Water freezing question

[GodofPecking]

You can use an aquarium heater just fine.

If you are worried about it breaking put it into a larger pipe that has some holes in it.

The temperature setting would be not really good though, they are not really very accurate and a too high temperature costs money to run. If you are happy with the cost of electricity, all is well and good.

For about the same cost as the heater itself you can also get a temperature controller with a relay in it to switch the heater on and off accurately. You don't need to open the heater because it will start heating immediately it's switched on. The temperature controller would try to keep the temperature a few degrees above freezing.

 

[GodofPecking]

water tends not to freeze if you put it in a very sheltered place.

You can also use geothermal heating, just dig a deep hole and use a length of stormwater pipe closed off at the bottom as the waterbowl. So it is like an iceberg with a meter or a few feet buried underground and 6 inches above ground. Heat from the gound rises, enough to work anyhow.

 

[bruceha2000]

I don't know where you live @GodofPecking order (you can put it in your profile) but water in any unheated "vessel" here will freeze no matter where you put it outside of a heated space.

Frost here can go down 4' though with some circulation, even just an aquarium bubbler at the bottom, I can see where your "geothermal" pipe could work in somewhat warmer climates.

 

[GodofPecking]

how cold is it below ground there ?

If it is not freezing two feet below the surface, then simply giving them a little cave with the bowl in there would solve the problem, have you come across a subway where you are and noticed it's warm ? same thing. Using pipes full of water is just a convenient way to do the same thing. You'll need a shelter over the top of the water, to stop the exposure.

how cold below ground ?

 

[bruceha2000]

Frost level at 4' means the ground freezes 4' down. The inside of the barn takes a bit longer in the fall to reach lower ambient outside temp because the ground hasn't frozen yet. But when it does it stays colder in the barn than outside and that continues in the spring since the barn floor (dirt) stays frozen longer.

BTW, I use a heated dog water dish for the chickens (in the barn alley) and it works fine all winter.

 

[Cryss]

I have been admiring the PVC and vertical nipples type watering systems. I even devised in my head how I would like to build a system for my set up. The only reason I haven't jumped on it is that it dr doesn't seem to make sense for winter snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures. Is there a way to prevent these systems from freezing?

 

[bruceha2000]

Kinda I made a vertical nipple watering system using a 5 gallon Igloo drink cooler, saddle nipples, a heater in the water and a small reptile waterfall pump to circulate the water through a 3/4" PVC pipe built into the bottom of the nest box with rigid insulation. Worked to about 10F with a stock tank heater in it. To about -10F with an aquarium heater. But the nipples sometimes still froze when it was colder because they are not right up in the pipe.

The bigger problem is 3 of the 5 nipples failed (don't know how that happens) and drained the 5 gallon container the day before Thanksgiving several years ago. Given it was built into the bottom of the nest box I couldn't just pull and replace them. Since then I've been using a heated dog water dish in the barn alley which has worked fine. They don't need water in the coop since we got the auto door that lets them out of the coop into the barn alley, controlled by a light sensor so it opens after sunrise.

 

[Cryss]

Kinda I made a vertical nipple watering system using a 5 gallon Igloo drink cooler, saddle nipples, a heater in the water and a small reptile waterfall pump to circulate the water through a 3/4" PVC pipe built into the bottom of the nest box with rigid insulation. Worked to about 10F with a stock tank heater in it. To about -10F with an aquarium heater. But the nipples sometimes still froze when it was colder because they are not right up in the pipe.

The bigger problem is 3 of the 5 nipples failed (don't know how that happens) and drained the 5 gallon container the day before Thanksgiving several years ago. Given it was built into the bottom of the nest box I couldn't just pull and replace them. Since then I've been using a heated dog water dish in the barn alley which has worked fine. They don't need water in the coop since we got the auto door that lets them out of the coop into the barn alley, controlled by a light sensor so it opens after sunrise.

I'm guessing you don't have that set up anymore so I can't see pictures.
If I were to install such a system it would be in the run not in the coop so it wouldn't have much shelter other than tarps wrapping the run walls.

 

[sorce]

Say the power goes out....
What happens?

The water freezes and breaks the glass around the aquarium water heater.

Then the power comes back on.

Zappola!

Chances are, the first thing on your mind when the power goes out isn't going to be, "let me go pull that heater out of the water dish".

Just Saying.

It Can be used....
It's just not a great idea.

Sorce

 

[Folly's place]

The aquarium heaters I've used in my aquarium all say that they are meant to be used at indoor room temperatures, not outside in winter!
And, I would hope that every coop has at least GFI outlets!
Still, gerryrigging electrical stuff is scary, at least for me.
Mary