I am hoping to use the P-7000 in my boathouse to feed koi and fantails. It will get quite cold and I am wondering if that affects the operation.
460863
In my experience, the cold did not alter the operation. I am wondering why you would feed your koi below 50 degrees, anyway? My P-7000 did not make it through one year and I switched back to the old square unit. It appears you already bought this, but I would not recommend it for a number of reasons..durability, inability to hang, cost, short life
460864
I do not know if the cold weather would affect this unit. The one I purchased was defective and I returned it for a refund. The problem was with the timer. I couldn't get it to take the correct time setting and although this was not a biggie for me, because I could easily have it feed the fish a few hours off here or there, on top of the hour setting problem, the amount of food dispensed was not easy to control either. Great concept, very bad execution. I wish the manufacturer got more serious with the quality of the timer used, then this unit would be something very useful for all of us owners of ponds and koi. I do not know if the cold weather would affect this unit. The one I purchased was defective and I returned it for a refund. The problem was with the timer. I couldn't get it to take the correct time setting and although this was not a biggie for me, because I could easily have it feed the fish a few hours off here or there, on top of the hour setting problem, the amount of food dispensed was not easy to control either. Great concept, very bad execution. I wish the manufacturer got more serious with the quality of the timer used, then this unit would be something very useful for all of us... » Read More I do not know if the cold weather would affect this unit. The one I purchased was defective and I returned it for a refund. The problem was with the timer. I couldn't get it to take the correct time setting and although this was not a biggie for me, because I could easily have it feed the fish a few hours off here or there, on top of the hour setting problem, the amount of food dispensed was not easy to control either. Great concept, very bad execution. I wish the manufacturer got more serious with the quality of the timer used, then this unit would be something very useful for all of us owners of ponds and koi. « Show Less
460865
I'm using it at my Koi pond and it works very well. It hit freezing yesterday morning and it worked fine. I will stop feeding soon as the water temp is in the 40's F. If you want to use it in below freezing temps I would recommend putting Lithium AA batteries in it. It's a great feeder.
460866
I have not had the feeder long enough to give you an honest answer. My best suggestion would be to call the manufacturer.
460867
I have only used it when my water is 50 degrees or warmer, because my fish stop eating when the air temperature allows the water temp to drop...Check to see what experts might say about feeding your fish in cold water...In mild or hot temps, the feeder has work extremely well...I would recommend it...I feed about 25 fish twice daily while I'm gone...Scott R. Dorr
460868
I don't think cold would affect it. However, mine got wet because a raccoon tried getting at the food and pushed the entire device into my pond, I had it secured but not well enough. I dried it all out as best I could but rust set in and the device became inoperative. It worked great until then, much better than 2 other devices I had tried before. So, if you can keep it dry, you should be OK.
460869
My koi dont eat after the water gets below about 45 degrees. It works great so far for me. The fish hibernate from december until end of february here in fresno, ca
1563508
Probably, as I am just an average home owner. The biggest issue I see is trying to get it installed. I was replacing a broken unit, and the mounting screws aligned easily. I don't think the temperature of the water would effect the operation of the unit.
1923353
No, the P65 not P75 have a thermostat. I did not like the P75 - never worked - see my review. The p65 did work great and used it on two trips. It kept ice packs that started out frozen solid frozen for days. On another trip it cooled room temp bottles of water down to nice cold ittles in a day (left plugged in to house power woth converter to precool at house before trip) Would recommend the P65 - but it does not have a thermostat.
1820997
I use it with the three gallon Little Giant water font, and the heater keeps the water just above freezing, and not more than 45 degrees or so. The thermostat seems to work very well. All-in-all, I am quite pleased with it.
2011713
We had several days of minus teen weather last winter. The bucket worked very well for the most part. Occasionally if I overfilled it, there would be a thin shelf of ice on the top of the water (since it was furthest from the heat coil). I would recommend the bucket.
1341737
Shouldn't be a problem. I have to go check on mine (55 gal with 7 fish) every other week mainly because of water level. Mine is salt water tank and the feeder door was hitting the water and getting sticky and not opening. I would feel comfortable leaving mine a month but I have to change the settings so much I feel confortable that I have it programmed correctely.
848529
absolutely. if it keeps water from freezing itll keep food or whatevers in it from freezing. As it doesnt draw a lot of electricity, it would work best if its slightly enclosed... like a wooden box. Not knowing where you live, Im not sure how extreme your temps are, all i can say is i live in n Idaho and the temp at night latelys been down in the single digits. I liked mine so much i bought another one for the ducks. the ponds frozen over now.
417545
We have ours in southern Pennsylvania and let it run non stop all winter long. Some of the winter we had our pond heater plugged in but for most (and -20 windchill nights) we went without the heater. It's solidly built so you should be fine if you just let it run
2080264
I have mine in a shallow bird bath, probably about 4 inches of water. When it is really cold, there is just a small opening that does not freeze, probably about 6 inches which is fine with me as the birds can get a drink. I keep the heater over next to the edge and weigh it down. It is really cheap to operate because it doesn't thaw a larger area I guess, not enough heat? When the weather is not that cold, I have a much larger area available. I think you would probably have better luck if your water is not too deep. Hope this helps.
836694
I've not taken the temp of the heated water. I don't know what birds can tolerate but none of them seem to have a problem. We've had maybe a total of 10 days below freezing this winter and a few of those had lows in the teens. That's really cold for us. Because I have a shallow bird bath, I didn't give a second thought to adding water ever day. Evaporation due to the heater? Maybe a luttle bit.
33053
I have this heater in a 1.5 gallon tank and it works perfect. I keep a temp. Strip on the outside of my tank to keep track and it's always at 78 which my betta seems to be happy with. I live in Washington and we don't use our heater so the house stays pretty cold.
233138
For a 5 gallon bucket, this heater would be overkill. We use this heater with a 25 gallon stock waterer out in open pasture for our pigs, and until the weather goes below -20(F), it keeps the water ice free. At -20 or lower, a layer of ice does form, but it's no problem for us to break the top back open when we do our morning feedings. The ice layer is never more than an inch at that low temp. If you can, please consider using a 15 gallon plastic drum in place of the 5 gallon bucket. You will get 3 times the capacity, and the heater will be much better suited to it. Hope that helps.
2065106
I don't know, I left my pond running all winter. I had no problem with it freezing up at all. On my small filter I just took it apart and cleaned it out and put it in garage for winter.
1041453
I believe that your rig will work, due to the pressure differential, which is what makes the unit come on. You'll have to play with flow and pressure until you hit the right combination. As water gets colder coming in, you need to ramp up the cutoff points. Some pdroblems aren't directly due to a bad unit;it's just the physics involved.
265792
I'm using it in a 2.5 Gallon with a Betta....it works great! I used it all winter when our house temp. gets down to 65 degrees at night. The tank remained at a steady 80 degrees F. I don't use it in summer because our house stays at around 78. I recommend getting a thermometer as well....
790472
The only problem I have had is if the heater is outside the water in it can freeze and ruin it, but if only the propane tank in in the cold it probably won't matter. But no way keep the heater with water in the tubes out in the freezing temperature. It does not hold water in a tank but it has tubes that are exposed to the heat as it works...they when full of water can not be exposed to freezes. As far as my experience. I have gone through 3 of them outside. Otherwise they work great.
773463
I had it running this weekend in arrowhead it was fine. The heater was on to the house. I would imagine if it was below 30 the motor may not like it. I would not assume that because the water is moving it will not freeze at a lower temp. But I am sure the motor is not designed for freezing. But it really moves the water.