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Heat Tubes For Farrowing Crates
"It keeps the floor temperature virtually constant for baby pigs at a fraction of the cost of heat lamps," says Norman Miller, Puxico, Mo., about the heating tubes he and his father Cletus made for their farrowing crates. The invention took first place at the 1996 National Hog Farmer inventions con-test at the World Po
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Heat Tubes For Farrowing Crates HOG EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Hog Equipment & Ideas (351) 20-5-36 "It keeps the floor temperature virtually constant for baby pigs at a fraction of the cost of heat lamps," says Norman Miller, Puxico, Mo., about the heating tubes he and his father Cletus made for their farrowing crates. The invention took first place at the 1996 National Hog Farmer inventions con-test at the World Pork Expo.
Each unit consists of a 2-in. dia., 44-in. long, U-shaped length of PVC pipe that's filled with water and warmed by an electric nipple water heater line inserted into one end. The tubes are placed under the pen dividers so each unit can serve two pens.
"It works better than a heating lamp be-cause it provides heat for the baby pigs yet keeps the sow cool, and it also costs much less to operate," says Miller. "It also has virtually eliminated piling of baby pigs and cut our fire insurance premiums in half.
"The secret to farrowing is to have a separate zone of comfort for both the sow and the baby pigs. The sow is most comfortable at a temperature of about 60 degrees while the baby pigs need about 100 degrees. Heat lamps cause sows to get hot much more quickly, especially in the summer, and heat mats are more expensive because you need a thermostat to control the temperature. Our heating tubes keep the temperature at a constant 103 degrees which is about 3 to 4 degrees warmer than heat lamps, yet the sows stay cool. Sows also seem to eat better in crates equipped with heating tubes."
Miller estimates that it costs about $4 per day in electricity to operate the heat lamps in two crates compared to 10 to 15 cents per day to operate one heating tube. "Another advantage is that you don't have to worry about burning out any heat lamps.
We've run our heating tubes for 8 months without burning up a nipple heater."
Miller says it's important to drill a hole in the pipe at its highest point near the nipple heater to prevent air pockets that could burn out the heater. "Make sure you use new PVC pipe because used pipe tends to crack from the heat and leak."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Norman Miller, 23742 Co. Rd. 275, Puxico, Mo. 63960 (ph 573 222-6912).
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