Yikes!!
maryann kolb
looking bewildered. I guess I had better get out there with hot water
and a hammer.
Mary Ann
Barnwell, SC
Larry Sheldon
> The water in my bird bath is frozen!! Five Cardinals standing there
> looking bewildered. I guess I had better get out there with hot water
> and a hammer.
I'd forget the hammer.
And not too hot.
--
Remember: The Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals.
Requiescas in pace o email
Ex turpi causa non oritur actio
Eppure si rinfresca
ICBM Targeting Information: http://tinyurl.com/4sqczs
http://tinyurl.com/7tp8ml
Cheryl Isaak
"maryann kolb" <mk...@sc.tds.net> wrote:
Here, the bird bath would be frozen more often than not....
C
Larry Sheldon
> On 1/3/10 9:55 AM, in article drb1k5pfsq8j2ciqq...@4ax.com,
> "maryann kolb"<mk...@sc.tds.net> wrote:
>
>> The water in my bird bath is frozen!! Five Cardinals standing there
>> looking bewildered. I guess I had better get out there with hot water
>> and a hammer.
> Here, the bird bath would be frozen more often than not....
The one on the deck has an electric heater in it. The one in the front
yard, not so much. And the little4 pond under the deck is not either
(it is under a drift several feet thick.)
GV
and poured a half gallon of hot water on the pipe. It's still cold out
there but up to +11F!
Gary
Central Illinois USA
Visit Lucy & Gary and do the jigsaw puzzle at
www.under-1-roof.com/PuzzlePage.html
"maryann kolb" <mk...@sc.tds.net> wrote in message
news:drb1k5pfsq8j2ciqq...@4ax.com...
Rick
circuit I think--had to bring the whole thing in the house to thaw
out.--UGLY!
--
Rick
Fargo, ND
N 46�53'251"
W 096�48'279"
Remember the USS Liberty
http://www.ussliberty.org/
Lee
(in article <drb1k5pfsq8j2ciqq...@4ax.com>):
My heated birdbath (WBU Heated Bird Bath with EZ-TILT-TO-CLEAN� Deck Mount
(1518)) has been freezing for about the last 10 days. Longest time ever since
I bought the thing about 10 years ago. I am thinking it is going bad
especially since it supposed to keep water thawed to below -20� F.
Anyway, I have been going out once daily and changing the ice for a few hours
of water.
Today I decided to put an old birdbath heater in that heated birdbath. I am
wondering if the heater will melt the plastic birdbath?
Lee
rarebirdyatverizondotnet
Park Ridge, NJ
Larry Sheldon
> Today I decided to put an old birdbath heater in that heated birdbath. I am
> wondering if the heater will melt the plastic birdbath?
I don't know, but unless you were making dumplings with it, I wouldn't
think it would get that hot.
If you put it on a rock or something so the hot part can't touch the
plastic I don't see how it could melt the plastic--the water would boil
long before, I would think.
Lee
(in article <7qc4ka...@mid.individual.net>):
> On 1/3/2010 11:52 AM, Lee wrote:
>
>> Today I decided to put an old birdbath heater in that heated birdbath. I am
>> wondering if the heater will melt the plastic birdbath?
>
> I don't know, but unless you were making dumplings with it, I wouldn't
> think it would get that hot.
Larry,
Thanks, I think you are right. Couldn't get that hot. I just went out and
looked at the setup I made and the water is freezing so I guess that heater
isn't working properly either or the circuit breaker is blown. That brings up
another question. Could the water freezing cause the heater in that bird bath
to blow the circuit?
>
> If you put it on a rock or something so the hot part can't touch the
> plastic I don't see how it could melt the plastic--the water would boil
> long before, I would think.
Since I now believe that the heater in that bird bath is shot, and the birds
have never really liked that bird bath anyway, I am not going to worry about
it anymore. Tomorrow I will determine if the circuit breakers are blown and
go from there.
Larry Sheldon
> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 13:06:01 -0500, Larry Sheldon wrote
> (in article<7qc4ka...@mid.individual.net>):
>
>> On 1/3/2010 11:52 AM, Lee wrote:
>>
>>> Today I decided to put an old birdbath heater in that heated birdbath. I am
>>> wondering if the heater will melt the plastic birdbath?
>>
>> I don't know, but unless you were making dumplings with it, I wouldn't
>> think it would get that hot.
> Thanks, I think you are right. Couldn't get that hot. I just went out and
> looked at the setup I made and the water is freezing so I guess that heater
> isn't working properly either or the circuit breaker is blown. That brings up
> another question. Could the water freezing cause the heater in that bird bath
> to blow the circuit?
Ours is on a GFCI (if your house is newer than 20 years or so, yours
probably is too) and rainwater in a connection or something causes the
GFCI to trip about once every year or two (seldom enough that it takes
me a while to work out the nature of the problem).
>> If you put it on a rock or something so the hot part can't touch the
>> plastic I don't see how it could melt the plastic--the water would boil
>> long before, I would think.
>
> Since I now believe that the heater in that bird bath is shot, and the birds
> have never really liked that bird bath anyway, I am not going to worry about
> it anymore. Tomorrow I will determine if the circuit breakers are blown and
> go from there.
We have one that looks like this one
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/backyardbirdcompany_2085_27668073
It is kinda pricey -- about $3.00 a year for the 20 years we have had.
Rick
> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 09:55:40 -0500, maryann kolb wrote
> (in article <drb1k5pfsq8j2ciqq...@4ax.com>):
>
>> The water in my bird bath is frozen!! Five Cardinals standing there
>> looking bewildered. I guess I had better get out there with hot water
>> and a hammer.
>>
>> Mary Ann
>> Barnwell, SC
>
> I bought the thing about 10 years ago. I am thinking it is going bad
> Anyway, I have been going out once daily and changing the ice for a few hours
> of water.
>
> Today I decided to put an old birdbath heater in that heated birdbath. I am
> wondering if the heater will melt the plastic birdbath?
>
> Lee
>
> rarebirdyatverizondotnet
>
> Park Ridge, NJ
>
>
water to about 40 degrees F.
--
Rick
Fargo, ND
N 46�53'251"
W 096�48'279"
Lee
(in article <7qcdvo...@mid.individual.net>):
> On 1/3/2010 1:22 PM, Lee wrote:
>> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 13:06:01 -0500, Larry Sheldon wrote
>> (in article<7qc4ka...@mid.individual.net>):
>>
>>> On 1/3/2010 11:52 AM, Lee wrote:
>>>
>>>> Today I decided to put an old birdbath heater in that heated birdbath. I
>>>> am
>>>> wondering if the heater will melt the plastic birdbath?
>>>
>>> I don't know, but unless you were making dumplings with it, I wouldn't
>>> think it would get that hot.
>
>> Thanks, I think you are right. Couldn't get that hot. I just went out and
>> looked at the setup I made and the water is freezing so I guess that heater
>> isn't working properly either or the circuit breaker is blown. That brings
>> up
>> another question. Could the water freezing cause the heater in that bird
>> bath
>> to blow the circuit?
>
> Ours is on a GFCI (if your house is newer than 20 years or so, yours
> probably is too) and rainwater in a connection or something causes the
> GFCI to trip about once every year or two (seldom enough that it takes
> me a while to work out the nature of the problem).
Don't know what GFCI is. The house is over 100 but the electric lines (3) to
the deck and another to the yard were installed 2 years ago. Each outlet or
maybe it is just the box has a breaker.
>
>>> If you put it on a rock or something so the hot part can't touch the
>>> plastic I don't see how it could melt the plastic--the water would boil
>>> long before, I would think.
>>
>> Since I now believe that the heater in that bird bath is shot, and the birds
>> have never really liked that bird bath anyway, I am not going to worry about
>> it anymore. Tomorrow I will determine if the circuit breakers are blown and
>> go from there.
>
> We have one that looks like this one
> http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/backyardbirdcompany_2085_27668073
This looks just like my birdbath except for color. I keep the electric
connection under the bird bath in that groove so the problem, if any, has to
be at the outlet. The fact that the heater I plugged in awhile ago also isn't
working sorta confirms that the outlet tripped.
>
> It is kinda pricey -- about $3.00 a year for the 20 years we have had.
I just looked this up before. Wild Birds Unlimited wants $91.00 for a new
one. Since birds around here really do not like the one I have I will work on
another solution if it is the bird bath that is shot. Since I am too old to
crawl around out there to determine if the circuits have tripped I will have
my son do it tomorrow and let you know.
Lee
(in article <iK2dnXFqM-q0n9zW...@giganews.com>):
> Lee wrote:
>> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 09:55:40 -0500, maryann kolb wrote
>> (in article <drb1k5pfsq8j2ciqq...@4ax.com>):
>>
>>> The water in my bird bath is frozen!! Five Cardinals standing there
>>> looking bewildered. I guess I had better get out there with hot water
>>> and a hammer.
>>>
>>> Mary Ann
>>> Barnwell, SC
>>
>> My heated birdbath (WBU Heated Bird Bath with EZ-TILT-TO-CLEAN� Deck Mount
>> (1518)) has been freezing for about the last 10 days. Longest time ever
>> since
>> I bought the thing about 10 years ago. I am thinking it is going bad
>> especially since it supposed to keep water thawed to below -20� F.
>> Anyway, I have been going out once daily and changing the ice for a few
>> hours
>> of water.
>>
>> Today I decided to put an old birdbath heater in that heated birdbath. I am
>> wondering if the heater will melt the plastic birdbath?
>>
>> Lee
>>
>> rarebirdyatverizondotnet
>>
>> Park Ridge, NJ
>>
>>
> I have mine in a plastic Birdbath with no problems--it only heats the
> water to about 40 degrees F.
>
>
Thanks. That is good news.
Larry Sheldon
> Don't know what GFCI is. The house is over 100 but the electric lines (3) to
> the deck and another to the yard were installed 2 years ago. Each outlet or
> maybe it is just the box has a breaker.
A Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (used to be called a GFI) looks like
the one pictured here http://home.howstuffworks.com/question117.htm
where the buttons in the middle may be black and red in color--the
former probably labeled "TEST, the latter "RESET".
It may be in the place where you plug the heater in or any outlet
upstream. It is possible that the GFCI is in the breaker box--that is
where I put them in remodeling the house we had in California (wouldn't
do that again because you had to go outside to the breaker box, damned
nuisance in a pouring rain when somebody tripped one of them).
> This looks just like my birdbath except for color. I keep the electric
> connection under the bird bath in that groove so the problem, if any, has to
> be at the outlet. The fact that the heater I plugged in awhile ago also isn't
> working sorta confirms that the outlet tripped.
Since I am too old to
> crawl around out there to determine if the circuits have tripped I will have
> my son do it tomorrow and let you know.
I'll bet a nickel there is a bathroom or a kitchen outlet that doesn't
work either--it or another one will be the GFCI.
The original wiring in this house had every bathroom and three outdoor
plugs going to one GFCI in the guest bathroom. (The kitchen has two or
three--one in the appliance garage where I never think of it.) When I
finished the basement, I put a new one in the new laundry room--that one
feeds the outlet I put in for things like the water dish.
Larry Sheldon
> I'll bet a nickel there is a bathroom or a kitchen outlet that doesn't
> work either--it or another one will be the GFCI.
I should have added "laundry room" and "garage" to the list--I forgot
that we have one in the garage. Any place where there is a water faucet
or access to the out-of-doors is supposed to have GFCI-protected
outlets. But as I said, the GFCI can be wired to protect outlets
down-stream of it. (One protects at least 3 other outlets in the garage.)
Lee
(in article <7qcl3h...@mid.individual.net>):
I had 4 double outlets installed outside two years ago. They all appear to be
GFCI's. I was unable to get ahold of my son so called an electrician.
Hopefully he will get here tomorrow.
Lee
(in article <7qcl3h...@mid.individual.net>):
Electrician got here today. Two GFCI outlets had been tripped. He reset them
and the heater I put into the birdbath is now working. Tomorrow I will plug
the heated birdbath back in and see if it too works. He also showed me how to
reset those outlets so that I can do it without seeing what I am doing.
Even though it was still very cold out there today there were a lot more
birds at the feeders. They kept trying for water and eventually one of the
Squirrels came over to my window and just looked in at me for a bit.
Larry Sheldon
> Electrician got here today. Two GFCI outlets had been tripped. He reset them
> and the heater I put into the birdbath is now working. Tomorrow I will plug
> the heated birdbath back in and see if it too works. He also showed me how to
> reset those outlets so that I can do it without seeing what I am doing.
Good! Those things are really very sensitive (that is their job) and
trip for no apparent reason sometimes.
Among the reasons I _have_ identified is rain, sprinkler, or errant dog
(bet HE was glad they are fast!).
Also starting an electric motor like a hand saw will trip them sometimes.
And there is always the ever popular satisfaction felt by small children
when the "TEST" button is pressed.
> Even though it was still very cold out there today there were a lot more
> birds at the feeders. They kept trying for water and eventually one of the
> Squirrels came over to my window and just looked in at me for a bit.
I get squirrels, turkeys, and chickadees laying a guilt trip on me every
now and again.
--
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to
take everything you have."
jadel
> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:47:12 -0500, Larry Sheldon wrote
>
>
>
>
>
> > On 1/3/2010 4:28 PM, Lee wrote:
>
> >> Don't know what GFCI is. The house is over 100 but the electric lines (3) to
> >> the deck and another to the yard were installed 2 years ago. Each outlet or
> >> maybe it is just the box has a breaker.
>
> > A Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (used to be called a GFI) looks like
need to be carefully covered to prevent frequent tripping. {annoying
emoticon here in anticipation of Howard's acid comments}
J. Del Col
Howard Lester
GFCI's are extremely sensitive to moisture. Outdoors, they really
need to be carefully covered to prevent frequent tripping. {annoying
emoticon here in anticipation of Howard's acid comments}
--------------
and here they come:
Spaced out on GFCI's, man... Bitchin' colors when they trip, you KNOW??
Larry Sheldon
I get the most electrifying effects when they don't.
--
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to
take everything you have."
Remember: The Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals.
Lee
(in article <7qib2p...@mid.individual.net>):
> On 1/5/2010 8:21 PM, Lee wrote:
>
>> Electrician got here today. Two GFCI outlets had been tripped. He reset them
>> and the heater I put into the birdbath is now working. Tomorrow I will plug
>> the heated birdbath back in and see if it too works. He also showed me how
>> to
>> reset those outlets so that I can do it without seeing what I am doing.
>
> Good! Those things are really very sensitive (that is their job) and
> trip for no apparent reason sometimes.
Yes, that is what the electrician said. We had some very bad rain storms
awhile back so water probably was the cause. If they keep tripping I will
have them upgrade the covers on the outlets
>
> Among the reasons I _have_ identified is rain, sprinkler, or errant dog
> (bet HE was glad they are fast!).
Cutting the wire for the Electric Hedge Clippers will do it too.
>
> Also starting an electric motor like a hand saw will trip them sometimes.
Another older GFCI outlet was used by contractors to build the deck and there
were no problems so that is interesting.
>
> And there is always the ever popular satisfaction felt by small children
> when the "TEST" button is pressed.
No small ones around here.
>
>> Even though it was still very cold out there today there were a lot more
>> birds at the feeders. They kept trying for water and eventually one of the
>> Squirrels came over to my window and just looked in at me for a bit.
>
> I get squirrels, turkeys, and chickadees laying a guilt trip on me every
> now and again.
they are all happy out there now that they have water and it is warming up
into the mid 30's right now.
LOL, I cannot win. I stopped at the hardware store on my way home and
purchased a nice 8' orange outdoor electric extension cord. Then I left it in
the car (I hope) and do not have the energy to walk back out there. I make
myself so mad at me sometimes.
Larry Sheldon
> Yes, that is what the electrician said. We had some very bad rain storms
> awhile back so water probably was the cause. If they keep tripping I will
> have them upgrade the covers on the outlets
One of our out-door boxes (fed from another GFCI I had forgotten about)
has a plastic bubble cover that provides some protection even when there
is something plugged in. Most of the outdoor outlets here have per-plug
covers that only work if nothing is plugged and the cover is closed.
>> Among the reasons I _have_ identified is rain, sprinkler, or errant dog
>> (bet HE was glad they are fast!).
>
> Cutting the wire for the Electric Hedge Clippers will do it too.
I have conducted research using a number of tools with similar results.
>> Also starting an electric motor like a hand saw will trip them sometimes.
>
> Another older GFCI outlet was used by contractors to build the deck and there
> were no problems so that is interesting.
The key seems to be, if somebody is home to reset it, it doesn't trip.
If nobody is home, the the next time the worker pulls the trigger, it
trips. I think it also depends on what kind of motor and how much load
it is under when it starts.
> they are all happy out there now that they have water and it is warming up
> into the mid 30's right now.
That is good.
> LOL, I cannot win. I stopped at the hardware store on my way home and
> purchased a nice 8' orange outdoor electric extension cord. Then I left it in
> the car (I hope) and do not have the energy to walk back out there. I make
> myself so mad at me sometimes.
That is not so good.
I find that as I have gotten older I spend more time thinking about the
hereafter--that is, standing in a room trying to figure out what I came
in hereafter.
The likelihood of such an event occurring is a function of how many
steps there are in the stairway involved.
dickr2
was installed outside on the patio. The patio has become
a 3 season porch and now that outlet is inside. The outlet
is wired to the GFCI outlet in the second floor bathroom!
A good thing to tell future owners of our house is if
that outlet on the porch is dead, go upstairs to the bathroom
and press the reset button.
Dick in MN
Lee
(in article <7qk2k3...@mid.individual.net>):
> On 1/6/2010 11:59 AM, Lee wrote:
>
>> Yes, that is what the electrician said. We had some very bad rain storms
>> awhile back so water probably was the cause. If they keep tripping I will
>> have them upgrade the covers on the outlets
>
> One of our out-door boxes (fed from another GFCI I had forgotten about)
> has a plastic bubble cover that provides some protection even when there
> is something plugged in. Most of the outdoor outlets here have per-plug
> covers that only work if nothing is plugged and the cover is closed.
>
The outlet by the fountain has that plastic bubble. It is well protected from
the elements and I have it on an on/off switch that is attached to one of the
rail supports on the deck in case Cheryl sends us her snow.
>>> Among the reasons I _have_ identified is rain, sprinkler, or errant dog
>>> (bet HE was glad they are fast!).
>>
>> Cutting the wire for the Electric Hedge Clippers will do it too.
>
> I have conducted research using a number of tools with similar results.
I love the way you word things. Glad I wasn't drinking my coffee.
>
>>> Also starting an electric motor like a hand saw will trip them sometimes.
>>
>> Another older GFCI outlet was used by contractors to build the deck and
>> there
>> were no problems so that is interesting.
>
> The key seems to be, if somebody is home to reset it, it doesn't trip.
>
> If nobody is home, the the next time the worker pulls the trigger, it
> trips. I think it also depends on what kind of motor and how much load
> it is under when it starts.
Actually I have never had any problem with that particular outlet. I mostly
use it to start the snowblower. The contractors were using heavy duty power
saws, compressors etc.
>
>> they are all happy out there now that they have water and it is warming up
>> into the mid 30's right now.
>
> That is good.
>
>> LOL, I cannot win. I stopped at the hardware store on my way home and
>> purchased a nice 8' orange outdoor electric extension cord. Then I left it
>> in
>> the car (I hope) and do not have the energy to walk back out there. I make
>> myself so mad at me sometimes.
>
> That is not so good.
Well, I am not going out again until Friday. Hope the wire is in the car
since it only took me two months to get around to buying it.
>
> I find that as I have gotten older I spend more time thinking about the
> hereafter--that is, standing in a room trying to figure out what I came
> in hereafter.
Must be catching since I do that very same thing all the time. I would really
be in trouble if I had stairs.
>
> The likelihood of such an event occurring is a function of how many
> steps there are in the stairway involved.
>
Lee
rarebirdyatverizondotnet
Park Ridge, NJ
Lee
(in article <6T41n.4973$XU....@newsfe03.iad>):
If I ever get enough energy to go downstairs I will check out where those
tripping outlets are wired from. Would a GFCI outlet that tripped also trip
the circuit breaker at the main electric panel? I don't believe there are
any GFCI outlets in the house.
dickr2
<snip>
>
> If I ever get enough energy to go downstairs I will check out where those
> tripping outlets are wired from. Would a GFCI outlet that tripped also trip
> the circuit breaker at the main electric panel? I don't believe there are
> any GFCI outlets in the house.
>
I would think a GFCI outlet (with a reset button) wouldn't trip a circuit
breaker on the main panel. We have a combination of GFCIs, one in the main
panel in the basement for garage and related outlets, and the others
(with reset buttons) at "point of use" in the bathrooms. If you have any
GFCI breakers in your main electric panel, they usually have a reset
button. Any other GFCI outlets in the house will also have a reset button.
If you have no reset buttons anywhere, you might not have GFCI protected
outlets. But, hey, I'm just a very amateur electrician.
FWIW
Dick
Lee
(in article <8791n.2377$Sk4...@newsfe10.iad>):
I was just thinking how this house had "fuses' when I first moved in.