If you care about your neighborhood birds and want to provide them with a regular place to bath and drink, building a birdbath in your backyard or garden is the solution. If you are living in a wintery place, the water in your birdbath will freeze when the winter comes. You can install heaters for your birdbath but it can cost you a lot of money. The problem can be solved by making a solar powered birdbath. With a few instructions and supplies, you can make it by your own. Here\’s how you can do it.
Things that you need:
- 2 units of 2 by 4 inch pieces of wood
- plastic thermal film
- drill
- 4 by 4 foot sheet of plywood
- drill bits
- stapler
- copper pipe
- black latex interior paint
- Plexiglas
- paint brush
- construction adhesive
- garden hose
- 90 degree pipe adapters
- water valve shutoff
Steps:
- First, use a sheet of plywood for the bottom of the box to make a box for the solar birdbath heater. Cut the 2 by 4s. Cut four 4 foot pieces and then nail them to the edges of the plywood bottom.
- Then, line the heater box with plastic thermal film. Use a stapler to staple it to the frame. Make two holes at the opposite corners using drill and drill bits to allow room for the pipes.
- Install the entry copper pipe inside the corner of the box. Place the 90 degree pipe adapters on the end of the pipe. This will allow it to turn 180 degrees. Install the exit corner pipe inside the other corner of the box just like the same way the entry pipe installed.
- Next, paint the cooper pipes and the inside of the box with black latex exterior paint. Paint them with several coats to make sure that everything is a dark black.
- Affix a sheet of Plexiglas over the heater box. Use construction adhesive to glue the Plexiglas to the top of the box. The Plexiglas will help to capture the sun light, hence the pipes will be warm and the heat is kept in the box.
- The most suitable place for the solar heater box is the area which receives direct sunlight.
- Then, connect the box to your outside water faucet with a garden hose. Use the top pipe for the water supply. Connect the solar heater to the birdbath through the lower pipe with another hose.
- Finally, affix a water valve shutoff on the lower pipe by attaching it to the copper pipe.
Additional Reading:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5832904_make-own-solar-birdbath-heater.html
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andydr/2516608/
