Chickens make a mess of water in open bowls. Since most heated animal water dispensers are bowls, this makes winter water for chickens more of a challenge. When I asked my engineer what he thought of my problem, he came up with a physics class/concrete workshop for me. He was the professor; I was the student. He’s a good and patient teacher, so I had fun. You can read about it on my D&B Supply guest blog this week. No more dumping muddy water all over the pen, to freeze into an ice rink or risk having chicken feet adhere to it. Everyone should have a chicken water heating stone like mine!
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Arcol/HS50-470R-1/?qs=%2fha2pyFadugjtxZv4ZBkIKp3hJrHxpuCE2M%252bWpvWt9ONxRnGYjzajA%3d%3d This is the link to the exact resistor we used. We are finding that with temperatures under 20 degrees Fahrenheit we need to wrap something, like blankets, around the upper metal of the water silo. But, more power above 20 degrees would make it too hot, so without some kind of thermostat, it would be hard to make something work consistently for all temperatures. Insulating should take care of this, though.