Winter water?

[thebesticanbe]

I have a 5 gallon water bucket with vertical nipples I'm using an aqua heat EcoPlus fish tank heater 820 volts 60 Hertz 200 watts and a PETCO air bubbler. Temperatures during the day low 30's hi twenties overnight low twenties its my first year with chickens I have 10 and I live in Colorado Springs Colorado

 

[MeepBeep]

I'm pretty confident in that seal.

Simple solution, put the hole at the top of the bucket and flip the bucket upside down, then the lid seal is then under water, and the solid bucket creates the vacuum...

 

[bruceha2000]

I have a 5 gallon water bucket with vertical nipples I'm using an aqua heat EcoPlus fish tank heater 820 volts 60 Hertz 200 watts and a PETCO air bubbler. Temperatures during the day low 30's hi twenties overnight low twenties its my first year with chickens I have 10 and I live in Colorado Springs Colorado

Um, probably not 820V

I doubt you need the bubbler. Probably better to encase the bucket in insulation so the heater doesn't have to heat the whole outdoors.

 

[RonP]

Just posted my new water heater

to use on my nipple fed waterer

You could replace my waterer with a 5 gallon bucket nipple fed waterer.

With this design, you could add a whole lota of heat if needed...

 

[coop410silkies]

Just posted my new water heater

to use on my nipple fed waterer

You could replace my waterer with a 5 gallon bucket nipple fed waterer.

With this design, you could add a whole lota of heat if needed...

I went to your heater link and liked what I saw, posted comments. My major caveat is with using light bulbs that don't last very long. 'Twas an objectionable expense when I was raising reptiles, and I spent a lot on replacing bulbs for my cinder block heaters. Sooo, while I like the idea of yours, I would like to find a more reliable, longer lasting heating element than a light bulb. (I made some heaters from those little G9 halogen bulbs; they're cheap, still, and they put out a LOT of heat for the Watt usage. They can have a long life - but they can't get too dirty. I don't think they can be enclosed, either. You have to have the right base or it will melt. Just for starters). I have intended for some time now to research heating elements. Could be something simple like a ceramic bulb for reptiles, but it would have to last for just about forever to justify the expense. Just my 2cw. Oh, you did not say that the halogen bulbs were parabolic flood or spot lights. That would have a definite impact on where the heat was directed and dissipated, no?

 

[MeepBeep]

they put out a LOT of heat for the Watt usage.

When it comes to filament based light bulbs like your traditional incandescent and halogens they are exceptionally good, in fact great heaters, about 90% or more of the consumed Watts are converted to heat... Halogen bulbs (even though they run at a higher temp) actually produce a little less overall heat per Watt then traditional light bulbs, but only marginally...

What they are both incredibly poor at is their conversion of consumed Watts into lumens of light ironic for a product designed to produce light...

Also something worth noting when you enclose these bulbs they run at a higher temperature then they are designed and it will decrees their life expectancy..

 

[coop410silkies]

When it comes to filament based light bulbs like your traditional incandescent and halogens they are exceptionally good, in fact great heaters, about 90% or more of the consumed Watts are converted to heat... Halogen bulbs (even though they run at a higher temp) actually produce a little less overall heat per Watt then traditional light bulbs, but only marginally...

What they are both incredibly poor at is their conversion of consumed Watts into lumens of light ironic for a product designed to produce light...

Also something worth noting when you enclose these bulbs they run at a higher temperature then they are designed and it will decrees their life expectancy..

I used quite a number of halogen spot and flood lamps as basking lamps for various free ranging reptiles in my basement. These were for heat - and I used daylight fluorescents as sources of light and UV radiation. They were controlled by timers and were ON most of the day. They were outdoor bulbs protected against shattering, and even though they were not enclosed, their lifespans seemed incredibly short - 3 months max, maybe - I actually thought my dealer-source was buying and selling inferior bulbs at ridiculously high prices. It's possible, though, that I was making an unfair comparison to the fluorescents. In any event, I switched to those high watt halogen work lights; didn't know it then, but I think they are dimmable and can be run with an in line rheostat/dimmer. Maybe. Even in the less than pristine environment of my dirt basement, these tiny tube type halogens lasted much longer than the Edison parabolics I had been using. All this is anecdotal, of course, because I didn't keep records, and my memory is perhaps a bit selective at times. Seems to me that the old bulbs are getting pricier and harder to find nowadays.

When you say halogen bulbs run at a higher temp, is that because of the tungsten in the filament? Why don't they then produce as much heat overall? Just curious, because when I want heat I buy halogen, and maybe that is not good reasoning.

OK, I understand that enclosing a hot bulb may reduce its lifespan. Is that why some bulbs, even LEDs, come with the juncture against using them in enclosed fixtures? I would like to try using a small G9 halogen in some light fixtures, some more enclosed than others, because they are so small. Advices, words to the wise? Thanks for your insights and input.

 

[MeepBeep]

They were outdoor bulbs protected against shattering, and even though they were not enclosed, their lifespans seemed incredibly short - 3 months max, maybe - I actually thought my dealer-source was buying and selling inferior bulbs at ridiculously high prices. It's possible, though, that I was making an unfair comparison to the fluorescents. In any event, I switched to those high watt halogen work lights; didn't know it then, but I think they are dimmable and can be run with an in line rheostat/dimmer. Maybe. Even in the less than pristine environment of my dirt basement, these tiny tube type halogens lasted much longer than the Edison parabolics I had been using. All this is anecdotal, of course, because I didn't keep records, and my memory is perhaps a bit selective at times.

If you crack open a halogen parabolic bulb, you will find a small halogen tube just like you you find in the work light but smaller, in essence the parabolic bulb around it is actually an enclosure trapping heat and potentially shortening the bulbs life... I would also advise against dimming them as it will cause them to run too cool, see the link at the bottom of the page for an explanation of why this is bad for halogen bulbs...

Seems to me that the old bulbs are getting pricier and harder to find nowadays.

My local dollar store has no shortage of regular bulbs and I have seen them return to many other local stores as bottom shelf items once people actually read the US law and saw that the prohibition only applies to consumer lights used for general illumination... Specialty bulbs, commercial use bulbs, rough use bulbs, decorative bulbs, plant lights and a slew of other exemptions are listed in the law, the bulb manufactures just had to re-label them for a different uses to get around the prohibition and many manufactures have done just that recently... Of course many retailers like the higher profit margins of florescent and LEDs and are reluctant to bring back the traditional bulbs and will tell you they are outlawed even though that is technically a fib or they didn't read the law clearly...

There is also no shortage of online websites selling them now since many local stores stopped carrying them... There are even whole new startup companies like this http://www.newcandescent.com/ dedicated to selling old style bulbs...

When you say halogen bulbs run at a higher temp, is that because of the tungsten in the filament?

The halogen bulb is the small glass tube not the faux glass dome around making it look like traditional bulb, the tubes are small by design as the halogen bulbs have to reach a higher temp and run hotter to perform the halogen cycle properly, and the glass has to also be a higher temp rated glass to handle the heat... The smaller physical size with the same heat generation creates a higher running temp...

Scroll down to the halogen bulb section of this site for a far more detailed explanation...

http://donklipstein.com/bulb1.html

 

[coop410silkies]

If you crack open a halogen parabolic bulb, you will find a small halogen tube just like you you find in the work light but smaller, in essence the parabolic bulb around it is actually an enclosure trapping heat and potentially shortening the bulbs life... I would also advise against dimming them as it will cause them to run too cool, see the link at the bottom of the page for an explanation of why this is bad for halogen bulbs...
My local dollar store has no shortage of regular bulbs and I have seen them return to many other local stores as bottom shelf items once people actually read the US law and saw that the prohibition only applies to consumer lights used for general illumination... Specialty bulbs, commercial use bulbs, rough use bulbs, decorative bulbs, plant lights and a slew of other exemptions are listed in the law, the bulb manufactures just had to re-label them for a different uses to get around the prohibition and many manufactures have done just that recently... Of course many retailers like the higher profit margins of florescent and LEDs and are reluctant to bring back the traditional bulbs and will tell you they are outlawed even though that is technically a fib or they didn't read the law clearly...

There is also no shortage of online websites selling them now since many local stores stopped carrying them... There are even whole new startup companies like this http://www.newcandescent.com/ dedicated to selling old style bulbs...
The halogen bulb is the small glass tube not the faux glass dome around making it look like traditional bulb, the tubes are small by design as the halogen bulbs have to reach a higher temp and run hotter to perform the halogen cycle properly, and the glass has to also be a higher temp rated glass to handle the heat... The smaller physical size with the same heat generation creates a higher running temp...

Scroll down to the halogen bulb section of this site for a far more detailed explanation...

http://donklipstein.com/bulb1.html

Thank you for all the information. Most of it I had not known or imagined. One last question - or two. Because they're small and can generate a fair amount of heat, I tried using the little G9 halogen bulbs to heat a small incubator. Most of the bulb sellers (on eBay) said they were dimmable, but I understand now that that may not be a good idea. If I DID use a dimmer, though, do they just not work, or is their lifespan reduced. Or is the bulb permanently damaged? I guess it's easy enough to find out. I was thinking that I could fine tune the heat so that the lights wouldn't switch on and off so frequently, as I believed that frequent switching shortened the lifespan of the bulb. Is this true? In the end, I was disappointed with how the little G9 bulbs worked out and thought I'd look into the wire heaters used by the LG type bators.

Thank you again. I appreciate the links!

 

[MeepBeep]

If I DID use a dimmer, though, do they just not work, or is their lifespan reduced. Or is the bulb permanently damaged?

A bit of both, the link I posted above has a section on dimming and what it does to the bulb...

I was thinking that I could fine tune the heat so that the lights wouldn't switch on and off so frequently, as I believed that frequent switching shortened the lifespan of the bulb. Is this true?

Yes, again the link I posted goes into damage caused to the bulb by heating and cooling cycles...

In the end, I was disappointed with how the little G9 bulbs worked out and thought I'd look into the wire heaters used by the LG type bators.

Look into PTC heaters, little to no fire risk, long life and very reasonably priced on Ebay... Most current commercial space heaters now use PTC elements...