Solar heated bird bath?

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dgk - 20 Dec 2004 18:07 GMT

Oddly enough I can find solar powered bird baths (for a fountain, not
heat) and electically heated bird baths, but not solar heated bird
baths. I would really like the bird bath to remain ice-free this year,
but until we do better with this global warming business I guess I'll
need to supply some power.

Anyone have a lead?

The birds do amuse Espy and Nipsy so much (just to keep it on topic).

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John Doe - 20 Dec 2004 21:16 GMT

>Oddly enough I can find solar powered bird baths (for a fountain,
>not heat) and electically heated bird baths, but not solar heated
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>The birds do amuse Espy and Nipsy so much (just to keep it on
>topic).

Have you ever tried dripping water into it. I have been wondering if
there is a way to combine prevention of frozen pipes with dripping
water into a birdbath. I suppose if the water hose is long, the flow
needs to be greater. I have been doing a birdbath, dripping water
into it helps keep it clean. FWIW, so does drying it and spraying
some rubbing alcohol into it once a week or so.

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Prostate Cancer Man - 21 Dec 2004 01:18 GMT

> Oddly enough I can find solar powered bird baths (for a fountain, not
> heat) and electically heated bird baths, but not solar heated bird
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> The birds do amuse Espy and Nipsy so much (just to keep it on topic).

Try googling alt.solar.thermal alt.energy.renewable alt.energy.homepower
(and Solar bird bath)

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dgk - 21 Dec 2004 14:53 GMT

>> Oddly enough I can find solar powered bird baths (for a fountain, not
>> heat) and electically heated bird baths, but not solar heated bird
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>Try googling alt.solar.thermal alt.energy.renewable alt.energy.homepower
>(and Solar bird bath)

Good suggestions. I've joined alt.energy.homepower just for this. So
far, not much help. Apparently the energy needed to keep ice from
forming in a regular birdbath is substantial. One of these

http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=HAB-10008

might work on its own, or perhaps could be modified to use a slight
current and work even better.

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dragon - 22 Dec 2004 02:24 GMT

This isn't a solar heated bird bath, but a bird bath design that keeps
the water from freezing unless it is uber cold. It's called a solar
sipper, and you can see it here

http://www.theworld.com/~sippers/

We've been using this item for the past two years and it works just
fine. When it's really cold you will need to dump out the ice in the
morning and put in fresh water, but it will keep it from freezing for
the rest of the day.

Best thing: it's *much* cheaper than any other bird bath heater I've
encountered and requires no electricity!

dragon

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dgk - 22 Dec 2004 14:45 GMT

>This isn't a solar heated bird bath, but a bird bath design that keeps
>the water from freezing unless it is uber cold. It's called a solar
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
>dragon

Ah yes, I found that already. I think it will have to do. The problem
is that it might need to be filled up each day. I'm not sure that I
can manage that but I'll get one and find out.

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dragon - 22 Dec 2004 16:16 GMT

I don't always have to add water each day. A lot seems to depend on
how cold it is that particular day. The colder it is, the more
activity it sees. There are some mornings where I go out to top it off
and it doesn't really need any. However, you'd need to do the same for
any birdbath--even a solar powered one. You'd need to moniter the
water level so as not to burn out the motor. Good luck!

dragon

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dgk - 22 Dec 2004 18:01 GMT

>I don't always have to add water each day. A lot seems to depend on
>how cold it is that particular day. The colder it is, the more
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
>dragon

The main problem in going into the backyard is the cats. They want to
go out also. The whining and complaining when I say "NO" is just too
much to bear.

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