water tank heaters

[MistyMorning]

Do you cold weather folks leave your water tank heaters on 24/7 or do you shut them off during the day?

 

[Train]

I think you may get a variety of answers to this as as some peoples cold weather is cold, and others amounts to just a good chill. :lol: At our place it's 24/7. Once the real cold hits it don't take long for things to ice over.

 

[hillsdown]

What kind of water tank heaters are you asking about Misty?

 

[dun]

WHen we use them they're on 24/7. They have (or should have anyway) a thermostat built into them so they only come on when needed

 

[MistyMorning]

The kind of tank heater I'm asking about is the kind you stick in the bottom of the tank and plug in. It has two elements and Dun mine does not have a thermostat on it. I usually just leave it on all the time, but was thinking about maybe saving some electricity. My quess is if I shut it off I will forget to plug it back in and then have a 150 gal ice block!

 

[dun]

The kind of tank heater I'm asking about is the kind you stick in the bottom of the tank and plug in. It has two elements and Dun mine does not have a thermostat on it. I usually just leave it on all the time, but was thinking about maybe saving some electricity. My quess is if I shut it off I will forget to plug it back in and then have a 150 gal ice block!

I have 3 or 4 of them and they all have thermostats. The small bucket type heaters don't and are a pain in the butt. I din;t think they even made the bigger types without thermostats anymore.

 

[MistyMorning]

The kind of tank heater I'm asking about is the kind you stick in the bottom of the tank and plug in. It has two elements and Dun mine does not have a thermostat on it. I usually just leave it on all the time, but was thinking about maybe saving some electricity. My quess is if I shut it off I will forget to plug it back in and then have a 150 gal ice block!

I have 3 or 4 of them and they all have thermostats. The small bucket type heaters don't and are a pain in the butt. I din;t think they even made the bigger types without thermostats anymore.

Dun you are probably right. I guess I was thinking about a thermostat I could control the temp on. My safest bet is like I said, leave it plugged in all of the time as I can be a little forgetful at times

 

[cfpinz]

Don't mean to change the subject, but what type of heater do you folks prefer for the 100/150 gal Rubbermaid tanks?

cfpinz

 

[dun]

Don't mean to change the subject, but what type of heater do you folks prefer for the 100/150 gal Rubbermaid tanks?

cfpinz

I use a 1500 watt submersible with a wire cage around it. Just throw it in, plug it in and forget it. Good idea to protect the cord someway from cows. Neighbor lost a couple calves. One ate the insulation off then it fell in and touched the metal sides. Don;t know why it killed the calves, just knocked me on my butt.

 

[ENNOT]

Dun, do you use a a ground rod and connect a wire to the rod and water tank?

 

[dun]

Dun, do you use a a ground rod and connect a wire to the rod and water tank?

No, I just use a regualr gorunded outlet. Wouldn;t do much good to connect a ground rod to a rubbermaid tank

 

[jkwilson]

Neighbor lost a couple calves. One ate the insulation off then it fell in and touched the metal sides. Don;t know why it killed the calves, just knocked me on my butt.

I was building a pen at a pasture away from the house many years ago, when I heard a loud thud behind me. An 800lb heifer was laying there with the extension cord for my circular saw in her mouth. I yanked it out and she got up. Hard to believe she chewed through it that quickly. 110 has plenty of kick to kill you if conditions are right (or wrong).

 

[msscamp]

Do you cold weather folks leave your water tank heaters on 24/7 or do you shut them off during the day?

Once it gets cold enough to turn them on, they are 24/7. All of the tank heaters have a built in thermostat, so they automatically kick off if the temperature reaches a certain point.

 

[tytower]

I am interested in what you use for large 5000 gal rainwater tanks.

Do you heat the water or warm the air over the top of the water level ?

 

[hillsdown]

Dun, do you use a a ground rod and connect a wire to the rod and water tank?

No, I just use a regualr grounded outlet. Wouldn;t do much good to connect a ground rod to a rubbermaid tank

I am using one for the first time.A submersible in a metal 50 gallon stock trough. It is plugged into the outlets on the deck of the house which are grounded.I wrapped the two cords in electrical tape and then covered them with a garbage bag and wrapped them with electrical tape again.I am not worried about them fooling with the heater as it is just 2 horses and the "camels".

The only thing I am worried about is screwing around with the hose in -30 weather. Also what my power bill will be.The heater turns on at 35 and off at 45 degrees fahrenheit. Next year a CSI drinker is going in by the house.

 

[Train]

What's a CSI drinker? We had to do a lot of messing around with water hoses last winter. I finally bought good rubber hoses,(5/8) and made sure they were completely drained after each use.

 

[hillsdown]

What CSI drinker?'s a We had to do a lot of messing around with water hoses last winter. I finally bought good rubber hoses,(5/8) and made sure they were completely drained after each use.

What CSI drinker?'s Sorry that's kinda an inside joke.They are really called SPI livestock waterers.

Here is a link.

http://www.spiplastics.com/agricultural/agricultural.ht

We installed the VS15E last week for the bulls.