Stolen from a dairy site
dun
Milking cows can come to the barnyard for water, but I have a separate
4 acre pasture where I out-winter some heifers. It is across a
driveway from an unheated barn where there is water, but the water
supply is on the far side of the barn, so I would have to tear up some
concrete to bury water lines. Here in south-central PA, we don't get
bitter winters, but we do get cold spells, and lines laying on the
ground will freeze up.
Last year, I ran a hose daily, but it was tedious. My uncle came to
visit from Alaska this past summer, and he said that it is often
impossible there to bury lines because of the permafrost. He said that
they use circulating systems to keep the water from freezing.
So this year I have a 55 gallon plastic drum in an insulated closet in
the barn. The drum has the top cut off, and a float valve mounted
about halfway down to keep it full. I placed a 1/6 HP submersible pump
in the bottom, which connects to a garden hose, which in turn connects
to 3/4" black poly. The black poly runs out the barn, thru a shallow
4" PVC pipe under the drive, and out to the pasture. It runs about 200
feet, loops back to the barn, ending up in the drum. The pump runs all
the time, keeping the water moving at about 2 gpm. I also placed two
1500W tank heaters in the drum (they kick on when the water temp drops
below 40F). Out in the pasture, the loop is interrupted by a T with a
brass boiler drain and a brass quick connect. If it is going to be
above freezing for a few days, I can hook up the pasture tank with its
automatic float, and the water takes care of itself. If we are having
a cold snap, the ciruclating water keeps the brass quick connect from
freezing, and I use a short length of hose to fill the pasture tub.
Then I disconnect the hose and swing it around to drain it so it won't
freeze. Normally the same 30 gallons keeps circulating around, but if
water is drawn off in the pasture, then the float valve in the barn
refills the drum.
This system is working well, but hasn't been extensively tested. We
have had two weeklong spells of daily temps in the teens & twenties,
and nothing froze. If the brass faucet or quick connect freezes, you
can give it a quick blast with a portable propane torch to thaw it.
This is a cheap solution. You can get used plastic 55 gallon drums for
a few bucks, 400' of 160 psi black poly (the tough stuff) for $75, the
pump is $40, the heaters $50 total, and another $25 for misc supplies.
I figure a 1/6 HP pump and the heaters cost about the equivalent of
two 100W lightbulbs left on all the time, about $15 a month.
So that's my crazy idea this year. Maybe it will help you
Speaking of crazy ideas, I saw the "quick and easy" cow sidewalks in
Graze. I would be concerned that without a good base, after a few
years the slabs would break up due to ground movement and freeze/thaw
cycles. Then there would be a lot of fill to clean up. Am I naive to
worry about that?
Michael in PA
dun
Milking cows can come to the barnyard for water, but I have a separate
4 acre pasture where I out-winter some heifers. It is across a
driveway from an unheated barn where there is water, but the water
supply is on the far side of the barn, so I would have to tear up some
concrete to bury water lines. Here in south-central PA, we don't get
bitter winters, but we do get cold spells, and lines laying on the
ground will freeze up.
Last year, I ran a hose daily, but it was tedious. My uncle came to
visit from Alaska this past summer, and he said that it is often
impossible there to bury lines because of the permafrost. He said that
they use circulating systems to keep the water from freezing.
So this year I have a 55 gallon plastic drum in an insulated closet in
the barn. The drum has the top cut off, and a float valve mounted
about halfway down to keep it full. I placed a 1/6 HP submersible pump
in the bottom, which connects to a garden hose, which in turn connects
to 3/4" black poly. The black poly runs out the barn, thru a shallow
4" PVC pipe under the drive, and out to the pasture. It runs about 200
feet, loops back to the barn, ending up in the drum. The pump runs all
the time, keeping the water moving at about 2 gpm. I also placed two
1500W tank heaters in the drum (they kick on when the water temp drops
below 40F). Out in the pasture, the loop is interrupted by a T with a
brass boiler drain and a brass quick connect. If it is going to be
above freezing for a few days, I can hook up the pasture tank with its
automatic float, and the water takes care of itself. If we are having
a cold snap, the ciruclating water keeps the brass quick connect from
freezing, and I use a short length of hose to fill the pasture tub.
Then I disconnect the hose and swing it around to drain it so it won't
freeze. Normally the same 30 gallons keeps circulating around, but if
water is drawn off in the pasture, then the float valve in the barn
refills the drum.
This system is working well, but hasn't been extensively tested. We
have had two weeklong spells of daily temps in the teens & twenties,
and nothing froze. If the brass faucet or quick connect freezes, you
can give it a quick blast with a portable propane torch to thaw it.
This is a cheap solution. You can get used plastic 55 gallon drums for
a few bucks, 400' of 160 psi black poly (the tough stuff) for $75, the
pump is $40, the heaters $50 total, and another $25 for misc supplies.
I figure a 1/6 HP pump and the heaters cost about the equivalent of
two 100W lightbulbs left on all the time, about $15 a month.
So that's my crazy idea this year. Maybe it will help you
Speaking of crazy ideas, I saw the "quick and easy" cow sidewalks in
Graze. I would be concerned that without a good base, after a few
years the slabs would break up due to ground movement and freeze/thaw
cycles. Then there would be a lot of fill to clean up. Am I naive to
worry about that?
Michael in PA
