Nelson Water Bucket Heaters

Anyone with outside dog kennels in the northern climates knows that it’s a struggle to keep your dog supplied with fresh, un-frozen water in the winter months. Nelson Water Bucket Heaters solve this problem by heating the water to above freezing. Nelson Bucket Heaters will keep water from freezing in temperatures down to sub-zero degrees Fahrenheit. The heaters are thermostatically controlled, keeping water temperatures around 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit using 200 watts at 120 volts.

“Our family used to rotate three LCS Flat Sided Kennel Pails to our Lab's kennel during the winter. One with fresh water in the morning, a second with fresh water in the afternoon, and another trip out in the dark before bedtime with a third bucket of fresh water. The frozen buckets were brought inside until they thawed enough to release their icy blocks. Additional trips outside to dump out the ice blocks, and by winter's end we had amassed a small iceberg in our yard.

The Nelson Water Bucket Heater allows a constant supply of fresh water, regardless of the outside temperature. Some customers stated their dogs won't drink warm water, but I found the heater keeps our dog's water at approximately 40 degrees. Warm enough that it doesn't freeze, but cool enough for a satisfying drink.” – Amy Bravis, LCS Customer Service

Nelson has two solutions to fit different styles of water buckets: the Nelson Water Bucket Heater and Nelson Water Bucket Heater for Kennels. The Nelson Water Bucket Heater is designed to work with up to 5 gallon buckets. The heater easily mounts to the side of the bucket and is designed for the heating element to be as low in the bucket as possible. The Nelson Water Bucket Heater for Kennels is designed to work in kennels where you are running conduit pipes to the location, removing the bracket that comes with the Bucket Heater.

With bucket heater design, the heaters include protective copper piping around the electrical cord that extends from the water bucket to outside of the kennel to protect against chewing. The kennel version is designed for its wiring to be sheathed in electrical conduct built into the kennel. Both kennels include stainless steel brackets to secure the bucket heaters to the bucket or the kennel conduit pipe to the kennel pole. The bucket heater version also includes a security chain to keep the heater from being pulled into the kennel and either exposing the cord or unplugging the cord from an outlet. The heating elements in both models include a stainless steel coil spring to protect tubular heating element from damage by impact.

Staff Tip: If you have a dog that is known to move their buckets around or knock over their buckets often, we recommend using a type of bucket that you can secure to the kennel fence or structure.

Nelson Bucket Heater vs. Nelson Bucket Heater for Kennels

If you have a dog in an outside kennel, you are obligated to supply fresh water at all times. The Nelson Water Bucket Heater is the obvious solution during months with temperatures below freezing.