Homemade dog house heater

[Bobm]

Mount a simple one bulb light receptacle on a junction box on the wall of a dog house feed the power cord out through the back of the house and thru the fence where the dog cannot get to it. Put the dog house against the fence to keep the dog away from the cord if thats not possible run the power in metal conduit and be sure to ground it, ground the can also, the easiet way to do the can is with one of the mounting bolts .
When the bulb is on, the can will get hot enough the dog wont mess with it.

Take a 3 lb coffee can and with small bolts fasten 4 evenly spaced right angle brackets on the open end poke some small holes in the bottom so it can drain any moisture and you can see if the light bulb is working and then screw the can over the light thru the right angle brackets so the dog cannot get to it.

I use small bolts thru the back of the dog house with wing nuts so its easy to remove the can and change the bulbs.

A light bulb will give of a lot of heat and the can radiates it, like a mini wood stove.

40 watts is plenty down here.

[Bobm]

Heres another design Red Label posted that sounds even easier to make than mine. Remember with either design keep the wires out of reach of the dog or in a metal counduit and ground the conduit all dogs chew...
Use a GFI circuit breaker if possible
Heres Red Labels post

QUOTE

Here is a very good economical heater to make.

It works best with a house with a removable or hinged cover like the one described in the Dog House Plans sticky in this Forum by Bobm.

Go to a paint store and buy an unused 1 gallon paint can with the lid. Punch 1/16" dia holes on the lid and sides of the can about 1" apart. Keep the holes small enough to prevent much light from getting through yet still allow convective heat to escape. Punch a hole in the bottom about 1" in diameter.

Mount the can, with an electrical box inside with the spot for wires centered over the 1" hole to the wall of the kennel keeping 4" of clearance on all sides to allow heat to circulate. You will need to run the wiring to the correct location first of course. Connect a porcelin lightbulb socket to the electrical box, wire it up and put a bulb in the base, put the lid on and bend the handle to use like a spring to keep the lid in place.

Accessories that can be included (after all it is built by guys) are a dimmer switch to control heat and an indoor-outdoor thermometer to keep tabs on the temperature.

Quite easy to build.

Like someone once said, "It ain't rocket science," but it's cheap,it's slick, and most of all it works!.

The idea is not original but was stolen from an article in the 1990 August/September issue of GUNDOG magazine.

If anyone has any questions please let me know. I built the house and set up the heater, but the dogs live and sleep with us. I keep the house in case I ever need it.

[dlemmens]

I continue to be impressed by the interest in my dog house heater design, which I wrote and illustrated in the Anniversary Issue of Gun Dog magazine in 1990. I used a short 100 watt bulb, which is hard to find, and painted the perforated paint can black. It worked in the insulated dog house, with a door flap to minus 10 degrees, and continues to work, 17 years later. My sons said I shoud have patented it! How do you patent a design that anybody can make, works for 2 decades and cost me less than $15? I have given copies of the article to several people who have built the design, and all are still using it!

Happy Hunting!
Dan Lemmens

[Bobm]

Dan welcome and thanks for a great Idea. Got anymore??

[houndheaterguy]

Thanks Dan,
I went with this idea and have had it commercially produced for about 5 years now. (sold many thousands) My newest version will come out for 2008. It will be thermastatically controlled with an element that has a cycle life of over 100,000 cycles and will last for many years. Really a slick item. This one will be patented based on the "unique design criteria" but the idea you came up with could not. I also just received my patent on a crate cooler mat. Really works awesome and very simple.
Thanks Mike Hill

[Stu_Loves_His_GSP]

I bought a under a desk leg heater and put it on the wall of my dogs 4x8 house it get to around 100*. My brother has a smaller dog house and he put a foot warmer pad on the side it only get to 90?* i think. neither burn the dogs. both work well.

[Stu_Loves_His_GSP]

http://www.cozywinters.com/cozy/?source ... agodGiEvWA

I thought I would leave a link if your interested. Sorry i dont know how to paste as a link.[/url]

[jimmme]

I live in northern MN and want to put a home made heater in my insulated dog house. I've learned about the thermocube, a receptacle I can plug my heater into that will automatically turn on the heater when the temperature reaches a certain temp. What I don't understand is that if I mount the cube inside the house, the dog will have access to the wires, if I mount it on the outside of the house it will sense the outside temp and never shut off. What am I missing? Are there other options to the cube?
thanks,
Jim

[Stu_Loves_His_GSP]

Sure you just need to buy a 120v thermostat lots of places to get them. Google 120v thermostat. I put mine in a vented box so the dog can get to it.

[juliezeh]

First of all, please forgive my ignorance on this topic, guys: I joined this forum JUST to talk about doghouse heaters; I don't know beans about hunting or fishing, and I know very little about doghouse heater-making. I just want to make a couple for my cats that live outside.

My question is: what's the difference between the coffee can design and a work light? I went to Lowe's to find the electrical parts for the heater, and saw lights that were nothing more than a standard incandescent light bulb in a wire cage with a 25-foot cord. Wouldn't they work the same?

[ccccrnr]

juliezeh,

how do the cats like the light shining on them 24hours a day?

I think the can is so it can be dark so the dog can rest.
Cats sleep over 16hours/day so I don't know if the light bothers them, but i prefer to sleep in the dark.

[juliezeh]

Ha! Good point...

[dlemmens]

First of all, please forgive my ignorance on this topic, guys: I joined this forum JUST to talk about doghouse heaters; I don't know beans about hunting or fishing, and I know very little about doghouse heater-making. I just want to make a couple for my cats that live outside.

My question is: what's the difference between the coffee can design and a work light? I went to Lowe's to find the electrical parts for the heater, and saw lights that were nothing more than a standard incandescent light bulb in a wire cage with a 25-foot cord. Wouldn't they work the same?

Guys:

I gave our secretary plans for this house from my article, and her husband made one for the barn cat. The difference between this and a trouble light on a cord is that there is a rheostat to control the heat, a cover to keep the light dark, and there is no access to the cord by the pet.

Dan

[dlemmens]

Thanks Dan,
I went with this idea and have had it commercially produced for about 5 years now. (sold many thousands) My newest version will come out for 2008. It will be thermastatically controlled with an element that has a cycle life of over 100,000 cycles and will last for many years. Really a slick item. This one will be patented based on the "unique design criteria" but the idea you came up with could not. I also just received my patent on a crate cooler mat. Really works awesome and very simple.
Thanks Mike Hill

Houndheaterguy:

I am really impressed. Some guys just see the potential out there. I am glad you were able to take it to the next level. Where can I direct people to buy it?

Dan Lemmens

[dakotashooter2]

If light is the concern one could buy a colored bulb. blue, green and red bulbs to fit a standard socket can usually be found around Chrismas time.

[GSPMIKE]

I have 2 GSPs, I have been using a heat lamp with a red bulb screwed to the roof of my 3x3x3.5 dog house. I like the idea about giving them some darkness to sleep in. Their water stays unfrozen until about 5 to 0 degrees above zero. When their water freezes I bring them inside for the winter.

Now with a 2 year old little boy running around, I have been thinking about insulating the dog house and letting them (the dogs) be outside for the winter. Regardless of the temps. But still going by the rule, if the water freezes they get to come inside.

I'm a poor builder, How much insulation to I need?

Will 2x2 walls be sufficient with insulation, and one of these heaters in a 3x3x3.5 house?

The dog house is in my shed and they can get outside VIA a hallway i have built for them.

up here it can get to -25 pretty easy, and sometimes -30 to -35 overnight?