Tank De-icers

[Becky]

I'm wanting to replace my floating tank heaters with sinking ones. The horses won't leave the floating ones alone! The sinking ones are less expensive than the drain plug heaters. Do they work well?

 

[shminifancier]

You bet cha they do as that is all I use~! I have tried the floating type and on a 150 gal tank the tank would freeze around the edges as the water was drank. So I went Back to the Screw in type and OR the ones that just sit on the bottom in a wire stand... And I want to use the 1500 watt ones as that keeps the water warmer then the smaller wattage of the floating type. And I am in Wisc. where it can get down to 25 below zero.. And even in the 150 gal tank NO Freezing at all around the sides~!!!

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

I love my sinking heaters. They work great.

 

[Filipowicz Farm]

They work great

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I didnt want to use floating ones for that reason and the drain ones well lets just say even after a couple of days of sheer frustration and kicking screaming and cursing i couldnt get that stupid thing to not leak..

so i went to a 200 watt bird bath de- icer it works great on my 60 gl tank as well as my of course 30 gl ones i love them

 

[Jill]

I just want to throw in my experience with plug in de-icers. I used those last year and they did their job. However, I use those 55 gallon low troughs, and on days when it's kind of warm, my horses sometimes play in that water and the heating elements became bent so I will not be using them again.

Just for others reading this thread in case they can learn from my little mistake.

This season, all our minis have those 16 gallon big heated muck bucket looking containers in their lots and that works really well for us and them. Cords come out the bottom so the minis don't even know they are there.

 

[MiLo Minis]

I have both floating and sinking de-icers in my troughs (not in the same troughs LOL) and they both seem to work equally as well. What I did to keep the horses from playing with the cords is I took some PVC pipe and elbows and made a U shape that I threaded the cords through and hung over the edge of the troughs so that the cord comes over the side and down into the trough then up out of the water to the de-icer. The tube is screwed to the edge of the tank. Even if they get hold of the de-icer they can't pull it out as I tied those little plastic tie things to the plugs to hold them together - they can't come unplugged. So far I have the little beggars foiled! (finally)

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Jill i would love to use those and thought of it.. but it would mean dragging the hose out and filling buckets daily and .... the dreaded draining of the hose my least favorite winter chore

 

[LoriG]

I use the sinking heaters as well as the plug in buckets. I also run all my cords through a piece of PVC pipe so they cannot get to the cords. The pipe also helps hold the heater tight to the bottom of the tank and I have not had any horses try to remove the pipe. I have used sinking heaters for over 15 years here in the NW and I would not ever use a floating heater again! I run about 10 sinking ones (250 watt each) and about 6 electric buckets. We can get very cold here, today we have a high of about 25 degrees and it is snowing and the hearters all keep the water free of ice.

 

[Jill]

In the spring, we got frost free pumps / spigots at each paddock so my hoses are about 10' so it's not so bad. Of course, it's not REALLY cold YET, so I guess I am not sure how frost free these frost free things actually will turn out to be! There is a slop (slight) to our property so I lay the hoses out when I'm done and that drains them.

 

[debbiesshelties]

In the spring, we got frost free pumps / spigots at each paddock so my hoses are about 10' so it's not so bad.  Of course, it's not REALLY cold YET, so I guess I am not sure how frost free these frost free things actually will turn out to be!  There is a slop (slight) to our property so I lay the hoses out when I'm done and that drains them.

508882[/snapback]

​

Hi,

I am new to de-icers and I have a problem. I can not find one to go in my large water container. I have no electricity to it, and they all say do not use a drop cord.

The 5 gallon ones that I can use a drop cord to are expensive and I would need more than one since I have 4 minis. Any ideas?

Debbie

 

[shminifancier]

Well for those that are not close to electricity.. There is a Propane heaters for water tanks of all sizes~! And they work just fine~! My friends in Iowa have one of these and the tank is free standing outside without any cover or protection and the water Does not freeze at all... Just have to refill the Propane tank

Hi,

I am new to de-icers and I have a problem. I can not find one to go in my large water container. I have no electricity to it, and they all say do not use a drop cord.

The 5 gallon ones that I can use a drop cord to are expensive and I would need more than one since I have 4 minis. Any ideas?

Debbie

508886[/snapback]

​

 

[AJ]

Why Not run cords?? I use a few hundred feet of cords to get power to out sheds/buildings. Never had a problem. I ensure that any connections are off the ground and stay dry. (Connection in cement block with pail over top, never moves). My water heaters and lights at any time likely use less than a 1000 watts.

 

[Magic]

I run electrical cords to mine. Make sure that they are the heavy duty outdoor kind, and that the electrical outlets have ground-fault circuit interupters (DFCI) so if there is a problem they will automatically kick off by themselves.

All of my outside water troughs have sinking de-icers, and I do as others have said, and run the cord of it through pvc pipe that I then tie to the fence so the horses can't dislodge it or play with the de-icer. Inside the barn my waterers are automatic ones with built in heaters (those are the BEST!)

 

[shminifancier]

I also have several feet of extension cords running to my different tanks. Just make sure they are heavy enough to go the distance. So that the heater can get the full current without over heating. And be sure to fun those GFI to protect the circuit. and such as that. But some times the run is just too far for electricity or None around and then the heaters that are heated by a propane heater will work just fine.

 

[Joyce]

I have both kinds here in CT and both work equally well. I've had no problems with either one.

Joyce

 

[MiLo Minis]

I think they tell you not to use extension cords just to save their butts if anything does go wrong - prevent a lawsuit. I use them and so does everyone I know that uses the heaters. In a perfect world we would all have built in outdoor circuits right beside the trough and not need cords! HA HA HA!!!

Just remembered a friend of mine actually does have his plugged in directly as he keeps his trough inside the barn and opens the door to the horses yard so they can come in to drink but he is an exception!

 

[Jill]

This is our first winter owning horses where we didn't have extension cords all around the place in winter time. We never had a problem with the extension cords to plug in the heaters or heated containers, but it did kind of weigh on my mind as to how safe it was. That said, we did do it that way for 7 years.

 

[Becky]

Thanks everyone for your response! I hope to go out and get some 'sinkers' today! Currently, I have to run one heater on an extension cord and have never had a problem doing that.

 

[Voodoo]

They work great, we also use extension cords on some of ours and have not had any problems. We make sure the cords are heavy duty, but they work fine.

Jill the frost free spigots work great. The only thing is you have to unhook the hose from the spigot or it won't allow the water to drain back correctly and they will freeze. No fun I've been there, it's much easier to just unhook the hose. That said you sound like you have a very easy watering system

.