Something New

[spiritbird]

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For those cold winter days when the power is out and your bird is getting cold.

[spiritbird]

:bump:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I'm not sure how effective that will be, heating takes a lot of power and around here when the power goes down it is usually dark and stormy outside so not much power to be obtained from solar panels.
Cuddles is probably more effective.

[PlaxMacaws]

Interesting. I love that they're using photos of both an Amazon and a Vulture at the bottom of the page - such contrast! ;). It would seem that this heater may be especially good for birds kept outside.

[PlaxMacaws]

I'm not sure how effective that will be, heating takes a lot of power and around here when the power goes down it is usually dark and stormy outside so not much power to be obtained from solar panels.
Cuddles is probably more effective.It would be best to see some reviews before purchase.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Just a 500 watt heater would need at least a solar panel of 2.5 meters square (about eight by eight foot). As there is no power storage facility (a bank of car batteries for instance) it would only work when receiving direct sunlight. Better off spending your money on a camping stove. Caveat emptor.

[spiritbird]

I was not suggesting anyone purchase this item. It was interesting to me because of the idea. Solar energy can be saved up, can it not?

[PlaxMacaws]

Just a 500 watt heater would need at least a solar panel of 2.5 meters square (about eight by eight foot). As there is no power storage facility (a bank of car batteries for instance) it would only work when receiving direct sunlight. Better off spending your money on a camping stove. Caveat emptor.What about superconductor solar panels? How much more efficient would they be?

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Getting a bit out of my depth here but I think they are all that type nowadays. There are a lot of variables at play here, number of hours of sunshine in the day and average temperature to start with, also power consumed by the heater which isn't defined.
The solar panel supplied with that device probably produces 100 to 150 watts in as new condition* which would make a nice amount of warmth whilst it was in direct sunlight but as soon as the sun goes behind a cloud it is useless. If even part of it is in the shade it is useless. As I said before you could use the panel to charge a car or truck battery and then you would be able to run it overnight. You would need to buy the battery and some sort of protective circuitry to prevent it from overcharging. Adding another $100 to the price?

In my opinion you would be better off putting stuff in the warmth of the sun and then insulating it overnight rather than trying to capture the sunlight, turn it into electricity and then convert that back into heat.

When we want to heat up the interior of the boat in cold weather we us an earthenware flowerpot upside down on the gas cooker ring. Radiates a good amount of heat (the pot actually glows red after a while if the gas is left on high). All the moisture in the gas/air mix is retained inside the pot apart from what gets out of the drainage hole in the pot so not much condensation. An excellent low tech solution which is far more reliable than a diesel truck heater.
Solar panels are a great idea but I think they still have a way to go in development. Generating heat is very energy consuming.
I think this parrot heater goes on the long list of items invented to solve a problem that doesn't exist, like ceramic disc water taps.

*I was obviously looking at an out of date article when I got my previous size estimate.

[kendrafitz]

Interesting!

I am now about to buy Rosie's 3rd heated perch. She broke the first, I broke the second. Hoping we do better with the 3rd.

Very cool idea with the solar, but for now we will stick with our perches.

Jean-Pierre - my husband agrees with you on the solar. I keep bugging him to get panels on our roof and he keeps insisting that we wait as they will improve drastically. I just love the idea of being green and using solar power, I hope they get up to par with them soon!!! Or at least up to Jef's idea of good enough. :)

[Mare]

I love the idea of this solar heater and fan, I think it would work very well in a chicken coup or outdoor aviary box. Our home is heated with a fireplace in the living room. This means the bird's room, that is closed at night, has to be heated with an electric space heater. I do wonder though, if this heater would work in their room...I'll run it by Tim.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Before spending out on heaters, find out if they are really needed. We cover Casper's cage with a cover that Margaret has made from fleece material. It makes it dark so he can sleep whilst we have the light on (his cage is in our living room) and up the top where he roosts it is very warm and cosy. I checked this with a digital temperature gauge that also records max and min and put the probe in his cage because when we first got him we worried about everything. Since then I have found out that there are a pair of Amazon escapees surviving in the wild in Yorkshire so am not at all concerned.