Aquarium heater makes heated chicken waterer

Chicken waterer made out of a kerosene canIt’s pretty simple really,
just insert a 25+ watt submersible aquarium heater inside an
appropriate closed container such as a CLEAN / NEW kerosene can and
plug it into a thermostatically controlled plug (can buy off the
internet). Works well into the 20s, doesn’t get too much colder that
that here.




My guess is it would
work at any temp if you gauge the heater wattage appropriately. 
Do note: the last heater I bought said “don’t use in freezing
weather.”  I’m not sure I understand that as a caution but I could
imagine it might have something to do with the amount of “time on
heating.” My thought is the plug in thermostat takes care of that
concern because it cuts the heater off at 42/44.  Please remember
though, I’m talking about SC where daytime temps almost always get
above freezing.  If I were in a colder climate I would call the
heater mfg and get technical advice–I still bet it works!!




— Mike Boynton



For
readers who want to follow along at home, Mike started with one of our homemade chicken
waterer kits
and followed our simple instructions to make his
waterer.

We recommend our 3 pack
DIY kit
for making a
heated waterer for up to 50 chickens.  The CD that comes with each
kit includes complete instructions to help you build our favorite
heated options without any trial and error.




The heated waterer
we use in our own coop requires two buckets,
a
three foot length of pipe heating cable
($23), and the contents of
our kit.  With a layer of
chicken-friendly
insulation
, the
waterer is good down into the teens.

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