Trying to keep water from freezing...

[Ashley]

I have a 100 gallon tank. It is buried half the way in the ground. We put a tank heater in it and run the cord up through pvc pipe so they cant get ahold of it. Then we put a peice of plywood over the top(screwed on) and cut two holes. One on each side of the fence. Put 5 gallon buckets inside of them and walla no frozen water.

My aunt and uncle do use the insulation around there tanks and it does seem to help.

 

[MiLo Minis]

Take a 50 gallon water drum and cut it in half just above the indentation on the side. Fill the bottom with insulation and put in a couple short pieces of 2 x 4 to hold the bucket up. Place a bucket on the 2 x 4's and wrap insulation around it. Cut a piece of plywood the size of the 50 gallon drum with a hole in the middle for the pail and set it in on top. It will rest on the little ledge created by the indentation on the barrel and the top of the bucket. I drilled holes in the sides of the barrel and ran wires across the top and outside of the barrel into the holes so no wire was poking out to stick a horse on - this prevents them from tipping the plywood and getting into the insulation. Keep it in a sheltered area, out of the wind and fill it with warm water. This works here until the dead cold of late January, February when nothing but tank heaters will do the trick!

 

[AJ]

I use either half a 45 gal plastic barrel or a "top cut off" 20 gal barrel (dairy soap container), both heavy plastic. I duct tape a battery blanket (auto store used to wrap around car batteries for cold weather starting) which are about 6" by 36". As our temps go to minus 25 to 35 degrees, I wrap some insulation around and then put inside car tires. Protects insulation and wire and they cannot tip container. Use 1 blanket on small barrel and 2 blankets on big barrel. Blankets are only 80 watts, so uses little power and since I use extention cords, I cannot use the high wattage heaters. Water never freezes. Very safe.

Water tip for those that take water out without heaters:

When feeding hay the average meal time is about 2 hours. I have frequently observed that the horses will go for their first drink after 1 1/2 -2 hrs after they start eating. Therefore, if you set out the water at feeding time, (from well at 45 deg), in very cold weather the pail could be frozen over by the time the horses would be drinking or at best have gotten significantly colder. Depending on your schedule (at work or at home), if you put the water out 1 1/2 hrs after feeding, they will get water which will be warmer and probably drink more. The horses will thank you.

 

[Gena]

We have used the heated buckets and in the trough we used the heater that fits in through the hole at the bottom and we like that a lot more than the floating one.

My Uncle lives in Michigan and never uses a heater...he puts his trough in one of the stalls and uses straw for the insulation except for a spot that is open so they can get to it....he has the straw against the wall of the stalls so the horses won't mess with it and it works, the water never freezes, he has done this for many years.

 

[MarsMinis]

Hi all, Tractor Supply or Farm & Fleet have little "bird bath" heaters that work

in buckets 15 gal and under. They work great and only cost about $33 each.

Check online for cheaper prices.

:

Hi all, Tractor Supply or Farm & Fleet have little "bird bath" heaters that work

in buckets 15 gal and under. They work great and only cost about $33 each.

Check online for cheaper prices.

:

 

[KanoasDestiny]

:new_shocked: WOW...you guys are so creative!!!! I've read several different ideas on here, that I am definatley interested in trying. Thanks for sharing.

This morning the ice was even thicker then yesterday morning. I couldn't even break through it with the "horse pooper scooper" handle. I had to get a huge handled brush and chisel through it. The horses didn't seem to mind to much though...they got warm apple juice for breakfast and enjoyed every minute of it. :lol: I think they are getting spoiled! :bgrin

 

[PondlakeMinis]

In Wisconsin, once the water freezes, it freezes. I have electrical hook ups by two of my paddocks and use either a floating heater or one that sits in the bottom of the tank. I also have two buckets wtih heated coils in the bottom. the buckets just get plugged in. I do have to use extension cords by two paddocks. Use outside cords and get the thick ones. No problems. It does take my electricity bill up each winter but that is the best way to deal with non frozen water.

cyndia

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

They have these nifty little buckets that seem to never freeze. Its basically a hefty plastic wall hanger that holds a standard 5 gallon pail (not your water pails, the 5 gallon pails you see at home depot that have, say, driveway sealer in them). On top of the water in the pail they have a little plastic float, that basically covers the top, but has a depression in the middle to let water freely flow to the top to be drunk. And of course you can push down on the float and it readily sinks, only to bob back to the top when done. In NH where I worked all the normal 4 gallon horse pails would be frozen solid by morning, and those 5 gallon insulated pails (which were entirely passive, no electricity needed) didn't even have frost on them. Of course, I have no idea how you could make that work in a pasture, but if you have run-ins or stalls they might work wonderful.

 

[quaters]

I've never used a bucket heater or a store brought insulated bucket before...In the paddocks I have the tub like muck buckets for water, and I also, have 5 gallon buckets in the stalls and sheds so that there are 2 drinking options for the horses. And I make sure that they have access to both buckets at all times through the winter. During the spring though fall, I take out the stall buckets, and only put them back in when they are going to be shut up in them.

In the shed and stalls I keep the 5 gallon buckets in a corner of the stall, sitting on the ground with the handle mounted to the wall with a bucket mount, so they don't tip. When it is going to get below 45 I push shavings around the buckets to help insulate them. I also have heat lamps in the sheds and stalls, it helps keep the water warm along with the horses.

For the outside buckets, I only keep them filled about 1/2 way through the winter. In the morning I remove the ice, and refill with water. We have a well, and the water from it is always pretty warm during the winter so it helps to warm up the buckets.

I haven't tried floating tennis balls, with the clowns I have I would never see the tennis balls again. Well, atleast not until I mowed, lol.