On 13 Aug 2003 15:03:40 GMT, Ignoramus12377
wrote:

I need to buy a metal bucket (galvanized) with a cover. I will use it
in conjunction with a fishtank water heater as a water filled source
of radiant heat for a chicken coop for this coming
winter. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to find any store that sells
them, everyone now sells plastic buckets.

Trying to heat a chickenhouse with a fishtank water heater is like
trying to heat your house with a kerosene lamp.


The reason why I want to buy galvanized is threefold:

1) it conducts heat better
2) it can be painted black (I assume plastic buckets are not
paintable) to radiate better
3) It can be better grounded, being metallic.

IPlastic will be a better electrical insulator. It's what they make
electrical tape out of these days. The color of the bucket should
have little or no impact on the rate of heat transfer. You can get
plastic buckets in a variety of colors. The two leading colors are
black and white.


So, where can I buy one? It does not have to have the shape of a
bucket, it can be rectangularly shaped or whatever, but it requires a
cover.

Tried Home Depot or Lowes or the local hardware store? Hell, call a
house painter or a building contractor, he will probably give you all
that you want in whatever color that you want..



I also own a metal "jerry can" for gasoline, but I am afraid that it
will simply rust through as it is not galvanized inside. I am afraid
to fill it with any kind of oil for safety reasons.

I am not dirt poor and I can spend $10 on a bucket.

I am aware that the alternative solution is an oil filled radiator
heater for small rooms. The problem with them is that their
thermostats are graduated starting with 50-60 degrees or so, and I
want a lower setting, just to keep the coop above freezing.

Decisions are almost never binary. There are quite a few ways to heat
a chicken coop other than the ones listed. Frankly, I have serious
doubts about heating a chicken coop with a fish tank heater anyway.