Farmer Solutions for frozen waterers

As I set here this evening its 10 degrees and -25 wind chill and dropping, we’ve had 10 inches of snow over the last 24 hours and sustained 20-25 mph winds. Having raised cattle and other livestock since 1980 I have tried many solutions to keep waterers open in sub freezing temps. Some worked better than others but none were great. All cost a lot of money to operate.

All stock require a steady supply of water even in the winter, to keep hydrated and help regulate their internal body temperature. The above does not do that. Eventually you will have a 1000 gallon ice block if you do nothing, if you use a electric heater you will have maybe 1/4 or 1/2 that in ice. You have to break it in the monring and again in the evening, maybe noon. That’s all you’re going to get done and like I say a few days and you have nowhere to put water.

Cattle tanks electric heaters require a huge amount of electricity ( $3.00-over $5.00 per day) to keep open and once it gets 10 degrees or lower and sustained low temps they all crumble like a cheap suit. Leaving a small hole above the heater for the heard to drink from. At $4.00 per day its $120.00 per month for 4 or 5 months. Thats a huge bill when the profit margins are so low.

The old cob heaters worked pretty well, you could get the water hot enough to bathe in but it required a lot of wood and time to nurse it. Plus all the time to cut and haul it

Propane, well seems you’re always out and its not cheap

I’ve even used the old Army oil drip heaters. Used oil is free, but it just turns into a mess if you drop any oil in the water and you will burn around a gallon per day. 100 gallons of oil is a lot of used oil to get and keep around.

Solution? A 1800 gph sump pump. It uses approximately 186 watts per hour. so @.15cents per kw hour that runs about .70 cents per 24 hours. Physics plays a huge roll. Running water has a hard time freezing until you reach near zero degrees f. Even then the ice will be pretty thin and can be broken with a small stick. The water underneath is still moving.

I take a 5 gallon bucket, drill it full of 1/2” holes so water can get in, then cut a hole in it for the 90 degree elbow I put on the pump to turn the water horizontal. My son made a holder that clamps onto the side of the tank _ upper left you can faintly see it. I place it in the bucket to hold the bucket in palce along with a few brick pavers to add weight.

Poultry has the same issues. The heaters you buy for poultry waterers suck. If it gets below +20 f every one I have used freezes. They are outragously priced and useless to boot.

Solution? 32 gallon Rubber maid garbage can. Nipple waterers and a small bucket heater. I set it outside the coop and during the day the sun heats it up so the thermostat on the bucket heater does not kick on. Put the nipple waterers an inch or so off the bottom, I put a broken tile in and set the heater on that. I also set the can on two cinder blocks so its off the ground. I have used this set up for years 15 below and still the poultry has water.

If you have any questions just leave a comment I can post more pictures and will answer what I can.

Keep the water warm

Martin