Homemade Heated Pet Dishes

Outdoor pets must have fresh, unfrozen water in the winter months, and building your own heated pet dish is an easy and inexpensive way to accomplish this task. Minimal wiring knowledge is needed to build this heater. You can assemble a heated water dish mostly from items you most likely have in your home already. Other items can be purchased from a local home improvement store.

Things You'll Need

  • Extension cord
  • Wire cutters
  • Wire strippers
  • Water heater thermostat
  • Screwdriver
  • Electrical tape
  • Light socket plug
  • Light bulb
  • Ceramic bowl
  • Plastic gallon ice cream bucket with lid
  • Cookie tin
  • Old coffee table or short bench
  • Jigsaw
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut one of the wires in the center of the extension cord with the wire cutters. Strip away three quarters of an inch of the wire covering with the wire strippers. Wrap one of the exposed wires around each of the screws on the water heater thermostat. Tighten the screws with a screwdriver. Cover the screws with electrical tape. Set the thermostat to the desired temperature. It is not recommended to set the thermostat higher than 100 degrees to avoid creating a fire hazard.

    • 2

      Plug the light socket plug into the extension cord. Screw the light bulb into the light socket. Place the ceramic bowl inside the plastic ice cream bucket. Set the light bulb and socket into the bowl. Wrap the cord one time around the outside of the bowl inside the bucket. Run the excess cord out the top of the bucket and to a power source.

    • 3

      Put the lid on the plastic bucket. Plug in the extension cord to the power source. The light bulb should illuminate inside the bucket until the desired temperature is reached and then go off. Fill the cookie tin with water, and set it on top of the covered plastic bucket.