Heated Water Buckets

[wantminimore]

Right now I have insulated buckets in the stalls but i've been thinking of changing over to heated buckets. I've always been afraid to have electricity running 24/7 in the barn but we're planning on keeping the chickens water heated and that will mean having the barns electricity on soooo I thought if it's on I might as well have heated buckets.

I would like to know the pros and cons of them.

Thanks

 

[kaykay]

Pro's : horses drink more water during winter, no worries about the water freezing in the middle of the night

Con's: it does raise our elec bill a lot., you have to check for shorts as they do short out and then the horse wont drink, they are harder to clean then a regular water bucket.

 

[Ginia]

Definite love/hate relationship here, but the love outweighs the hate. Just don't like unplugging and dragging the whole shebang outside to rinse it and refill. Horses drink more and you never have to bash ice out of them.

 

[Leeana]

We've been using heated water buckets every winter. I'll list cons first, its easier that way ..

Cons-

Harder to dump & clean because you have to unplug..make sure end of plug does not get wet ext ext.

Break easier because of the hard plastic...cost more to replace, i think ours were like $56 or $46 at tsc, i cracked a few last year my accident because about 3" of water froze in the bottom and i tried to break it out..ended up cracking the buckets...

Do add up on the electric bill too...

BIG CON - You HAVE to keep water in them, even a little bit or that becomes a huge fire hazard, if the bucket goes dry. I noticed that if i dumped them, then came back about 5 mins later after dumping the rest, they will be really really hot on the bottom, you HAVE to keep water in them at all times.

I would say dumping the buckets takes me about 2x as long as regular water buckets...

Pro-

They do have warentys, but as we found out last year....the warenty does not cover human made cracks...

They do keep the water from freezing, even on the cold cold days.

I like using them, i really do not mind them, would be easier if i didnt have to use them as they really are a pain to dump and clean, i dont mind de icing buckets but on some days its so cold that its just not practical and the heated buckets are the only way to keep actual water (not a hunk of ice) infront of the horses...

 

[minih]

Pro's : horses drink more water during winter, no worries about the water freezing in the middle of the night
Con's: it does raise our elec bill a lot., you have to check for shorts as they do short out and then the horse wont drink, they are harder to clean then a regular water bucket.

 

[Carolyn R]

If you are going with a big one I would reccomend one like this

http://www.backyardstyle.com/shop/index.ph...roduct_id=25242

The heating element is covered, it is suspended so it does not touch anything, it is thermostatically controlled, and you can replace the element if it goes, rather than buy a new heated bucket (the ones with the heater in the bucket walls are impossible to replace).

Carolyn

 

[georgiegirl]

I have used heated buckets for many years for my large horses. This is the first year I will try them for the mini guys.

I take very good care of the buckets, so I havent had any loss.

I make very certain that the bucket cords are placed where the horses cannot reach to chew.

My have thermostats in them so that when they are empty the electricity goes off.

The one thing I dont like is having to uninstall them to clean. The water stays warm so you still get some algae build up. I dont know how often I will have to clean them for the minis.

The pros way out weigh the cons, especially when the temps hit twenty below zero!!

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

We use them and love them! Granted the unplugging to take down and clean is a pain, but it so beats freezing while trying to break ice out of buckets!

These are similar to the ones we have:

Jeffers Heated buckets

Love the fact that they have the cord-hideaway in the bottom, makes them super easy to store when not in use and you can keep any extra cord rolled up underneath.. Cord also has a wire spiral around the entire length for Anti-chew..

 

[whitney]

I bought the little ones BEFORE the big ones. The big ones are THE BEST. The little ones get slimy quick probably because of warmer water temp, they have to be cleaned and filled everyday. The big ones will last 1 mini 5-6 days and they don't get slimy.

 

[MiLo Minis]

If your hydro goes out for any reason and they freeze solid you have to bring them into the house overnight to defrost them because you don't dare try to bang it out of them and they take a while to un-freeze. Meanwhile you have to find another way to water your horses........

 

[wpsellwood]

I love all 8 of ours plus the big tubs outside!!

What I do when cleaning is I dont unplug or take the bucket out, I take an empty 5 gallon bucket in the stall and dump my heated bucket into it. Then you dont have unplug the cords or anything. I clean my buckets often its very simple this way.

 

[Filipowicz Farm]

We have used them for over 12 years. We have the buckets and a few of the larger 16 gallon ones. The pros outway the cons. The worst thing is the electric bill.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

When heated buckets came out I bought one to try then another, then a trough heater..I was sold. I own several many are only a couple years old but I never ever had a problem. I have one of those breakers that pops like bathrooms have just in case...I LOVED them, mine are the mini ones..but no minis this year. SO I use them for the barn cats and the hunting dog and one on the porch for my doberchild.

 

[whitney]

Just a tip to save on the electric I only turn mine on at night when it gets below 32. Ginias Ed installed switches on my electric panel to turn them off and on with just a flip of the switch. I have (2) 200 gallon ones (heater in drain plug) for the big horses, I built covers for 3/4 of the top to keep them warm.

You can also buy plugs that will automatically turn the heaters on when the air temp reaches 35.

http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/produc...&area=llama

 

[Margo_C-T]

I love mine; have now had them in use for 8-9 years. I do the same as mentioned by another poster; take an empty bucket around w/ me when it's time to clean them out and refill. I let the water level get fairly low, then take empty bucket,and long-handled scrub brush around, scrub, dump, refill w/ clean water--not hard! I stick my fingers in the water fairly often to check that there isn't any 'shocking' happening!

I use the little 2 1/2 gal. buckets inside the barn, 5 gal. ones outside. I plug two into a multi-head HD outdoor ext. cord (protecting the plug from moisture), and that is plugged into a HD grounded timer. I set the timer to match the on and off-peak hours from my electric coop; works most of the time, though if it gets REALLY cold, I set the timer so that the heaters are 'on' for more hours. This was a tip from the electrician who installed the electric out to my mare pen(two spotlights and a box w/the light switches and two outdoor plugs; I use a floating tank heater there, in my 72 gal. stock tank, but a similar 'set-up')-sure helps w/ the overall electric bill. That said--the 5 gal. heated buckets pull only 36 watts; the smaller ones, even less; the floating tank heater, 1000 watts (most catalogs only offer the 1500 watt one, but I make sure to get the 1000 watt, because I simply don't NEED the higher wattage, and it saves considerably on electricity! Mine are API, the red ones; I use a galvanized tank.

I had one 16 gal. size(the 'muck bucket' size, and it does have a replaceable heating element), but it was for my 'big' Paint mare, so haven't used it since winter before last. The 5 gal. are plenty big for one mini. The 16 gal.pulls about twice(?) as much wattage as the 5 gal., but still, worth it to not have to deal w/ frozen drinking water, or a colic from not enought water intake!

IMO-mostly pros, few cons. Keep everything in good repair and check frequently to see that it is staying that way.

Margo

 

[Equuisize]

We don't use them a lot here as normally our winters are very mild, so they've lasted many years.

They are a pain to clean........

Be very sure that you have a GFI (ground fault interupter) outlet, (like you have in your bathrooms & kitchen)for them to plug into though.....that way if something happens the power will be tripped to them immediately.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Hmmmm mine turn on only when it dips below freezing other wise they're cold.

 

[Charlotte]

I've used heated buckets for many years. Big ones (5 gal) oustide and 8 quart ones in a couple of stalls in the barn where I have horses that are really picky about water temperature. (our barn stays above freezing) I've never had a problem with one getting hot if empty. I know the kind I have say they have a shut off if they get too hot (don't remember what temp that is) they only come on if water temp is below 40 or so.

The only real problem I've seen with them is if horses are used to warmed water they may refuse to drink very cold water. We lost a foal that way last year during the 5 day power outage after the ice storm. Mare refused to drink ice water (personally I can't blame her), coliced & aborted.

Just pay close attention that the electric cords are where horses can't get to them or not near anything combustible.

Charlotte

 

[shorthorsemom]

I only have two minis. I fill the smaller electric bucket twice a day, my guys love their fresh water. I typically plug it in only at night when the temp dips down unless it is one of those really cold days where it stays low all day, and then I keep it plugged in. I also put out a regular black bucket so they can drink cold water if they want, the black bucket is the last to freeze.. I give them a couple of choices and they seem to drink plenty of water, sometimes out of the black bucket and sometimes the electric bucket.

 

[qtrrae]

I love the heated buckets, just knowing that the horses have water always available is a big plus! I did build wooden boxes around the heated bucket that is in one of the stallion pens to help keep the cost of electricity down - now "if" I get time, I will also build something around the rest of them.

I use the smaller heated buckets for individuals and the larger muck bucket types for the pasture horses.