I’ve heard from several readers who thought it would be nice to view the web cam. I’ve managed to arrange for public access to the web cam for a couple days. The web cam does full pan and tilt, so you can move it around the room. On the lower far left side of the camera view I hung up a digital thermometer to watch the coop temperature.
My daughter’s special chickens began the move into the fancy insulated chicken digs about 10 days ago. Most of the chickens you see are the Serama variety that she specializes in. Ondra was worried that I might get something wrong describing these little birds, so her paragraph is next.
I had to make a change to the portable heater I recently placed in the insulated serama chicken shed. The temperatures here in Washington took a dive Sunday. Monday highs near 10F and nights down to 3F. This morning my daughter complained it was too hot in there, it was 78F and 4F outside! Wish our house was that warm!
Last week I completed the new deluxe chicken shed for my daughter’s special “smallest breed of chicken” called seramas was completed This shed has to be heated since these chickens that came from Malaysia don’t do well in freezing temperature.
The Problem
By last Tuesday, we had some chickens in this insulated shed and it started to get colder outside. My daughter slept out there several nights to wake up and turn on/off the radiant heater. The crunch was coming Friday night because we’d all be gone helping with the youth group’s, all night, lock in.
Folks new to the Off Grid lifestyle, or alternate energy, often have this notion. There are many electric heaters out there like, oil based, ceramic ones, and basic heating elements. Isn’t there one that will run well off my genverter system? Simple answer is no. The power required for any electricity based heat is too high. I often explain to friends and customers, “why would I want to {en:short circuit} my battery bank and then warm my hands over the glowing wire?”. So when it comes to heat, your genverter system is not the best source. Alternatives like firewood, or a small propane heater are much more fuel efficient.
Cheers – Marshall
UPDATE: This post is specifically about heating the air around you for a warm home. Recently, we’ve been rediscovering and rethinking about off grid cooking with small appliances.
