Have you thought about NOT having to traipse out into the snow to turn the Rain Bucket heater on? Maybe adding an X10 remote ON/OFF power switch...or something similar?
I usually turn it on before the snow starts, but that might not be a bad idea. I'm usually out there every hour measuring snow, but a remote switch would probably help me remember to turn off the heater when the snow stops. Thanks for the suggestion. I have 120V at the pole, so that wouldn't be a problem.