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Heat tape chicken waterer We decided to try out a
heat tape waterer this winter (the design for which is included in the
instructions that come with our DIY chicken waterer
kits.) The
instructions call for a
First, Mark removed the
handle from the bucket waterer using the screwdriver.  Next, we fiddled around
for a while until we figured out the best way to cut the extra bucket
into an outside housing for the new heated waterer. This step
will vary depending on the style of your bucket, but if you use Lowes
buckets, you'll want to cut in a line that follows the bottom of the
blue "Lowes" logo. (Mark suspects that a three gallon bucket
might just need the very bottom removed --- that'll be our next
experiment since cutting off so much of the bucket felt
wasteful.) Either way, start your hole with the drill, then make
your cut with the jigsaw.  The coping saw made a
small slit about three inches down the side of the outer bucket. This
slit will allow us to thread the power cord out the side. (If
you're using a Lowes bucket, the slit goes down to the end of the blue
logo.)  We used duct tape to
attach the heat tape to the outside of the bucket waterer, close to the
bottom.  Then it was easy to push
the sawed off bucket over top of the bucket waterer, letting the cord
come out the slit.
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Last edited early Friday morning, December 2nd, 2011
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Here is the metal bucket that I mentioned that works well with the Lowe's bucket like you've used in this write up. There is plenty of room for heat tape and if you remove the existing pop rivets from the handle and move it higher on the metal bucket you could easily hang your heated waterer.
It is a 6 gallon metal bucket made by Behrens and made in the USA! I bought it more than a year ago at Orscheln's, I don't recall the price.
Here is a picture of the Lowe's bucket sitting inside the Behrens.
[IMG]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/smallblockfuelie/forum/photo-28-3.jpg[/IMG]
Here you can see the gap between the two buckets. I am going to bring the heat tape cord through this gap and then fill it up with silicone.
[IMG]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/smallblockfuelie/forum/photo-18-10.jpg[/IMG]
If anyone is interested, here are the part numbers for the Behrens and Lowe's buckets, respectively.
[IMG]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/smallblockfuelie/forum/photo-26-6.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a357/smallblockfuelie/forum/photo-23-9.jpg[/IMG]
Your pictures didn't seem to embed right, so I've embedded them (and the related text into this comment below:
Here you can see the gap between the two buckets. I am going to bring the heat tape cord through this gap and then fill it up with silicone.
If anyone is interested, here are the part numbers for the Behrens and Lowe's buckets, respectively.
I've got it assembled and ready to go to the chicken coop tomorrow. Here is what it looks like now.
Anonymous --- That's what we like about this design --- we had the same problem, and this seems to fix it. The outer bucket forms a lip that extends down past the bottom of the bucket, partially enclosing the nipples and tempting the heat from the heat tape to head down that way. We also concentrate the heat tape near the bottom of the bucket, which seems to help. We're still in the trial stages, but so far this method has held up very well down into the high teens. Now, if you live in Alaska, I doubt this will cut it, but if you're in zone 6 or below, this is worth a try.
Heath --- Thanks for the followup photo! Looks great!
Thanks for the excellent website and great idea! I took what you've done a step farther...others may be interested. I used two buckets from the odd ones laying around which had a little extra room between them. Put 4 chicken nipples in the bottom of the inner bucket, wrapped it with a 6' heat tape; cut off the bottom of the outer bucket to make a 'loose fit' in the inner bucket. Then the inner bucket was wrapped with foil-bubble-bubble-foil (about 1/4" thick) and duct taped to hold in place. The lid of the inner bucket was fitted with a thick (3/4"?) tube, assisted by 2 small stainless steel hose clamps on each side of the lid, then buckets were assembled and the whole thing is held by the outer bucket.
By creating a length of hose on the bucket, I can fill from outside with a funnel (an old wine cork with a 'knob' on the end seals the hose when not being filled). The hose is a bit long until it is in its final place (may want to move it), then will be trimmed. The chickens are using and enjoying the un-frozen water!
I have some nice pix, maybe I can get someone to include them...