I don't use tank heaters, I carry water a couple times a day. There are a couple reasons for that: if the water drops below the level of the tank heater then the heater is left trying to heat the air which is a tremendous power draw and can be a fire hazard, and the geese, ducks, and pigs will all splash the water and empty the containers pretty quickly; the steam coming off the (cold but not frozen) water refreezes on everything and pretty quickly creates very thick ice deposits so I need to go knock those off pretty often anyhow; pigs will just destroy everything so no point even trying; that steam sublimating onto surfaces can also sublimate onto bird feathers and chicken combs and cause frostbite. All that said, in the past I have run a bucket with 2x4s across it so the birds couldn't get into it except for their heads, and a de-icer in that. Since I have the luxury of working from home right now I'm ok just running out fresh water though.
The temperature thing with plastic is just that the chemicals in it which are supposed to make it supple are only designed to work down to a certain temperature, and we're below it right now. I have some special -40 extension cords that are perfectly supple and lovely because they have more or different softeners in them. It's not quite the same "feel" as UV brittle sensation (we get that too here) because the plastic still feels substantial and it doesn't have that corroded feel to the snap when it goes. This is more like... have you ever put licorice ropes in the freezer or left them out to dry? Or maybe like drying pasta?
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2022-12-19 07:29 pm (UTC)The temperature thing with plastic is just that the chemicals in it which are supposed to make it supple are only designed to work down to a certain temperature, and we're below it right now. I have some special -40 extension cords that are perfectly supple and lovely because they have more or different softeners in them. It's not quite the same "feel" as UV brittle sensation (we get that too here) because the plastic still feels substantial and it doesn't have that corroded feel to the snap when it goes. This is more like... have you ever put licorice ropes in the freezer or left them out to dry? Or maybe like drying pasta?