Thinking about winter (ugh!) and water heaters....

[PartyOnARoost]

I am going to buy a heated auto dog bowl, need anew waterer anyways... Gonna be a cooooold winter this year

 

[mtnviewfarms]

What we use to heat the water in our coops/houses has a lot to do with several variables such as; what part of the country you live in, i.e., severity of winter cold; how many birds are housed together, i.e., how much cumulative body heat will they generate?; how good the balance in the coop/house is between allowing for adequate ventilation while keeping out as much winter cold as possible, etc.

That said, We live in North Ga Mountains and it rarely gets below 20 degrees here so this is what works for us in our
coop that is probably built better than some homes ( DH who built it is a woodworker and built it himself with all
relclaimed heart pine wood and antique windows, etc. ). We considered many options and finally decided on using those temperature activated special plug ins that fit any regular outlet. They only come on when the temperature gets below
38 degrees. We plugged that into the outlet then plugged a heavy duty outdoor cord into the temp. control outlet and
that powered a light bulb - I think we used a 60 watt bulb that was screwed into one of those metal protection things like is
used on construction sites as DH had some already that he uses in his wood shop.

This light was hanging over the plastic five gallon waterer that was set up on cinder blocks and worked great for us all last winter. At that time we had about 40 full grown birds in the chicken house that is 20' X 20'.

We also use the deep litter method which seems to provide good level of insulation on the floor as it stays around 8 to 10 inches deep throughout the house.

At that time we only had BR hens and two Roos but they continued to lay all winter long w/o any artificial light except for
when the temp. regulated switch to heat the waterer would come on periodically.

 

[coolcanoechic]

Okay, I looked everywhere for a cookie tin today, and could not find one. I am hoping this works just as well. I went into the basement and found a ceramic coated clay flower pot. The bottom of it is the exact same size of the bottom of my chicken waterer. I have one of those galvenized chicken waterers. I think it's about 2 gal? This pot is very heavy and cannot possibly be knocked over by the chickens. It seems to be at a nice height too, so they will not kick hay into it. I drilled a hole into it with a mason bit and installed the light fixture which is ceramic. I also added a switch to turn it on and off if needed. I did not add a thermostat, because I did not see anything in the store that might work for this. I hope this works. I put a 40 watt bulb in it. If that is not warm enough, another stronger bulb might work.
Maybe I'll go test it in the freezer.

Here are some pics.

 

[JackE]

Hi Jack,
Where do you get a thermo cube?

I got it from Amazon. Check the link. Walmart has the cookie tins. I luckily had one in the basement. I seen your crock warmer, I don't think that bulb will be enough.
Jack

http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovato...F8&qid=1347221463&sr=8-1&keywords=thermo+cube

 

[coolcanoechic]

I got it from Amazon. Check the link. Walmart has the cookie tins. I luckily had one in the basement. I seen your crock warmer, I don't think that bulb will be enough.
Jack

http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovato...F8&qid=1347221463&sr=8-1&keywords=thermo+cube

I have it plugged in right now. It seems quite warm. If I need a stronger bulb, I can change it. I checked my local Walmart and they did not have one. Believe me, I looked everywhere within a 50 mile radius. They are a seasonal thing here I guess. I'm going to do a test on this in the freezer to see how much wattage I need. I have power to my coop in many places. It will not be a problem in that regard.

 

[laura625]

I like the flower pot plan. Looks very good yo me.
Those cookie tins are generally available at thrift stores, salvation army etc. imo

 

[CGinJCMO]

And aws we get closer to christmas we should see more cookie tins.
Another idea, alumumin pie tins if can't find cookie tins...the deep ones like for roasts or whatnot.

Have picture in head, can't get words. Need to go to sleep.

Also, those thermo cube plug ins, are there any that work and turn off at a lower temperature? I don't want birds used to 45 degrees and then there be an outage and the temp plunges to 30 or lower and they get sick. I'd rather have it come on at 33 and go off at something like 38. Or am I "stinkin' in my thinkin' ?" I guess we are talking about water temp. on this thread and not air temp. although I'd probalby use the plug in for both water heater and heat lamp if I'm going to use one.

CG

 

[coolcanoechic]

I just ordered a thermocube. I read the reviews. Some were good and others, not so good, but I will give it a shot.

 

[coolcanoechic]

And aws we get closer to christmas we should see more cookie tins.
Another idea, alumumin pie tins if can't find cookie tins...the deep ones like for roasts or whatnot.

Have picture in head, can't get words. Need to go to sleep.

Also, those thermo cube plug ins, are there any that work and turn off at a lower temperature? I don't want birds used to 45 degrees and then there be an outage and the temp plunges to 30 or lower and they get sick. I'd rather have it come on at 33 and go off at something like 38. Or am I "stinkin' in my thinkin' ?" I guess we are talking about water temp. on this thread and not air temp. although I'd probalby use the plug in for both water heater and heat lamp if I'm going to use one.

CG

I kept my mind open to other objects that I might use, and I even looked at pie pans and cake pans. There is still time to find one before things get really cold here. I think I just need to wait until they have the Christmas stuff out in the stores. This also allows me time to try the pot. A stronger bulb will most likely be needed, but I just ordered a thermo cube which should help. I like that the pot puts the waterer up high to keep the bedding out, and it is heavy and solid to support the weight of the waterer.

 

[JackE]

The good thing about a cookie pan, is that the light bulb is totally enclosed. A pie or cake pan will expose the bulb. Sometimes, if you have rammy chickens, this could be a bad thing. Also, remember , another reason you don't want the bulb exposed, is the old water and electricity DON'T mix well thing. You don't want ANY chance of water getting to that light fixture, Either from rammy chickens, or just accidently spilled water. Try EBAY for cookie tins, should be able to find something there, they have practically everything.
Jack