Seasonal power cord through 1/2in HWC

[aart]

the wooden solution

I'd snip a few more wires outta there.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'd snip a few more wires outta there.

Agree

 

[enrgizerbunny]

I was going to rig up something where all of the joins between cords happen outside the coop. I don't see a way to put in an AC port that wouldn't leave a connection accessible to the chickens.

I guess I have an additional constraint then that perhaps is somewhat abnormal: in addition to the weatherproofing and pest-proofing things, I also have an enormous cockerel called Monster who disassembles stuff. He would see me plug something into a port that's within his domain and it would get unplugged for sure. Then I'd have a live socket exposed without the cap put down. Hence why I was assuming I would have something like this, so it can't be pulled through and no connections can be exposed:

View attachment 3333151

If there was a deeply recessed AC port that might be ok but I can't find one like that.

Male outlet in weather proof box, run to romex inside conduit within the chickens area, go to "in use" outlet inside chicken area with the plastic cover. Do NOT use extension cords like they are permanent wiring. They are not. Any wire run through a wall/wood/hardware cloth should be in a sleeve/conduit of some sort.

 

[Ted Brown]

FWIW

One can buy inexpensive plugs that improves performance in difficult environments. (This is an example only, I have no direct experience.)

In no way does this negate from any of the excellent posts above.

https://www.amazon.com/ANKO-Tamper-...-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

 

[DonyaQuick]

Just had to order a hole saw to make a wood panel for the recepticle...apparently 1.75" must be a weird size.

Also came out to a non-functional heated waterer on the recepticle today and frozen water as a result. After testing with different cords and an outlet tester, the receipticle, I'm clearly going to have to get a different extension cord. The cord itself is fine but the contact points are so far back and he plug is so long it's having trouble keeping a connection with the recepticle (a problem I now remember I've had with that heavy duty yellow cord a few times in the past...forgot about that).

I'd snip a few more wires outta there.

I'll have to trim more if I convert the wood one to using one fo the plastic receipticle, but any particular reason why to trim more with the wood? The current hole is just barely enough to fit the plug for the heated waterer base. A bigger opening just seemed like it would require a bigger cover to block the hole when not in use.

Do NOT use extension cords like they are permanent wiring. They are not. Any wire run through a wall/wood/hardware cloth should be in a sleeve/conduit of some sort.

As per thread title, what I built is seasonal and removable, not permanent. After various experiences with the environmental issues I'm up against in this region, there is no way I'm going to be hiding any portions of a temporary extension cord in some additional tube that could accumulate water/ice/debris, harbor pests, or otherwise prevent easy regular inspection of the entire length of the cord when in use. The issues I was trying to solve (which are solved now) are entirely related to predator- and chicken-proofing. Other than that, there is functionally no difference in what I did to running the cord free-sitting through larger-spaced welded wire as I did the last two winters, which is also functionally no different than just having the cord going across a lawn to a giant inflatable santa.

 

[aart]

I'll have to trim more if I convert the wood one to using one fo the plastic receipticle, but any particular reason why to trim more with the wood? The current hole is just barely enough to fit the plug for the heated waterer base. A bigger opening just seemed like it would require a bigger cover to block the hole when not in use.

The HC wire appears to be touching the cord, could damage the cord or be dangerous.

 

[DonyaQuick]

The HC wire appears to be touching the cord, could damage the cord or be dangerous.

I think that's just the photo angle; I jiggle tested it to make sure it didn't touch any HWC when first installed and checked again tonight, but point taken - it could get nicked during removal if I'm careless. My husband thinks the wood and washers are an eyesore anyway, so it'll be getting converted once the part arrives in a few days and then it's a non-issue once that's in place (since the HWC only touches hard plastic outer shell then).

 

[aart]

I think that's just the photo angle;

Maybe....it's awfully close.
If you use this setup again I'd redrill the cord hole in the middle of the HC hole.

 

[Mouthpear]

Ok, a year later...I've got two different solutions in place for comparison.

First up, the wooden solution I had planned out (well, almost - it has 2x the bolts and washers of my original design for stability). Works well, easy to make sure the bolts go eactly where they need to through the HWC, it's sturdy, easy to install, and predator proof...just kinda ugly. I opted for wood on the inside to keep sharp HWC bits away from the chickens.

OK I'm very late to this party. LOL

Similar to yours this is how I would have done it. Easy to make, easy to install and protects the cord on both sides. You can make the hole in the hardware cloth rather large to fit the plug through with ease. Or the RV supply receplical.

When not in use, just remove cord. For the RV Supply Receptacle just make a blank or use a plumbing expansion plug.

This could also be used with this with the RV socket plug.

And then, on a different coop, a recessed male outlet I just installed this afternoon on the run of my other coop. This required a bigger hole in the HWC than the wooden solution did, but for this coop my placement options were pretty limited and I actually kind of needed the extra cord length this provided on the inside.

 

[Mouthpear]

I opted for wood on the inside to keep sharp HWC bits away from the chickens.

How hard was it to put on?