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solar bird bath heater

17 years ago

I'm looking for a birdbath water heater (for keeping ice off the bird bath so birds can find water in winter) that is solar-powered. I have looked and looked and can't find one ANYWHERE. (There's a 'solar sipper' bird water provider, but it's not very good.) What I want is something like the link I've provided only solar-powered. Any suggestions? I'm really surprised there isn't something out there. There are solar powered fountains for bird baths. I don't know if any of them store power, so most if not all fountains don't work at night, which isn't a problem. Is the reason there's no solar-powered bird bath heater because it would take too big a panel to store enough power to keep the birdbath free of ice overnight? Maybe someone could figure out a way to have an electric backup switch on to keep the temp above freezing overnight?

Thanks for any help! (I tried to post this to an earlier thread on this topic but it didn't take for whatever reason.)

Val

Here is a link that might be useful: bird bath heaters

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Comments (6)

rachel_frome_ky
17 years ago
Here's one link where they sell a solar-powered heated bird bath

http://www.storesonline.com/site/826320/page/410157
valereee
Original Author
17 years ago
Hi, Rachel! Thanks -- I've seen the "solar sipper," but from what I understand it doesn't work very well. I think it's basically an insulated container with a black lid and a small hole the birds can drink out of. Better than nothing, but not really a de-icer.

It seems like such a no-brainer to offer a solar-powered heater for a bird bath, whether as an insert or as a standalone unit, but since no one is offering one, maybe that means it's not feasible?
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I have a heated birdbath on a stand that works really well. The coils are built inside it, but they can be pricey. Before buying that I used one of those flat, foil types that has heat ring inside. I used an extension cord (plugged into a GFCI outlet in my garage) out to a shallow birdbath. I held it under the water with a rock in the center. You have to make sure you keep water in it (every few days a fill up), but the birds sure enjoyed it, especially the Robins. Sometimes this bath would get a tad icy but there was always a small hole with water and the birds kept coming for a drink. I think I paid about $12 something for that flat, foil type heater. It did the job and was the cheapest to buy and run at the time (a few years back). The first winter my pond had ice on it except where there was a bubbler and the birds walked out over the ice to the edge to get their drink. Last year I didn't get any ice and birds can't drink at my pond unless it has ice, as the sides are steep, (but squirrels can). I really enjoy watching the birds at the water in winter. They need it too! Do a search for heated birdbaths on-line, should bring up many choices. CT
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I have a fountain without a pump and the birds have never had a problem being attracted to it. Of course, they are in my yard already eating the bird seed. I used to use solar pumps but they cost alot and never lasted very long. Plus it was tedious to keep cleaning the algae and other gunk inside of them. I finally gave up on pumps. Now I just empty out the water and give the bath a quick scrubbing with a brush every day or two. Now if I want to hear the sound of moving water, I play my CD of a babbling brook on my CD player that I keep on my patio. It's also my anti-noisy neighbor strategy.
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mine is just a few foot outside of the kitchen window. the pine siskins use it a lot but not many of the other birds. But our weather is crazy here. One week below zero at night and the next week rain showers and melting days. and then back to cold and snowy and then another warmup. Has been 30's and 40's daytimes and i see birds drinking from puddles some days, have some deer coming through and drinking from it and have to fill it most days. we will have several more months of bad weather here and could be in a deep freeze again or not.
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I'm no expert in electrical matters, but I think that your 250 watt heater is probably sized for fairly large troughs, maybe livestock water pans. That said, it should cycle on and off only enough to heat up whatever volume of water you give it. If the volume is small, like a small birdbath, it would only be drawing power for a short time. It might heat up the water a little faster than a lower watt heater but I doubt that it would waste electricity since the amount of electricity used would depend on the volume of water, not the wattage. Claire This post was edited by claire on Wed, Dec 3, 14 at 10:51
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chris8796
17 years ago
A solar powered bird bath heater is not practical. Painting the bowl black would have a bigger effect. It would convert 90% of the sunlight that hit it into heat. Solar PV panels are about 10% efficient (for light to elec to heat), so you'd need a panel 9 times the area of the bowl to have the same effect. It would also be very expensive. I have a thermostated one with a 60 watt heater. I've seen 44 watt ones that run continously, 44 watts x 24 hrs = ~1 kwH a day. My electric is about 5 cents a kwH in the winter (about 10 cents in the summer), so about 5 cents a day to run.

Here is a link that might be useful: 44 watt heater
chinamigarden
17 years ago
Solar powered fountains are not very reliable, and in most of the US they aren't very useful. To the point that the companies that make them, are starting to add a feature where you can also plug them in when the sun isn't bright enough.

During the winter there is even less sunlight and for a shorter time period. There just isn't enough sunlight to make it work properly. I use a heated birdbath that mounts on my porch rail. Its close to the house, and the power. The location makes it easy to get to for filling and cleaning.
planterlady
17 years ago
You really just need to keep the water moving and it will not freeze - we have a large solar powered pump and that should do the trick - just visit the site.
valereee
Original Author
17 years ago
Planterlady, what site is that?

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