Battery operated heating pad or battery operated waterer

[Junaid Butt]

Has anyone seen a battery operated heating pad for the waterers? I have searched endlessly and haven't found one. Maybe one of us is innovative enough to make one? I don't have power close to where my coop is and building running a 50 ft extension cord is not an option.

Junaid

[Todd Allen]

Producing heat is energy intensive and batteries store very little energy for their size, weight and cost.  For example a typical 50 lb car battery holds the energy equivalent of a couple drops of gasoline.

For less effort and cost to make a battery powered chicken water heater you could install a weather proof power outlet.  And the operating cost of the power would be less than the replacement cost for the batteries.  Not to mention you would still need to charge the batteries, ie, probably want a large and expensive solar panel installation.

On Mon, Oct 28, 2013 at 11:14 PM, Junaid Butt <junib...@gmail.com> wrote:

Has anyone seen a battery operated heating pad for the waterers? I have searched endlessly and haven't found one. Maybe one of us is innovative enough to make one? I don't have power close to where my coop is and building running a 50 ft extension cord is not an option.

Junaid

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[Deborah Niemann-Boehle]

One was being sold a couple of years ago, and it was a ridiculous joke. If memory serves, it took eight D batteries to keep water from freezing overnight, and then the batteries were dead. You don’t need it. The chickens are sleeping at night anyway. If you don’t have electricity, you can just have two waterers and swap them out in the morning and late afternoon, leaving the frozen one somewhere to thaw. And if you leave the waterer in the sun during the day, it is less likely to freeze, especially if you start with warm water.

Deborah Niemann

author of Homegrown & Handmade (2011), Ecothrifty (2012), and Raising Goats Naturally (2013)

http://www.ThriftyHomesteader.com

http://www.AntiquityOaks.com

815-358-2450 (central time) preferred number

815-341-1223

On Oct 28, 2013, at 11:14 PM, Junaid Butt <junib...@gmail.com> wrote:

Has anyone seen a battery operated heating pad for the waterers? I have searched endlessly and haven't found one. Maybe one of us is innovative enough to make one? I don't have power close to where my coop is and building running a 50 ft extension cord is not an option.

Junaid

[Corey Gilson]

Also while it's still getting above freezing every day, big deep containers of water can go longer without freezing than small ones.  I have a 1-foot tall bottom of a rain barrel (I change the water frequently) that will stay open (or just requires a quick morning smash of the ice) until it really gets cold, then we'll use the plug-ins.  I'd get a metal one, my plastic one broke when I dropped it, and they're not cheap.  Not that that will matter in January... I change the water bottles on my quail pens twice a day which seems to work alright.  I haven't tried putting them on electric bottles, not sure if they could use them. 

--
There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from a furnace. - Aldo Leopold, 1949 - "February - Good Oak"

[Junaid Butt]

Thanks everyone for their input.

On Tuesday, October 29, 2013 10:28:21 AM UTC-5, corey gilson wrote:

Also while it's still getting above freezing every day, big deep containers of water can go longer without freezing than small ones.  I have a 1-foot tall bottom of a rain barrel (I change the water frequently) that will stay open (or just requires a quick morning smash of the ice) until it really gets cold, then we'll use the plug-ins.  I'd get a metal one, my plastic one broke when I dropped it, and they're not cheap.  Not that that will matter in January... I change the water bottles on my quail pens twice a day which seems to work alright.  I haven't tried putting them on electric bottles, not sure if they could use them. 

On Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 9:49 AM, Deborah Niemann-Boehle <debora...@gmail.com> wrote:

One was being sold a couple of years ago, and it was a ridiculous joke. If memory serves, it took eight D batteries to keep water from freezing overnight, and then the batteries were dead. You don’t need it. The chickens are sleeping at night anyway. If you don’t have electricity, you can just have two waterers and swap them out in the morning and late afternoon, leaving the frozen one somewhere to thaw. And if you leave the waterer in the sun during the day, it is less likely to freeze, especially if you start with warm water.

Deborah Niemann

author of Homegrown & Handmade (2011), Ecothrifty (2012), and Raising Goats Naturally (2013)

http://www.ThriftyHomesteader.com

http://www.AntiquityOaks.com

815-358-2450 (central time) preferred number

815-341-1223

On Oct 28, 2013, at 11:14 PM, Junaid Butt <junib...@gmail.com> wrote:

Has anyone seen a battery operated heating pad for the waterers? I have searched endlessly and haven't found one. Maybe one of us is innovative enough to make one? I don't have power close to where my coop is and building running a 50 ft extension cord is not an option.

Junaid

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