Chicken Coops for Sale in Peotone, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Peotone, Illinois
solar panels for the chicken coop
Haven’t felt like I’ve built anything lately so I hauled off a couple weekends ago and figured that it’d be fun to try and replace the 50ft extension cord that we’ve got running from the house to the coop (up the hill, over the lawn, on top of the coop and then into the coop) which has been hooked up to timer switch (most likely something like ) to then provide light for the hens for a couple hours a night with solar panels, since it sounded fun.
I did a little bit of research, that I came across that talked about how to do it (semi-related: , also learned what a “prepper” is, had no idea those existed!), although in hindsight it looks like their coop is being powered by light all day long… or at least on demand, which turned out to be kind of a big deal. As the post suggested, I hauled off to Harbor Freight, got , which came with a charge controller, a couple light bulbs and all the necessary cabling. It was relatively easy to snap together the plastic frame that came with the panels (although the directions were definitely different than what was in the box, took me a bit to figure that out) and then to push the various wires together to see if it all worked. I also bought a and a since I had an existing light bulb sitting in the coop already.
I’m a rookie at the electrical stuff, figured it’d be good to hook up the inverter to the battery to make sure the battery was good, which I did and then immediately melted battery connector cable because the opposite cable ends were touching after I hooked up the cabling to the battery. Rookie mistake but that then meant that I had to find a new cabling. Slight setback. Googled around a bunch looking for somewhere that I could buy a battery connector cable, not many places sell them… or at least sell them and aren’t somewhere that it would take a week to get one. I ended up talking to a pal at work that’s an electronics nerd (hey Ed!) and he suggested going to , who have a local store here in Beaverton and who ended up actually not having pre-made battery connector cables but had all the tools and supplies to MAKE cables which was even more fun. I bought a couple , some clamps and a cable crimp tool with the help of the guy running the store (whatever your name was, thanks!) and then made my own cables. I also needed a box to put the battery and the power inverter in (since the installation is outside) and found a nice water tight box at Storables (not but something pretty similar).
I thought at that point that I had all I needed but it turns out the power inverter that I bought has a fan and is constantly drawing power to power the fan, even if the lights aren’t turned on. I had figured that I could use the existing timer that was plugged into the house to plug that into the inverter and then only turn on the lights if / when the timer thought it was time but I’m pretty sure that the inverter being on 24/7 would drain the battery and would leave me with no power for the lights at night. I ended up finding that has a built-in microcontroller that figures out dusk / dawn by when the solar panel stops sending a charge and gives you the ability to determine how long you want the lights turned on relative to when dusk and dawn start. Ordered that online and then FINALLY today everything came together. Here’s what the solar panels look like on top of the coop:
and a side view:
I actually have no idea if they’ll draw enough power in the wintertime to power a light bulb for a couple hours a night based on a) the fact that we live in Oregon and don’t see the sun that much / if at all in the winter and b) our yard has lots of shade, which means that even if the sun was out that the panels would only ever see the sun for half the day or so… which might also throw a kink into the charge controller, which may stop receiving charges from the panel earlier than we might expect… ANYWAY, fuzzy picture of the box mounted on the side of the coop:
I drilled a couple holes in the bottom of the plastic box so that I could string the wiring in and also so that the inverter was able to breathe, apparently it needs some circulation. Got the brackets to hold the box at Ace Hardware for $10 and then mounted those to the coop along with some wood I had laying around from another project.
Finally a picture of the Morningstar SunLight charge controller doing it’s business:
You can see the lighting control on the right hand side, it gives you a bunch of options as to how long you want it to be drawing power from the battery and throwing it to an external device, which is perfect, in theory for what I’m trying to do since I don’t want the inverter to be drawing any power at all… until I want the lights on. Luckily, the inverter, which also has an on / off button, stays “on” even when you remove it’s power supply, so the minute that the charge controller decides that power should come on, the inverter then turns on… which then powers the lights and in theory, the chickens should lay more eggs in the winter. I don’t pretend to control that part though.
You can also see the wiring I created in that picture: the black / red wires with the yellow battery connectors are the wires that I made. Those go into the box and then attach to the back of the inverter. Going from right to left then, the next set of red / black cables are the cables that attach up to the battery and the finally, the last set of cables are sending power from the panels to the charge controller.
All in: - panels charge controller (not used) cabling bulbs (not used): $150 - 12 volt / 35 amp battery: $69 - 400w inverter: $40 - 12 volt / 20 amp charge controller with microprocessor: $83 - crimp tool (optional), cabling (optional): $32 - storage box: $20
Really expensive, should have just run cable underground (assuming that’s legal?) to the coop in hindsight but the panels seemed more fun / more interesting. I’ll update once winter hits and the sun actually stops shining again.
Baby Chicks in Peotone, Illinois
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Peotone Illinois" into any one of the numerous search engines and a wealth of information will pop up. This information will provide links to other websites that will be informative and will provide the right direction for finding Peotone Illinois chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Peotone, Illinois With the substantial increase in poultry maintaining there has actually been a similarly huge increase in the array of poultry stuff for sale. Fowl real estate is a proceedings in factor. It's also a traditional instance of the good old bandwagon being jumped on as different would-be chicken real estate specialists peddle a selection of accommodation asserting to be the perfect solution to your chicken real estate needs. Typically the cost looks desirable, your diy-chicken-coop-planshome looks eye-catching, heck even the clean-cut household standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Undoubtedly they know a quality chicken house when they see one? There are lots of affordable and nasty coops flooding the marketplace. I recognize this as I've checked a variety of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run straight via one when the feed bucket appeared. The result was just an expensive stack of fire wood as well as a small flock of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Easy To Clean in Peotone, Illinois
Typically these mass produced versions are constructed of quick grown up lumber - come the first decline of rain they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that will not shut, or ripping the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking citizens. The initial cozy day indicates the timber dries out and splits, the felt roof bubbles and boils, as well as come nightfall the chickens refuse to go in. This is not because of their dissatisfaction at the decline of their as soon as desirable home yet considering that the hovel is now a sanctuary for, as well as possibly crawling with, the poultry keeper's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly match 4 big chickens when that stocking thickness was based on the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and exactly what are you left with? A number of hinges and also some kindling. A decent coop for thee to 4 birds need to cost you in the region of ₤ 300 though this could depend on whether you elect for a free standing house or one with a run affixed. Thinking you are varying your birds in a huge room and the pop opening door is big sufficient for the breed you maintain, then the main requirements of real estate boil down to 3 points which will define the variety of birds your home will hold; perches, nest boxes and also ventilation. The majority of types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost during the night, this perch needs to ideally be 5-8cm vast with smoothed off sides so the foot rests easily on it. The perch should be above the nest box entrance as chickens will additionally naturally try to find the acme to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is incidentally when they generate one of the most poo) causing soiled eggs the list below day. They should not nonetheless be so high off the floor of your home that leg injuries could occur when the bird comes down in the early morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is certainly much less), plus if greater than one perch is installed in your home they need to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors but are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally the house ought to have a least one nest box for every 3 birds and these must be off the ground and in the darkest area of your home. The house needs to have ample air flow: without it then condensation will accumulate every evening, also in the coldest of weather condition. Be aware, ventilation works with the principle of warm air leaving via a high space drawing cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of holes on other wall surfaces of your home and also at the same degree, this is just what's known as a draft. If you have a house with a run connected then the points above are still real, but you must additionally consider the run size. The EU maximum lawful stocking thickness for a free range bird is (and also let's face it, one of the motivations for maintaining some chickens in your home is perhaps boosted or far better welfare) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close check out several of the bargain residences - it could well be the house has the ideal perches, correct ventilation and sufficient nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything more than an A4 sized item of ground to spend the day on? And so as the saying goes, "you obtain what you pay for". You could think you've got hold of a deal, but you and also your flock could possibly rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and also it will certainly last for a few decades, if not longer offered the appropriate treatment. In the end your chicken and also your fowl keeping experience will certainly be a lot the far better for it.plan plans
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Batchtown, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Bethany, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in New Berlin, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Kent, Illinois
Chicken Coops for Sale in Ivesdale, Illinois