v10
Solar Advocate
Posts: 81
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Post by v10 on Nov 16, 2018 22:38:38 GMT
Does any one here know of a decent quality heat lamp that I could set up to keep my chickens warm this winter?
I have always run an extension cord out to the coop to power 2 AC bulbs. One for their sleeping perch and 1 for their waterer
One of Renogys small kits would be great if quality DC heat is available.
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Post by swampmonster on Nov 17, 2018 0:41:26 GMT
Does any one here know of a decent quality heat lamp that I could set up to keep my chickens warm this winter?
I have always run an extension cord out to the coop to power 2 AC bulbs. One for their sleeping perch and 1 for their waterer
One of Renogys small kits would be great if quality DC heat is available.
The chicken critters do not require supplemental heat but the waterer might....in the case of the waterer, you can use a simple heated pet rock that operates off 12V DC...I used several back in the '80's when I raised snakes because they are cold blooded...Just plant the pet rock in the dirt and place the water container in contact over it...If the waterer is auto supplied by piped water, then install the supply piping deep nuff underground to be below the frost line in your area as it transits to the coop, or wrap it underground in quality heat tape powered off your house A/C...then turn it upwards and insulate the piping all the way up to and including the auto watering valve assembly. Chickens don't require supplemental heat when out of the wind, but year round they require ventilation, so forget attempting to stuff them into an insulated coop, just provide one that is well ventilated and offers seasonally removable wind breaks on top, and three sides....Orient the coop in relation to prevailing winter winds where the open side is usually downwind, or design the coop where you can easily shift wind breaks to any side always leaving one side at least partially open and always design the roof to vent no matter the temps. If all you end up heating is the water bowl with a buried "pet rock", and the bowl is buried at ground level for natural earth insulation, then a very minimal solar sys with batt will work fine. Either way, using heat lamps either A/C or D/C is a very inefficient, and also a non necessary way to offer un needed heat to chickens....Chickens have by nature's design some really cool, er hot feathers where without thinking, the chicken's skin tightens up and those feathers fluff out, and the bird squats down over it's feet conserving heat top to bottom...But those winter critters need quality feed and lots of it when it is cold to fire their internal heat generators. I like chickens myself...was raised with them...keep em off the porch, because they chit lots and it is slippery when wet. |
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v10
Solar Advocate
Posts: 81
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Post by v10 on Nov 17, 2018 1:27:54 GMT
Cold temperatures and high humidity are hard on the extremities.
I use a reptile bulb next to the sleeping perch.
Helps keep them producing also.
In mid winter, water freezes in an hour or less.
What I have, I need. Just want to accomplish the same thing with solar/battery instead of AC.
The coop is great, clean too, I just want to be able to maintain these to things by solar.
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Post by tattoo on Nov 17, 2018 1:34:00 GMT
Cold temperatures and high humidity are hard on the extremities. I use a reptile bulb next to the sleeping perch. Helps keep them producing also. In mid winter, water freezes in an hour or less. What I have, I need. Just want to accomplish the same thing with solar/battery instead of AC. The coop is great, clean too, I just want to be able to maintain these to things by solar. If your solar system is large enough you should be able to run a couple of bulbs with no problems...... I really doubt that a small system from Renogy would be adequate enough.... |
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Post by swampmonster on Nov 17, 2018 1:46:24 GMT
Cold temperatures and high humidity are hard on the extremities. I use a reptile bulb next to the sleeping perch. Helps keep them producing also. In mid winter, water freezes in an hour or less. What I have, I need. Just want to accomplish the same thing with solar/battery instead of AC. The coop is great, clean too, I just want to be able to maintain these to things by solar. Ok, you want what you want...That's nuff. To get what you want, heat from lighting will require lotsa power....And requires lotsa solar...And lotsa batteries...Heat from lighting is perhaps the most inefficient method to heat free air spaces...But it is what it is, and it is what you desire, so help yourself to it. As it is something I myself would not endeavor to do, then I got no more business in this thread. A sincere Good Luck to you, v10. Perhaps you will discover a heat lamp method that is efficient for heating chicken coops, and I hope you do...You never know, this old fart might show up at dawn some morning expecting 6 fresh eggs over toast....With cold beer....and a taco. |
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v10
Solar Advocate
Posts: 81
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Post by v10 on Nov 17, 2018 1:54:24 GMT
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Post by tattoo on Nov 17, 2018 3:05:55 GMT
Yes sir that should work just fine..... Like I said before size your system so you will be able to run what you need.... |
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v10
Solar Advocate
Posts: 81
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Post by v10 on Nov 17, 2018 10:44:06 GMT
Yes sir, I will Tattoo. Now I'm thinking about maybe a bigger system in the shed next to it and burying a cable to the coop. Currently the shed is powered by 1 20A circuit breaker in my main panel. Which is powered by one of those lovely smart meters. But thats another story.
At one point I built a solar water heater box from cpvc pipe and painted the whole thing black, but in a cold spell it just freezes too.
If you have critters check out Premier 1 fencing. It's another one of those things that just plain works
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terracore
Solar Advocate
Chillin at EZwineKIT.com
Posts: 50
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Post by terracore on Apr 20, 2019 2:38:46 GMT
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