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Has anyone seen another place to buy something like these?
I live next door to these guys and will probably stop by to pick them up but I need around 18 of them and was wondering if there was a place that had them for less and in stock.
I don't want the metal ones that everyplace has as the catch staw on fire when knocked down [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
Thanks
I have used the aluminum reflector units with the light socket. I wired them in series in pairs. I used the aluminum reflectors with the wire cage over the front that is to protect a glass light bulb. I did not, however, use light bulbs or "heat bulbs." Instead I used ceramic core heaters made with heater wire coils on the ceramic core. These have standard light bulb threads to screw in where a regular heat or light bulb would screw in (medium base light socket.)
Q: Why didn't I just use heat bulbs?
A: They don't last as long and they break easily.
While heat lamps can be wired like I wired the ceramic heaters and last longer they are still prone to breaking and still don't last as long as the little ceramic cored heaters.
You can just screw in the ceramic cored heaters in place of heat lamps and get longer life BUT I wired them in pairs in series. Two heaters in series (each gets about 60 volts or 1/2 of line voltage) and each produces 1/4 as much heat so the pair only produces 1/2 the heat of just plugging one in the normal fashion. You do need to use them in matched pairs, each rted at the same number of Watts.
Q: why do this?
A: the heaters last indefinitely running at this reduced power and it spreads out the heat to two reflectors so yo don't need it to be as hot as if all the heat had to come from one so you spread the heat out and make it more uniform.
The aluminum reflector lights are cheap. IF you can't easily find them with the wire guards you can make your own guards easily enough with hardware cloth or chicken wire or...
Just guessing but what I describe should cost about 1/2 or less of the units for which you gave the link, last longer, and distribute the heat better.
Pat
Got link to those heaters you are using?
I know all about the wire guards you talk about but goats can knock them off to easy.
CarlUman, If I went DIY on the guards NO animal could knock them off. They might crush the entire light assy but not separate the guards from the reflectors.
As to a link... I never bought any of those ceramic cored heaters with medium base light bulb threads over the internet. I found them at several actual old time hardware stores such as San Diego Hardware etc.
I suggest going to a real hardware store to see if they can get some for you or if you are good with Google, give that a try.
Pat
I ended up just using fence steeples on the cord to make dang sure they don't get knocked down. I found one place that had a decent price on the ceramic bulbs. I'll order one and see how I like it.
Thanks
I've used those ceramic cones and such with heater wire wrapped on them for years and only had one failure which I fixed. With the wire securely stapled it is not so likely that the critters will get one down and bust it up. If it were me I'd put a ring of machine screws around the reflector and use them to attach some fence material or criss crossed wire (like bailing wire of electric fence wire) to make sure nothing (including any body parts of animals) gets in where the hot elements are.
If your weather is like ours just worse, you must be having a cold snap now as it has been in the mid teens in the mornings here in south central Oklahoma. My buddy called to stop me from coming over to help him with his house building as he was less willing than I to work out in these conditions (20F and 20MPH wind)
Pat