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- WLLady
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Only For Geniuses
where is poultry_admin??? he'll know...lol
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- poultry_admin
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Well, I don't have first hand experience with the exact light bulbs you are mentioning.
What I can offer is this:
- incandescent light bulbs (clear) are only about 5% efficient producing light. So 95W from a hundred watt light bulb are heat anyways.
- incandescent light bulbs (not clear) this goes down to 2-3%, rest is heat. And depending on the way the color is added through a film or in the glass, this goes down even further.
- to my knowledge the efficiency does not change with size (or at least not dramatically)
But, since it's in a brooder, VERY little light is going to escape anyways. So the energy in the light will become heat also, just not very concentrated in the bulb, but some more will end up on the shavings\walls.
So for me, if you are trying to make heat, use any incandescent light bulb. Just about the same... If you want to make light, use a clear one, that is noticeable difference, if you want the chicks to sleep at night, use a red one. That keeps the DH happy not to have to hear the chicks echoing in the bathtub, lol. Or look at halogen, fluorescent, LED for light generation. They are more efficient so need less electricity to make the same amount of light.
So then the next part of your question is about what I would call effectiveness of heat. Is it better to have heat over top radiating, or on the side? Is it better for the chicks to have more heat in two locations (2x100W) or less heat in 3 locations (3x60W)? From reliability perspective, and even heat distribution, I would prefer the 3 light bulbs. Fire hazard and maintenance view would prefer the 2 light bulbs.
I think the bigger difference is going to come from having a reflector above the light bulb though. If you can reflect the radiated energy that would be going up to the ceiling back down towards the shavings/chicks, that will ~ double your "effective" wattage.
Then draft protection is also important. Makes no sense creating heat above a chick and have a draft carry it all away before it can even reach it.
Those last two are in my opinion much bigger factors than a % change in the efficiency of a light bulb making heat (they are all good at it!)
What I can offer is this:
- incandescent light bulbs (clear) are only about 5% efficient producing light. So 95W from a hundred watt light bulb are heat anyways.
- incandescent light bulbs (not clear) this goes down to 2-3%, rest is heat. And depending on the way the color is added through a film or in the glass, this goes down even further.
- to my knowledge the efficiency does not change with size (or at least not dramatically)
But, since it's in a brooder, VERY little light is going to escape anyways. So the energy in the light will become heat also, just not very concentrated in the bulb, but some more will end up on the shavings\walls.
So for me, if you are trying to make heat, use any incandescent light bulb. Just about the same... If you want to make light, use a clear one, that is noticeable difference, if you want the chicks to sleep at night, use a red one. That keeps the DH happy not to have to hear the chicks echoing in the bathtub, lol. Or look at halogen, fluorescent, LED for light generation. They are more efficient so need less electricity to make the same amount of light.
So then the next part of your question is about what I would call effectiveness of heat. Is it better to have heat over top radiating, or on the side? Is it better for the chicks to have more heat in two locations (2x100W) or less heat in 3 locations (3x60W)? From reliability perspective, and even heat distribution, I would prefer the 3 light bulbs. Fire hazard and maintenance view would prefer the 2 light bulbs.
I think the bigger difference is going to come from having a reflector above the light bulb though. If you can reflect the radiated energy that would be going up to the ceiling back down towards the shavings/chicks, that will ~ double your "effective" wattage.
Then draft protection is also important. Makes no sense creating heat above a chick and have a draft carry it all away before it can even reach it.
Those last two are in my opinion much bigger factors than a % change in the efficiency of a light bulb making heat (they are all good at it!)
3
Be brave enough to suck at something new!
Political Grace: The art of disagreeing well.
Political Grace: The art of disagreeing well.
Only For Geniuses
Ok thanks Polutry admin, as usual I was over thinking this. There are more important factors than the light bulb- but that's amazing, I did not know that incandescent light bulbs were so inefficient.
Thankfully the chicks are out of the bathtub, I plan to build two of those Ohio brooders for the barn to see how they do. I think I have just enough plywood, this will be fun. I've already picked out fabric for the curtains
and I even have some stick on fake diamonds just to glam it up a little. Or maybe not, the chicks will probably eat them.
Thankfully the chicks are out of the bathtub, I plan to build two of those Ohio brooders for the barn to see how they do. I think I have just enough plywood, this will be fun. I've already picked out fabric for the curtains

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- poultry_admin
- Site Admin
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Only For Geniuses
Two math wizzards meet at a yearly conference and only there can they indulge in their enthusiasm for number puzzles.
This year's dinner conversation goes like this:
wizz 1: Didn't you have a son?
wizz 2: Yes, and I now even have two more and they are not twins!
wizz1: And how old are the three now?
wizz 2: The multiplication of their ages is exactly this month's number
wizz 1: Hmmmm..... that's not enough for me yet.
wizz 2: Yes, correct. If you add their ages next year, you also get this month's number.
How old are they?
Hint: We assume that the age of the siblings differs by at least one year unless they are twins or triplets.
This year's dinner conversation goes like this:
wizz 1: Didn't you have a son?
wizz 2: Yes, and I now even have two more and they are not twins!
wizz1: And how old are the three now?
wizz 2: The multiplication of their ages is exactly this month's number
wizz 1: Hmmmm..... that's not enough for me yet.
wizz 2: Yes, correct. If you add their ages next year, you also get this month's number.
How old are they?
Hint: We assume that the age of the siblings differs by at least one year unless they are twins or triplets.
0
Be brave enough to suck at something new!
Political Grace: The art of disagreeing well.
Political Grace: The art of disagreeing well.
Only For Geniuses
3. Twiddled bolts
Two identical bolts are placed together so that their helical grooves intermesh as shown below. If you move the bolts around each other as you would twiddle your thumbs, holding each bolt firmly by the head so that it does not rotate and twiddling them in the direction shown, will the heads (a) move inward,
(b) move outward, or
(c) remain the same distance from each other?
Two identical bolts are placed together so that their helical grooves intermesh as shown below. If you move the bolts around each other as you would twiddle your thumbs, holding each bolt firmly by the head so that it does not rotate and twiddling them in the direction shown, will the heads (a) move inward,
(b) move outward, or
(c) remain the same distance from each other?
1

- poultry_admin
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2321
- Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2015 8:27 pm
- Location: West Lorne, Ontario
- x 1949
- Contact:
Only For Geniuses
0
Be brave enough to suck at something new!
Political Grace: The art of disagreeing well.
Political Grace: The art of disagreeing well.
-
- x 4843
Only For Geniuses
Hmmm, y'all have been so busy. Looks like Robbie is masterful!! I got an easy peasy one.
Martin. Step away from the question! LOL
Martin. Step away from the question! LOL
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