water freezing

[doodleflock]

I live in Minnesota and the water in my chicken coop keeps freezing. Have no heat in the coop only on a heat lamp that is only on 3 hours a day at night. We have a heater in the water but it still freezes around the heater (when we put it in the main part it freezes around it not the donut)(we don't have a electricity in the coop just an extension cord coming from the house) I don't know if its the heater that it cant keep up or if its just not working all the time.This is the waterer we have. the big problem is if we put the heater in the main part then the donut freezes and then if you put it in the donut then the main part freeze. any advice on how to fix this problem.

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[cavemanrich]

A couple of questions.
How many watts is your heater?
Can you install 2, one inside and one in donut?
Can you try a different heated bowl water container like for dogs. I have one that draws 25 watts. can post pix if you want.
Needs to be maintained clean as it is open bowl type.
It is possible that your waterer may be able to slip into dog bowl heater and keep all thawed.
WISHING YOU WARMTH at this time

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They do sell heated metal pans that you place the waterer on top of.

 

[azygous]

The best water warmer is so simple and cheap to make, and works great. I have several and use them to keep my fermented feed from freezing before the chickens can finish it.

You go to any hardware store and pick up a bottle lamp kit or however many you need for the number of water stations you have. They're about $10 each. You take cookie tins and drill a hole in the side and assemble the kit, install a 40 watt bulb in it and set your water on top. They will keep the water liquid in the drinking tray all day.

You will still need to bring the water in at night since it probably won't keep the water from freezing overnight.

 

[aart]

Look thru the feeding and watering forum, lots of discussion and ideas there.

 

[dandan111]

It looks like a nice one. I use a plain heated dog dish type in the barn. I bought a plug in from Amazon that turns on
At 30 deg. No frozen water. Not been all that cold here in Indiana this year either. Maybe try yours Half full?

 

[blucoondawg]

Metal fountain waterer and heated base to set it on

 

[speeps76]

I wonder if it's possible to use a solar battery as a power source for a low wattage cookie tin heater? We're on 10 acres and can't run electric all the way out to the chicken pen. We're in NC, so we don't have TOO much freezing weather, but we'll certainly have some nights where the water will freeze.

Has anyone tried solar power for heating?

 

[Blooie]

The type of extension cord and the distance between your power source and your coop makes a difference too. The longer the distance, the longer the cord has to be, and the more power is lost from that cord between the outlet and the waterer - the voltage drops. The heavier extension cords do better in these situations than the lighter weight household ones. Look on the cord - it should tell you if it contains number 10 wire or number 12. The 10 wire will give you more voltage to your heater than the 12, which means less loss of power.

 

[doodleflock]

thank you all for your help. we found out that a plastic part on the heater either broke off or was not there to begin with. so it was rusting the inside and was tripping/short sirciting because of the rusting.