What if the birdbath runs dry? Does it still heat? Won't that blow fuses or trip circuit breakers in the house?
492539
Don't let it run dry. Even when it gets low it does not heat as well so be sure to keep the water level up.
492540
I don't know if it will blow circuits or not. I doubt it. But i'm not an engineer or electrician, so i couldn't say for sure. I think it will keep heating, but it doesn't put out a great deal of heat, just enough to keep the water from freezing. I'm around enough to refill the water. If I were gone for a few days, I would unplug it.
492541
I am not sure. I have my birdbath close to the house and check it out the kitchen window a lot. I keep water in it all the time. I have not had any problems so far. I would unplug it if I left for a long period of time just in case. Mine gets filled about every other day. My friend has one and she has never complained about any problems either. She has used hers for years. If she had any problems she would have told me for sure.
492542
designed to turn off...bought one at local store and it was tripping breaker and starting to look corroded after 2 weeks. Found manufacture date stamped on unit "2008", returned and took another chance, ordered here and it has been working well. Birdbath is dry as I write this (well below freezing) no problems. Now I have to get out there and fill it :-) does run dry pretty quickly with shallow bath.
1761390
This pump is normally submersed in water, like a sump pump, so this question does not make sense. Operating it dry could be expected to quickly burn it out. It was not designed to pump very hot water either.
900357
This heater will trip any GFI on the same circuit if it is overloaded or if the plug or cord is being affected by water somehow. Since it's probably outside you need to seal the plug/receptacle from moisture getting in.
962364
We have outside places to plug in the heated cat house. They have a braker on them should something happen.. You need to be careful of weather or water with electricity.
1885276
As with many electrical devices, heat inside an enclosed plastic container, installed outside, with no air circulation will develop condensation inside the container. This could be as bad or worse than being in direct rain fall.
1380181
I don't understand. If you drill the hole over the PVC cylinder the birds will get wet. Are you suggesting drilling a hole in the wood roof to one side of the house, so that the cylinder still remains dry?
1518576
Hi, honestly Ive always heard that a stone birdbath is ok outside as long as there is no water in it that may freeze, thereby possibly cracking the bowl. SI think this birdbath is too beautiful to chance it,and if it needs to be empty anyway,why risk it. We brought ours in and stored it for winter. We'll put it out in the next few days. Enjoy!
2193637
The bird heater stays on when plugged in to the electrical outlet. It does not have a thermostat. It took me three different heaters to get one that even worked for any length of time. You get what you pay for. This is a VERY cheap model. If you want something to last, keep looking. There are some that do turn off once the temperature has reached a certain point. I had asked for a refund for my heater and they just kept sending a replacement. Third time was charm!!!
1459381
It trips (presumably because it overheats triggering a safety switch, not the breaker in the electric circuit) when plugged into a standard wall socket (no extension cord). It trips at HIGH setting 1200 watts but does not trip at 800 watts. She set it closer to herself and gets along at the lower setting with considerable complaint. Sorry to have been unclear in the original review which I was trying to keep short.
1956307
First check the electrical outlet with a light or a tester and see if you have power there . Did you have some water in the bowl ? There is thermostatic stop if there is no water so the plastic does not melt . It's only a 60 watt element to keep the water warm . If you have a problem let me know .
1832467
I use mine for chickens and it does run dry at times. The longest it has run dry was 12 hours overnight as I forgot to unplug it. I just filled it and it's still working fine. It has been about a month since this happened and all is well so far.
836693
The device has an internal thermostat that cannot be reset. I just add water about every day to the bird bath. That has the added benefit of cleaning out the bird droppings every now and then with a broom.
2193652
There should be a thermal link (fuse) some where in it as a safety feature. It could have blown if the unit got to hot. Also look at heating element, it could have split from calcium in the water.
2050932
I would put some foil or maybe a heavy towel over it while the power is off. However if the power is off for an extended amount of time, I don't know if the eggs would survive or not. You will just have to hope the power stays on. We have hatched 7 or 8 batches so far with no problems. Last batch was a mixture of chicken eggs, Guineas and 1 turkey egg and they all hatched.
1195829
I ended up sending this back, it was too big and blew the circuit breaker. So I never had it up and running at full heat. Sorry
2237056
Sounds like a good idea...? Using it dry may tend to generate a lot of heat and tear it up.
1899595
i have an electric dryer that i use at home but i bought this for traveling . i travel to florida monthly and it works well in that high humidity environment . if my expensive ( $ 100 ) electric one dies i will replace it with one of these