Water Question for the North

[Ferd]

I need to be have an automatic ice free water supply for my cattle. I don't care what works in Texas, I am asking the people in Canada, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc. I have water and electricity available to work with.
Thank you very much

 

[Bez]

I need to be have an automatic ice free water supply for my cattle. I don't care what works in Texas, I am asking the people in Canada, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, etc. I have water and electricity available to work with.
Thank you very much

Not sure of your setup, but we filled the tank every day for them to drink. We used a floating electrically powered heater to keep it from freezing. We left it in the tank 24/7.
The pump we used for water was covered with a small plastic barrel and we kept a light in it to keep it from freezing up.
We used a two foot long hose from the pump to the tank to fill it.
Went down to about minus 38 and colder some nights and the water was still open when I checked it in the morning.
We had several different types of heaters - and they all work fine.
Just gave the last one away a few days ago.
We used to just order them from the local hardware store.
Cheers
Bez

 

[Dsth]

I installed my first mirafount energy free waterer about 35 years ago. it is still working every day. installed a second one about 20 years ago and that is still in use also. My last one was installed 4 years ago and I could not be happier that I am about that one. they apparently made some impressive improvements from the earlier ones. I will NEVER install a waterer that uses an electric heat element to keep it working in cold weather again. this last one worked right through the polar vortexes that dropped down from the North 2 - 3 years ago with no problems. read the model recommendations for the number of cattle that will be using it and follow installation instructions. then sit back and relax.

 

[daneg]

I've had good luck with Ritchie fountains mine are 20yrs old. Most important is to have a 8"+ riser from below frost line to surface to run water line in. Also a heat tape that runs inside the water pipe is the only way to go.

 

[Hardnosecattleco]

I just run a poly tank with a heater from tractor supply. I've been lucky enough to been able to keep the float on it this winter. It's also inside tho. We run all miraco waterers at the dairy and don't usually have to much issue. Keep heat on it gave enough cows drinking from it you shouldn't have a issue

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I installed my first mirafount energy free waterer about 35 years ago. it is still working every day. installed a second one about 20 years ago and that is still in use also. My last one was installed 4 years ago and I could not be happier that I am about that one. they apparently made some impressive improvements from the earlier ones. I will NEVER install a waterer that uses an electric heat element to keep it working in cold weather again. this last one worked right through the polar vortexes that dropped down from the North 2 - 3 years ago with no problems. read the model recommendations for the number of cattle that will be using it and follow installation instructions. then sit back and relax.

Mirafount ! Handsdown.. Helps to have enough numbers drawing water to keep chamber warm. If ball is set too high it may be hard
for weaner calves to handle in which case you can either bail out a little or lower the ball. Be careful about having ball too loose at below
zero F or valve can freeze. Also best to have hydrant close by to charge chamber if needed. No electric bill = $$!

 

[Ferd]

I should have explained a little more. I have a trough with a heater, hydrant, hose and float that works great until 32 or lower. I have a daughter in Florida. We are visiting, and my neighbor is working too hard using a short hose, watching the tank fill, draining the hose. The ponds and streams are frozen solid. I feel guilty and don't want it to happen again.
The mirafount is sounding good!!!!

 

[Ferd]

lost quote, sorry

 

[SBMF 2015]

Done the mirafount thing, not again. They sit to low to the ground the darn fat cattle soak their feet in them when it's hot out. Eventually they cracked the bottom of two, a 4 ball and a 6 ball. Had a 4 ball in a receiving yard, brought in a new group of feeder heifers. 3 wks later one of the hfrs looked horrible. Moved her to our hospital barn that has an open waterer. I swear she drank for five minutes straight. She never learned how to push the balls down on the mirafount.
We use Ritchie polly fountains with stainless steel pans. I'll never go back.

 

[Ferd]

Mirafount ! Handsdown.. Helps to have enough numbers drawing water to keep chamber warm. If ball is set too high it may be hard
for weaner calves to handle in which case you can either bail out a little or lower the ball. Be careful about having ball too loose at below
zero F or valve can freeze. Also best to have hydrant close by to charge chamber if needed. No electric bill = $$!

So set the ball loose (float low) until winter while they learn, then bring it up to keep the air out.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

So set the ball loose (float low) until winter while they learn, then bring it up to keep the air out.

When I wean a new set of calves I just put a short piece of pipe down past the ball until they learn where the water is.
Wean in Oct, usually leave it in about a 3 days to a week. Low ball works I just hate to mess with the valve!

 

[fasttommy]

Check out the Cobett website

 

[BFE]

Anyone use the type with lids, like a hog drinker?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I also use Mirafount. I have a heater in mine because there are sometimes I don't have cattle drinking out of it in the winter. We were -12F yesterday and -14F today. Gets cold.
If you have a tank and need to heat it, get the 1500 watt heater that fits into the drain hole near the bottom of the tank. Cattle like to play with the floating ones and pull them out.
If you want to hook up an automatic water valve on your existing system, be sure to run a heat tape from BELOW ground level on the inlet pipe and all the way on the hose to the tank.

 

[Dsth]

all of my mirafounts have an insert that you can thread a bolt into so it holds the ball off to the side. it is there for cattle to find water when first introduced to the waterer. I have seen a few of my calves that were born in December figure out how to drink out of my oldest one already this winter. when the weather warms a bit, the bolt goes in and calves that haven't learnt how to slide the ball over learn were the water is. have not had any problems with cattle not being able to figure things out.

 

[Ferd]

Check out the Cobett website

There's no ball or flapper to hold in heat. Do you use a heater?

 

[Silver]

What is the water source Ferd?

 

[Ferd]

I have town water way out in the middle of nowhere. I have it coming up to the hydrant, so I can run to the new waterer underground

 

[Silver]

I have town water way out in the middle of nowhere. I have it coming up to the hydrant, so I can run to the new waterer underground

Then it is hard to beat the practicality of a Ritchie or Canarm trough. You don't need to keep cattle on them to keep them working. I do like the Mirafont but they do need cattle on them as noted above. I move my cattle away from my Mirafont before calving calving time to keep them closer to the barn. The trough then freezes solid both in the trough and well underground. It thaws out on its own by sometime in late June usually.

 

[D2Cat]

So set the ball loose (float low) until winter while they learn, then bring it up to keep the air out.

Mirafounts come with two stainless steel bolts to thread in to keep the balls away from the holes to let the animals learn without having to push the balls over. I leave them laying in the bottom so there are never lost.