I need advice on unfrezing my water trough in Alabama

[alabama]

It is cold enough to freeze water in Alabama and staying that way for the next week or so.
It is not uncommon to get nights below freezing in south central Alabama but for it to stay below freezing all day is uncommon. In some of my pens I water cattle and my pipes tend to freeze a few nights a year but they though out by the afternoon and I can refill the trough. However, this week I don't expect them to though out all week so I need advice on how y'all keep water in your water troughs up north? Water trough
The under ground stuff is OK but where it sticks up a foot or so and the attached hose are all ice. And the trough is also iced over and getting worse.

 

[dun]

I use freeze proof hydraunts and drain the hoses after filling the tank. The tank you just break the ice and scope out the chunks with a fishing dip net

 

[alacattleman]

i got a tank heater that came from TS someone gave me few years ago,, i guess im gonna have too finally test it out, looks like we're in for it,

 

[fargus]

We build everything assuming it will need to withstand prolonged freezing weather. We don't have any exposed pipes here, they are all enclosed in energy-free insulated water bowls. That isn't practical for you though. We can buy heater cables at the local hardware store up here, they will keep water flowing in an exposed pipe down to an air temp below minus 20. They aren't horrendously expensive (I think a 30 foot cable was about 50 bucks) and they just plug in to a 110 volt extension cord. I don't know if you can get those or not, but they might be your best option without spending a pile of money.

 

[lakeportfarms]

We build everything assuming it will need to withstand prolonged freezing weather. We don't have any exposed pipes here, they are all enclosed in energy-free insulated water bowls. That isn't practical for you though. We can buy heater cables at the local hardware store up here, they will keep water flowing in an exposed pipe down to an air temp below minus 20. They aren't horrendously expensive (I think a 30 foot cable was about 50 bucks) and they just plug in to a 110 volt extension cord. I don't know if you can get those or not, but they might be your best option without spending a pile of money.

All good advice, but with global warming coming and getting worse and worse by the day, it it would be very costly to take those steps for the short term (sarcasm). If you're worried about pipes bursting get the heat tape. If you think insulating the pipe may be enough to stop from freezing you could use that without breaking the bank. And to possibly avoid having to find a tank heater just cut some 10" or so pieces of foam insulation board to float on top of the stock tank and cover a lot of the surface area. The cattle still poke their heads in to drink, and it really cuts down on the amount of ice that will form.

 

[1982vett]

Going to make a mess but fix it so that the water "drips" or runs a bit. Doesn't take much, just keep the water in the pipe flowing.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

During times when my cows don't/can't access the creek, I generally do as dun does. I have three 100 gal. troughs. Our hydrants are 'freeze-proof'. I use a short hose to fill them, disconnect the hose and drain it and its ready for the next fill-up. In the mornings I will go out and break ice and scoop out a few chunks.

Occasionally the cows will have a "hole" through the ice that they drink from, and I have found that if I can keep just that one hole open, there will be less ice in the trough.

Where I work, they use Mirafonts. The one pen that has a trough, uses a tank heater.

Katherine

 

[dun]

Going to make a mess but fix it so that the water "drips" or runs a bit. Doesn't take much, just keep the water in the pipe flowing.

I've tried that method. While I['ll admit it's amusing to watch the cows skating on the ice sheet that forms I get worried when 3rd stage cows do bellyflops and have to really struggle to get back up.

 

[1982vett]

Going to make a mess but fix it so that the water "drips" or runs a bit. Doesn't take much, just keep the water in the pipe flowing.

I've tried that method. While I['ll admit it's amusing to watch the cows skating on the ice sheet that forms I get worried when 3rd stage cows do bellyflops and have to really struggle to get back up.

Rarely freezes that hard down here. We mostly have problems with the above ground piping freezing. They can stay frozen for a day or two if it doesn't get above 30, but puddles don't freeze more than a thin layer.

 

[dun]

Going to make a mess but fix it so that the water "drips" or runs a bit. Doesn't take much, just keep the water in the pipe flowing.

I've tried that method. While I['ll admit it's amusing to watch the cows skating on the ice sheet that forms I get worried when 3rd stage cows do bellyflops and have to really struggle to get back up.

Rarely freezes that hard down here. We mostly have problems with the above ground piping freezing. They can stay frozen for a day or two if it doesn't get above 30, but puddles don't freeze more than a thin layer.

If you get any of this weired cold we're getting this week and into next you might see it freeze deeper then that.

 

[1982vett]

Yep it could I guess.

 

[iowafarmer]

Heat tape if you have a way to plug it in. Insulate the pipes, use small straw or hay bales to stack around the pipe if you can without livestock eating them, or use insulation. Drain hoses and pipes when not in use. Or else use hot water to open them up every time you have to water. We put in insulated heated water fountains up here and even those freeze sometimes so :roll: you do what you can and then you deal with it when the time comes.

 

[gertguy]

wat i been doing is like dun i get the ice out and filler back up ,they aint drinking a whole lot so it will last them all day, then i drain the hose and when cut off the hidrint it drains back into the ground so problem solved. Yeah its agrivating doing it to 6-7 waters per day but no more cold weather than we have it aint worth the extra money to buy heaters

 

[Topknot]

Insulate the pipes, use small straw or hay bales to stack around the pipe if you can without livestock eating them, or use insulation. .

As Iowafarmer said, you can stack small straw bales around the pipe and cover with a staked down tarp to help keep the cattle from eating your straw.

Good luck, its crazy cold up here too.

 

[milkmaid]

Drain the hoses, and use a water heater or break ice on the water trough.

 

[MO_cows]

It's a pain to bust the ice every day but unless it's gonna get cold enough for long enough to freeze the tank solid that's your only choice besides a tank heater. Keep in mind that the heater has a thermostat in it, it's not going to kick on and use any electricity unless it needs to. But if you don't want to spend $50 on a heater that you only need once in a few years, that is understandable.

You can put heat tape on the pipes, it's pretty cheap to buy and run, but I wouldn't put it on any hoses. Just drain them every time you use them as others have said.

We put our tank right under the hydrant to avoid messing with a hose at all.

 

[djinwa]

Probably a dumb idea for most of you, but with my couple of cows, I just haul out a couple buckets of hot water and melt through the ice. Perhaps for short term you could do something like that - fill something larger with hot water if hauling to a big tank.

Me being cheap, I don't like a tank heater going round the clock heating up the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

 

[Aaron]

We build everything assuming it will need to withstand prolonged freezing weather. We don't have any exposed pipes here, they are all enclosed in energy-free insulated water bowls. That isn't practical for you though. We can buy heater cables at the local hardware store up here, they will keep water flowing in an exposed pipe down to an air temp below minus 20. They aren't horrendously expensive (I think a 30 foot cable was about 50 bucks) and they just plug in to a 110 volt extension cord. I don't know if you can get those or not, but they might be your best option without spending a pile of money.

We wire all of our water troughs with 120 volt duplex outlets on the inside. When the line freezes (-40F or lower), we throw a hair dryer in, aimed at the water line, on full blast and leave it for a while. Within 1/2 hour or so, water should be flowing.

Also, as fargus mentioned, you can by plug-in themostat heater cords that will run along the length of your intake line and thaw it out at the temperature you set it at. :cowboy:

 

[Alan]

I use freeze proof hydraunts and drain the hoses after filling the tank. The tank you just break the ice and scope out the chunks with a fishing dip net

I do pretty much the same thing as Dun, the freeze proof hydraunts have the shut off about 3 feet under ground and the excess water drains out. Where we live every thing is uphill, no matter were you're walking you always have to walk uphill (it seems) So I drag a couple of hoses up the hill and let them drain. A few times a winter the ice in the toughs will get about 2 to 3 inches thick, I just break it with a pitch fork and toss out the chunks big enough to stay on the fork. Also when I refill the tank the water coming out of the tap tends to melt much to the remaining ice.... until it refreezes :?

Alan

 

[Nowland Farms]

Alabama,

Several years ago, I installed these Water Fountains by Beheln Country in my pastures. I placed a fountain in the fence line between pastures so 1 fountain serves 2 pastures.

You can find out more info here - http://www.behlencountry.com/watererspage

I don't have to worry about the cows water any more. The water stays cool in our hot summers and cool (not frozen) in our winters. Also since the balls cover the entrance, I do not have to worry about alage growth or trash getting in the waters. As a matter of fact it was 2-3 years before I even drained the fountains to clean them.