Big Foot Tube Brooders

Another item of interest at the 2012 IPE show was the Big Foot Radiant Tube Heater by Space Ray. Space Ray manufacturers some the best heating equipment on the market; Hog Slat and Georgia Poultry have carried their 40,000 Btu poultry brooder and tube heaters for years.

“The Big Foot is a hybrid heater that combines the best qualities of the standard brooder and tube heaters,” explained Space Ray’s Wilf Jackson. “Tube heaters have the advantage of less equipment to maintain but tend to produce a heating pattern that is oval in shape, while individual brooders produce a better heating footprint on the floor but require a producer to clean more pieces of equipment.”

“The heating footprint of the Big Foot is rectangular without gaps and the equipment can be installed close to the ceiling like a tube heater. Big Foot achieves its large, even footprint by utilizing a 19° angle on the reflector shield eliminating problems with convective wash as the heat waves are directed towards the house floor.”

Current plans are to offer the Big Foot in 60,000 and 90,000 Btu models and both single and dual stage ignition with emitter lengths of 15’ and 20’.

The Big Foot is being field tested by Hog Slat in a local farm and Space Ray is having independent tests conducted starting in February. We look forward to reporting on the results of those tests in future blogs.