Freeze proof water...

[MoovItCow]

I'm just getting started in this any/all ideas would be helpful. I'm in northern IL and I will be trenching water lines in this spring. I've looked at numerous different waterers and I can't make up my mind. I'd like something I don't need to run power to, for heat in winter. Propane is expensive enough so I don't really want to water with that either. I've seen some solar/ground heat that claim to keep the water from freezing. Do these work well? Does anyone have one? I don't have any natural water source, creek, pond etc. I plan on have some cattle and a couple horses. Any ideas?

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Have your stock tank(s) within about 50' of a freeze-proof faucet unit. Depending on your frost line, bury the waterline and the bottom hook-up (about 6" needed for the faucet attachment component to the water line so allow extra inches for water line depth.) about 6" below your usual frost line at your location. Also, in the bottom 12" or so of your "hole" put pea gravel or small crushed rock in the bottom and top off with your soil to ground level. The gravel allows the faucet to drain after water is shut off. CAVEAT: always remove a hose from the water tank BEFORE turning off the faucet: Otherwise, the drain suction will siphon poluted water out of your stock tank back into your water supply. In freezing weather, disconnect your hose from the faucet unit and drain the hose. Then, you will always have "running" water to fill your tanks.

The freeze-proof units are available from most farm & ranch stores and generally come in 2 foot or 4 foot bury depths (the 2 foot units are 4 feet long; 4 foot units are 6 feed long).

Costs are usually in the $35 to $55 range for the agricultural grade units (There are also "high end" ones that can approach $100 or so; however, these expensive ones are not generally used in F & R settings).

Good luck!

 

[haase]

Might want to look at riche or mirafount, hope their spelled right,both have them with the plastic balls on top,cows push them down to drink.

 

[SRBeef]

I'm just getting started in this any/all ideas would be helpful. I'm in northern IL and I will be trenching water lines in this spring. I've looked at numerous different waterers and I can't make up my mind. I'd like something I don't need to run power to, for heat in winter. Propane is expensive enough so I don't really want to water with that either. I've seen some solar/ground heat that claim to keep the water from freezing. Do these work well? Does anyone have one? I don't have any natural water source, creek, pond etc. I plan on have some cattle and a couple horses. Any ideas?

Even though you want to use a non electric powered waterer, I would have your trenching contractor run a 10-2 w ground in the trench and a heat tape on the vertical for possible future use/just in case. You can put a deep heat tube and insulate the top 4 ft and get close.

However, with the winter in N ILL and just a few head drinking there will be times when you need to go out and break up ice. Good luck.

 

[msscamp]

I'm just getting started in this any/all ideas would be helpful. I'm in northern IL and I will be trenching water lines in this spring. I've looked at numerous different waterers and I can't make up my mind. I'd like something I don't need to run power to, for heat in winter. Propane is expensive enough so I don't really want to water with that either. I've seen some solar/ground heat that claim to keep the water from freezing. Do these work well? Does anyone have one? I don't have any natural water source, creek, pond etc. I plan on have some cattle and a couple horses. Any ideas?

There is no such thing as a "freeze-proof" waterer, unless there is a tank heater in it. We have a so-called "freeze-proof" waterer made by Ritchie. It has the balls in both ends, and those balls will freeze to the sides of the waterer and prevent the animals from pushing them down to drink when the temp is in the single digits. Solar/ground heat only works if the sun is shining, the ground isn't frozen, and the temps stay above freezing. If you have enough animals to ensure a rapid turn over in the water, that will help to keep it from freezing due to the insulating factors of the ground, and the warmer temp of the water coming into the waterer. Placing your waterer in a protected area (if possible) will also help with keeping it from freezing.

 

[dun]

We have a tank type waterer that has a trickler that can be turned on in freezing weather. The water squirting on the standing water keeps the pipes and the the standing water from freezing. It needs to have an overflow pipe routed away from it into a waste area.

 

[Susie David]

Tank heaters are the only way to go...bury the water line below the frost line, three feet works up here and be sure to use plenty of gravel around the vent on the frost free hydrant. We wrapped one with heat tape this fall all the way down and haven't had trouble this year even when it was below zero for a few weeks. If you run electric with the water be sure to encase the line, we had trouble with golphers chewing the bare 12/2 and had to run a overhead line.
Just what works for us...DMc

 

[KMacGinley]

The Cobett Waterer works great for us, didn't freeze up with the 20 below days we had. No electricity. I love it.

 

[MoovItCow]

Thanks for the response! I hadn't thought of the "heat" wire at the hydrants, good idea and cheap insurance.

 

[badaxemoo]

After three winters of dragging hoses around in subzero weather, I finally installed a Ritchie energy free two-hole waterer this fall. I followed their instructions and installed one of their insulated ground-heat tubes.

It's been great!

We hit -30 degrees and one ball froze shut, but a tap with my fist and it broke free. I keep the balls set a good 3/4 below the lip so that when the cows slobber water on it it isn't as likely to freeze. It has protection from W/NW wind.

I did run a wire out to it, but I after how it performed this winter, I don't think I'll need it.

 

[grubbie]

Heat tape is not necessary on a frost free hydrant. Mine is a 6 foot bury depth, it gets very cold here. The hydrant drains down to that six foot level every time you shut it off, thats the reason for the gravel underneath, so it doesn't plug up with dirt. It won't freeze down there. We use an electric tank heater. Remember if you use a hose on the hydrant to unhook it afterwards, it won't let the hydrant drain and it will freeze.

 

[mobgrazer]

We install our hydrants into a 5 gallon bucket that sits on gravel.

I know that there is 100 different ways to install them. But you need the water to drain fast so you need an air space. Gravel will fill in with silt and will not have an air space left. The top of the bucket needs to be 6" below your frost line.

http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/resmgmt/publis ... 0307-2.pdf


From what I have always been told by rednecks is the more traffic on the ground the deeper the frost will be pushed down. I do not know how true this is but with out stealing the tread what's your thought?

 

[grubbie]

We install our hydrants into a 5 gallon bucket that sits on gravel.

I know that there is 100 different ways to install them. But you need the water to drain fast so you need an air space. Gravel will fill in with silt and will not have an air space left. The top of the bucket needs to be 6" below your frost line.

http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/resmgmt/publis ... 0307-2.pdf


From what I have always been told by rednecks is the more traffic on the ground the deeper the frost will be pushed down. I do not know how true this is but with out stealing the tread what's your thought?

Wow good idea......wish I had known that before I buried mine. I will do that on the next one though.

 

[MoovItCow]

From what I have always been told by rednecks is the more traffic on the ground the deeper the frost will be pushed down. I do not know how true this is but with out stealing the tread what's your thought?

I've never heard that but it does make sense.

 

[P.A.L]

From what I have always been told by rednecks is the more traffic on the ground the deeper the frost will be pushed down. I do not know how true this is but with out stealing the tread what's your thought?

I've never heard that but it does make sense.

Here frost goes under 2 (7 feet) meters under the roads. Else were max. 1.5 meters....So were animals or cars move -frost will go deeper.....


-Frostneck-

 

[mnmtranching]

I have a submersible well. I operate it with a on/off switch only. A 1/8 inch hole in the drop pipe 12 feet below ground. Gravity lines to 3-4 tanks in different areas. I fill tanks daily. Cattle learn to come to water. I leave the tanks full when I leave. Some time the tanks are empty next day most of the time some water/ice is left. I don't use any heat in the tanks. I run enough water that the ice usually is melted by the time I'm done watering. This is a very good cold weather water system. 15 years and no freeze ups.

 

[mobgrazer]

I did have one freeze up this year. I have not set them up to use one the freeze proof water. I forgot to put the overflow pipe on the side and open it up; I did remember at 1 am when I woke up and remembered. I was not getting up to fix it and I had about a half inch of ice in the morning. Once I opened up a spot for them to drink I found that the float was frozen. It was a cold 20 minutes of work to fix it and I'm glad I did not get up that time to fix it. The wind chill was -13*f most of the night.

We pull our water out of our old irrigation lines that is set up with 3 hydraulic ram pumps and an underground water storage building. The worst part is moving 1,200' of 2 inch black pipe from one outlet to the next every 6 days or more depending on the stocking rate at the time. Lying on the cold ground and popping the cam and grove coupling and getting your arms wet sucks when it's wet.

 

[Carlos D.]

my nieghbour has energy free waterers --something new ---and he says it hasn;t froze up this winter ---its suppose to be the coldest january in a long time-----we get -50 below with the wind chill --I;m sure sold ----I think they have a culvert dug in the ground about 10 feet deep make a trough out of a tractor tire and some how the ground heat keeps it from freezeing --I'll find out more this summer --I sure intend to set it up