Water's Frozen!

[lutherpug]

Yeppers, once I got a good Aq heater it has worked well, going into it's 3rd winter now...and it's seen some frigid temps, minus 12F was the lowest. Costs about a dime a day, even when it never goes above freezing.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples

Thanks for posting this-I'm surprised that a 50w heater will work in the super cold weather but clearly you've proven that it can do just that! Just goes to show you there are multiple ways to get something done

<Also, Hi to all of the KCMO people posting in this thread-GO CHIEFS!>

 

[rosemarythyme]

The 50 watt heater I'm using is (unfortunately) the one labeled FAILED on Aart's instruction post

wish I noticed the post before I bought it! Oh well, hoping mine will hold out for the season at least, we don't get overly cold here (down to the 20s at night) and so far the heater is doing it's job, but I am keeping an eye on it. An inch of snow everywhere this morning, but the girls still had a working water nipple.

 

[PingoBags]

The 50 watt heater I'm using is (unfortunately) the one labeled FAILED on Aart's instruction post

wish I noticed the post before I bought it! Oh well, hoping mine will hold out for the season at least, we don't get overly cold here (down to the 20s at night) and so far the heater is doing it's job, but I am keeping an eye on it. An inch of snow everywhere this morning, but the girls still had a working water nipple.

Are you using a thermocudbe too? That would help with the failure rate, that and keeping the water topped up.

The reason I went with the pipe heating cable is because I already had it and there was no need to buy a thermocube.
The wire has a built in thermostat, turns on off like a thermocube and it's designed to keep pipes from freezing.
The bucket is like a big pipe, but it also has a lot more wire wrapped around it.

If your weather only goes down to the 20s, you shouldn't have an issues keeping it from freezing, as long as something doesn't break.
It's 23F right now with no frozen nipples and I'm only using 18watts, your 50 watts should be fine.

aart gets colder temps than you and it works for him.

I'll know by the end of next months if mine is gonna work. The end of January, Feb are our coldest months.
aart method is proven to work for the low temps he gets. My temps are 2.5 times colder some nights and I live in the warmest winter province in Canada, god help those who live in colder provinces.

If mine starts failing, I'm gonna add aarts method to it, dual heaters.

 

[aart]

The 50 watt heater I'm using is (unfortunately) the one labeled FAILED on Aart's instruction post

wish I noticed the post before I bought it! Oh well, hoping mine will hold out for the season at least, we don't get overly cold here (down to the 20s at night) and so far the heater is doing it's job, but I am keeping an eye on it. An inch of snow everywhere this morning, but the girls still had a working water nipple.

That doesn't mean the one you have will fail...but definitely keep an eye on it.
Don't know if that model is cheap and thus possibly inferior or it was just defective.

Not sure if a thermocube will help keep it a heater from failing, but it sure will save on power usage.

Insulation is a must too.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yeah thankfully we don't get THAT cold here, compared to other folks down in the minus degrees! Plus I'm usually home to keep an eye on things and the chickens get checked on 3x a day minimum so it should be fine, even if the heater fails we'll catch it quick.

 

[chickforchicks]

I posted the other day about a salt water filled water bottle. I'm here to tell you it mostly worked. The night before last I didn't use a salty water bottle but last night I did with the same temps (low 20s). Saturday morning the waterer was a huge block of ice. This morning the only partially frozen part was the trough they drink out of. The trough wasn't completely frozen just partially. I'm sure those of you with single digit and negative temps will just laugh at this, but it worked better than having nothing in a powerless coop.

 

[lazy gardener]

Are you saying you gave your birds salt in their water? While it will keep the water from freezing, it will seriously mess up their electrolytes, and I also assume it will tax their kidneys. I'd rather have thirsty birds than dead ones.

 

[tamber2000]

Just wondering if you can use a plastic water base on a metal heater so the water doesn't freeze?

 

[aart]

I posted the other day about a salt water filled water bottle. I'm here to tell you it mostly worked. The night before last I didn't use a salty water bottle but last night I did with the same temps (low 20s). Saturday morning the waterer was a huge block of ice. This morning the only partially frozen part was the trough they drink out of. The trough wasn't completely frozen just partially. I'm sure those of you with single digit and negative temps will just laugh at this, but it worked better than having nothing in a powerless coop.

Are you saying you gave your birds salt in their water? While it will keep the water from freezing, it will seriously mess up their electrolytes, and I also assume it will tax their kidneys. I'd rather have thirsty birds than dead ones.

I don't think the chicken water is salted(I hope) think there is a sealed bottle of salt water in the chicken water.
Salted water will take longer to freeze but wouldn't keep the other water from freezing.

I don't have electricity in my coop so I am going to go with an old fashioned method. A chicken friend told me that keeping a water bottle with salt water in it will make it harder (not impossible) for the water to freeze. I haven't tried it yet, but that simple fix is in my coop's near furture.

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: I hope that's what CFC meant! IF I misinterpreted, I sincerely apologize. And you are right, a bottle full of salt water in the waterer will do nothing to prevent a freeze up, IMO. The salt water will be less likely to freeze, but it will not keep the rest of the water from freezing.