Power -- power strips, timers, extension cords...

[StPaulieGirls]

Hey all,

We built a coop inside the back of our garage. It's insulated and has a window, but there are still going to be -20 nights when we need a heat lamp and we really want a light inside the coop for us and for the birds. We're also going to need to plug in our heater base for the water fount.

Things have got out of hand in the $ department, so we don't want to rewire anything, but we have to plug stuff in and the nearest outlet is 18 feet away at the front of the garage.

1. Do you think it would be okay to use a power strip to plug in three things: a water heater base, a single CFL bulb fixture and a brooder lamp? The power strip would be connected to the grounded outlet by a high-quality outdoor extension cord.

2. Has anyone ever tried putting those little timer-ma-bobs in a power strip. We don't want the light on all the time and would prefer if the heat lamp only came on in the dead of night.

There's no chance of water getting in from the outside, but there's always the chickens and their tidy drinking habits.

I wonder if this is risky. Being vegetarian, I don't know what I'd do with a coop-full of fried chicken.

Thanks, y'all.

- Kerri

 

[Ladyhawke1]

Quote:
Here is a safe power strip timer product that I use. You can program the lights for 4 sockets for on and off for 24/7. It can turn on lights for nighttime use for 4 sockets as it turns off the daylights. I swear by it.

You can find it at PetSmart. Do not throw the box away. That is where all of your instructions are.

Here are two websites so you can see what I am talking about.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753204

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...fe-power-center-day-night-or-wave-maker-.html

I have never order for Petmountain.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

Quote:
Here is a safe power strip timer product that I use. You can program the lights for 4 sockets for on and off for 24/7. It can turn on lights for nighttime use for 4 sockets as it turns off the daylights. I swear by it.

You can find it at PetSmart. Do not throw the box away. That is where all of your instructions are.

Here are two websites so you can see what I am talking about.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753204

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...fe-power-center-day-night-or-wave-maker-.html

I have never order for Petmountain.

Sorry for the confusion. The second website is a different model. I use the first one by Coralife at PetSmart. I have never had a problem with it. In addition, it works 24/7. I have had it over a year now.

 

[chickenpiedpiper]

I use a reagular old power strip, (with a circuit breaker) and we have two heat lights, (one red, one clear or sunny) as well as a wall panel heater, and a baby monitor all plugged into it. The trick is that not everything can kick on at once. both lights are on timers, the red turns off, and the 'sun' turns on. the heater panel is controlled by a neat little device that measures the temp, and turns the panel on at 35* and off at 45*! Got it at shop the coop.com I did have to go to a computer store to get the power strip, cause the timers took up so much space that our regular old strip would only fit 3 items, but it was only about 12.00, and is wonderful. the outlets are spaced about 4-5 inches apart.

The baby monitor is an added bonus, was cheap at walmart, and we can hear all the evening chatter, and any late night disturbances. the piece of mind is priceless!

All of this is plugged into a heavy duty extension cord that we put underground to the house (not deep) and plugged into a closed outdoor outlet, on a circuit breaker that doesnt have much else on it. This has worked well for us for about 2 years now!

Good Luck

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

I like the Thermocube you mentioned

found it at home depot...i have one of those ceramic heat emitters in a clamp lamp (screwed on for safety) from petsmart on that and regular screw on light fixture plugged into a timer in a power strip. I've heard that dust from the chickens can get into open plug holes and cause a fire, so i cover all of the extras with plastic tape. Seems to do the trick!