On 13 Aug 2003 17:43:16 GMT, Ignoramus12377
wrote:

In article , Bob Brock wrote:
On 13 Aug 2003 15:03:40 GMT, Ignoramus12377
wrote:


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

My "chickenhouse" is only 30 cubic feet or so. I feel tat 150 or at
most 300 watts is all that I need, given that it is already insulated
somewhat and will be even more insulated before winter.

Down here, we don't heat chicken coops. However, it sounds like a
lighbulb in a paint can that was suspended from the ceiling would work
pretty good. That's all we use to heat uninsulated well houses down
here (without the paint can of course).



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.

I see. Well, maybe I will just use a plastic bucket, as I think that
it can radiate enough heat anyway.

If that's the way that you want to go. Call a building contractor
though if you have your heart set on a metal can. A lot of building
materials come in 5 gal metal cans and it's trash to them. If it were
me and I was going that route, I think I'd prefer the plastic ones
though.


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.

I am open to practical suggestions.

A pile of sawdust under the coop, adding buckets of water or cement
blocks, a small electric space heater with a modified thermostat, a
light bulb in a paint can,

So far, my coop has been designed very well and is very easy to take
care of it. The fact that it is not at the ground level actually is
very helpful as it is easier to clean and retrieve eggs, and no
critters can get into it.

So I want to design the winter stuff correctly as well, so that the
coop can function with minimal intervention.

I like to design things that just keep working by themselves.

Call someone in your area with a well and find out how they keep the
well house from freezing. Whatever method that is will probably be
your best bet because they are looking for the same thing that you are
and experience has given them the best solution.