Winter water, no electricity, all options on the table

[saysfaa]

Fill a water bottle with super salty water. Like 1/4th salt and close it up tight and toss it in the water dish. It will keep it from freezing as fast

Have you done this yourself?

 

[drangle]

Yeah it’s not great but buys you some time. If it’s cold enough the bottle will get froze in the block eventually

 

[saysfaa]

Yeah it’s not great but buys you some time. If it’s cold enough the bottle will get froze in the block eventually

What temperatures have you used it at, how big is your waterer, how big is the salt water bottle, how much time does it buy, have you compared it side by side?

Thank you

 

[drangle]

No it’s a tub of chicken water not a science fair experiment

 

[saysfaa]

No it’s a tub of chicken water not a science fair experiment

Sure.

Before I depend on this for my chickens, I want to try it next to a similar bucket without the salt water. It would save me a lot of time and effort if you could give some ballpark figures of what you've done.

I've seen a couple side by side comparisons on you tube where they concluded there was no difference. They didn't try many variations, though, and were not very specific in how long it took to freeze - they just left it overnight one night to see if the salt bottle would keep the waterer from freezing at all.

They didn't see if it a difference if it is near the freeze point or many degrees below freezing. Or different ratios of salt water bottle to bucket size, or open/closed top.

 

[FunClucks]

Sure.

Before I depend on this for my chickens, I want to try it next to a similar bucket without the salt water. It would save me a lot of time and effort if you could give some ballpark figures of what you've done.

I've seen a couple side by side comparisons on you tube where they concluded there was no difference. They didn't try many variations, though, and were not very specific in how long it took to freeze - they just left it overnight one night to see if the salt bottle would keep the waterer from freezing at all.

They didn't see if it a difference if it is near the freeze point or many degrees below freezing. Or different ratios of salt water bottle to bucket size, or open/closed top.

So, salt lowers the freezing point of water. Water without salt that normally freezes at 32F can freeze at 0F if you add enough salt. However, that doesn't change the temperature of the water, just the temperature at which freezing starts. It doesn't keep the water warmer, just delays the onset of freezing. However, salt also decreases the specific heat of water, so it helps the water in the bottle retain more heat from the sun or another source. A bottle of saltwater will obtain a higher temperature compared to a bottle of freshwater for the same amount of sun exposure (this may be just a few degrees difference).

If the bottle of saltwater in the dog water bowl works, my guess is because it is a closed container that gets heated during the day by the sun, or maybe it gets blown around or moved around while in the bowl (moving water also freezes at a lower temperature), or a combination of both. The water in the bowl is cooled by the wind, and loosing heat to the bowl/ground it's sitting on/in. The water in the closed water bottle gets heated by the sun, and the plastic of the bottle insulates the water inside from heat loss by wind (slightly, but it makes a difference). Once the sun sets, the temperature of the water inside the bottle will be higher than that in the bowl, so the heat slowly travels from the bottle into the bowl until they equalize, and then the temperature of both lowers until they freeze. These two things can happen at various rates, and at the same time. The key is having the initial temperature of the water in the bottle and dog bowl high enough that the cool down process isn't complete (freezing doesn't occur) before the outside temperature rises again above 32F (sunrise or sometime thereafter) or the sun starts heating things again, therefore turning the cooling process into a slow thermal heating process.

If you get enough heat into the saltwater in the bottle, then it may keep the water in the bowl from freezing overnight IF the outside temperature is not too cold, and there's not too much wind. Remember, as soon as the heat input into the bottle stops (sun goes away, water stops boiling in the microwave), the bottle starts to cool. The heat transfers out of the bottle into the water that's in the bowl at a certain rate - this rate depends on the starting temperature of the water in the bowl, whether there is agitation of the bowl water, and how fast the heat is also being lost to wind and into the plastic of the bowl, and into the ground the bowl is sitting on.

If you want to retain heat in your dog water bowl:

1) Heat your salt water. Microwave, boiling or near to is best, whatever your plastic can best handle, or stick it in the sun for a long time (not as good, but less time intensive). Dark colored bottles work better than clear ones, but make sure the lid's on good, because as the temperature increases, the pressure in the bottle will also increase. Conversely, if you boil the water, add it to the bottle, put the lid on, and freeze it, the water inside the bottle will condense, creating a bit of a vacuum, so it may be harder to get the lid off when it's cold - running hot water over the lid can help you open it.

2) Insulate your bowl (thermos bowls that have a double wall with a vacuum in-between would be best, otherwise, use anything your chickens won't eat, the higher the heat retention capability, the better). Blankets? Compost that is actively heating would probably work well as insulation, straw, things that are black and can be heated by the sun, etc. [The double wall vertical Igloo drinking water thermos folks use in the summer on the construction sites might be something to try if you paint it black.]

3) Agitation of the bowl can help.

If you try it, I wish you luck figuring out how it works for you!

 

[Kiki]

Alternate method to prevent water freezing.

If you have ground for your coop floor or in your run you can use this method to prevent water from freezing without the use of electricity. Use a bucket that is appropriately sized for your flock although a bigger bucket retains heat better than a small bucket. I use either a 3 or 5 gallon...

• R2elk
• Sep 19, 2017
• 4.89 star(s) 27 ratings
• Comments: 32
• Reviews: 16
• Category: Feeders & Waterers