Although much more crudely done, I did a version of this. I put together some pavers for walls and a terracotta pot base as the top. It kept the chicken water from freezing solid with temperatures in the teens. Yours was nicely done.
Thanks for the info! I ordered the parts and will assemble in the next few days. Looking forward to being able to use my same waterer all year round. Keep up the good work!
a procelain floor tile would work better outdoors. But I"m quite sure you'd be able to get that free from a tile store or contractor or someone who maybe had tile put into their house. There are always scraps and often large scraps if you don't mind a cut tile.
we just did this overnight and had put rocks in the bottom to keep the heater higher and close to the tile. It worked well overnight but when we took the tile off to check it the black wire was getting really soft and too hot and it started to smoke so I quickly unplugged it. it could have burned. I'm wondering if it would be safer to have wrapped around the rocks so the black wire was not touching itself anywhere...
Hello! So fun to hear from people all over the world! Are you asking what is on the bottom? Technically, the bottom of the concrete block is just open. I just set it on dirt ground in the coop. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching!
I like your design, but the question is, have you taken a blazer thermometer and check the temperature of your water randomly throughout the day and night if you have, I’d love to know what those stats are in Fahrenheit
Hey there! I have not actually tested the temps of the water, so sorry that I can't give you that info. With the waterer sitting in our barn coop I find that it stays pretty well completely thawed down to about 10°F. Below that, there will usually be some ice that can form in the waterer that needs to be chipped out occasionally. If it's an extended cold stretch below 0 you might need to thaw the waterer occasionally. But it works most of the winter for us without me having to think about it. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!
I suppose it might depend on your climate. I ran it at the top because I wanted the most heat transfer to the tile on top. But the concrete block should hold the heat pretty well so I can’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work. Good luck and thanks for watching!
@@FromScratchFarmstead if it were me I’d fill it with sand, the extra mass will hold the heat better making it more efficient and I’d get rid of the board. it’ll allow your waterer better contact with the heat source. Also, if the temperature sensor is on the outside of this thing it’ll run anytime the air temperature is low enough to trigger it rather than the temperature of the waterer so it’ll run a lot more than necessary which will quickly make it more expensive than the heated bases they sell for chicken waterers.
Not yet, and it's been running for about 3 years now. Some heat cable may get hot enough to do this, but the one I used doesn't seem to get that hot. Thanks for watching!
Yes, definitely! We have ours inside our coop. Some of the pictures I use are outside the coop are because I build it outside and it was easier to get pictures in the light instead of in our dark barn. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for this reminder! And a good thing for everyone to keep in mind. I do give another option for a heat tape that's rated for contacting itself in the post. Mine has held up fine a few years now, but it's definitely worth spending a little more for the tape that can contact itself to avoid risk of fire. Thanks for watching!
Although much more crudely done, I did a version of this. I put together some pavers for walls and a terracotta pot base as the top. It kept the chicken water from freezing solid with temperatures in the teens. Yours was nicely done.
Thanks! Yes, the same concept can definitely be done using different materials for the base and just the same.
Thanks for the info! I ordered the parts and will assemble in the next few days. Looking forward to being able to use my same waterer all year round. Keep up the good work!
Awesome!! Hope it works out great for you!
a procelain floor tile would work better outdoors. But I"m quite sure you'd be able to get that free from a tile store or contractor or someone who maybe had tile put into their house. There are always scraps and often large scraps if you don't mind a cut tile.
Nice job!
Thanks for watching!
Love this!
Thanks for watching!!
we just did this overnight and had put rocks in the bottom to keep the heater higher and close to the tile. It worked well overnight but when we took the tile off to check it the black wire was getting really soft and too hot and it started to smoke so I quickly unplugged it. it could have burned. I'm wondering if it would be safer to have wrapped around the rocks so the black wire was not touching itself anywhere...
How cold does this waterer keep everything thawed out im from alberta canada where it gets down to -40 C some nights
Thank you friend.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you. 👍
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Can i asi what od on the bottom? 😊 Thanks so múch from Slovakia Kamila
Hello! So fun to hear from people all over the world! Are you asking what is on the bottom? Technically, the bottom of the concrete block is just open. I just set it on dirt ground in the coop. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching!
i did your heater it was simple ill let you know if it works
Awesome! Yes, let me know how it goes.
ok i will
its working really good
@@mattmiller-iv9qz Awesome! Glad to hear.
I like your design, but the question is, have you taken a blazer thermometer and check the temperature of your water randomly throughout the day and night if you have, I’d love to know what those stats are in Fahrenheit
Hey there! I have not actually tested the temps of the water, so sorry that I can't give you that info. With the waterer sitting in our barn coop I find that it stays pretty well completely thawed down to about 10°F. Below that, there will usually be some ice that can form in the waterer that needs to be chipped out occasionally. If it's an extended cold stretch below 0 you might need to thaw the waterer occasionally. But it works most of the winter for us without me having to think about it. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!
Could you just run the wiring under the block in the dirt instead of grinding the block?
I suppose it might depend on your climate. I ran it at the top because I wanted the most heat transfer to the tile on top. But the concrete block should hold the heat pretty well so I can’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work. Good luck and thanks for watching!
@@FromScratchFarmstead if it were me I’d fill it with sand, the extra mass will hold the heat better making it more efficient and I’d get rid of the board. it’ll allow your waterer better contact with the heat source. Also, if the temperature sensor is on the outside of this thing it’ll run anytime the air temperature is low enough to trigger it rather than the temperature of the waterer so it’ll run a lot more than necessary which will quickly make it more expensive than the heated bases they sell for chicken waterers.
Makes sense! I was considering the same thing as I watched.
Do you have any trouble with the heating tape/cable burning in two?
Not yet, and it's been running for about 3 years now. Some heat cable may get hot enough to do this, but the one I used doesn't seem to get that hot. Thanks for watching!
Can i put this in the coop?
Yes, definitely! We have ours inside our coop. Some of the pictures I use are outside the coop are because I build it outside and it was easier to get pictures in the light instead of in our dark barn. Thanks for watching!
Do not allow the heat element to contact itself. The result will be shorter element life until failure and failure could end in fire.
Thanks for this reminder! And a good thing for everyone to keep in mind. I do give another option for a heat tape that's rated for contacting itself in the post. Mine has held up fine a few years now, but it's definitely worth spending a little more for the tape that can contact itself to avoid risk of fire. Thanks for watching!
For sure heat tape that makes contact with itself will melt and fail