7515 BTU dropping from 200 degrees to 20 degrees. The specific heat of brick is 0.2, so you would need about 200 lbs of bricks at the same temp to hold the same amount of heat. Electrically, this is equal to about 2.2 KWh.