insulated stock tank

Neat idea Donn.. for years now we have never had much frost so never had much of a problem. However…. the last 3 years have seen an increase in the severity of frost and we now have a problem.. I wonder if old chest freezers would work also ?? I had thought of using one to store potatoes in …
John

I have also installed two bar bar a waters so far so good great product.

Price I think is $350 ish if I remember correctly. I would think their is a litre of water loss per use, if the animals aren’t lined up. The water takes maybe 20 seconds to drain out.

Every animal put on the waterer has been trained within a day, even the new dog. I left a hydrant beside each waterer so I can have a seasonal stock tank if we get too many animals.
Great drainage at the bottom of the sump is imperative, and I would think extra attention not to install it in a low spot would be helpful.

I see the animals drinking a lot in very cold weather, which is healthy for them. In the summer their is not a hint of moss or scum or mosquitoes. I put a five gallon pail on the waterer when they are turned out in summer so they don’t get too much cold water before they’ve properly cooled.

Couple times I found the waterers flow restricted. I gently poke a thick wire down the 3/8 supply while tripping the lever and the water flow flushes small rock up to the bowl. The kids have been asked not to pour rocks and sand into the waterers anymore.:rolleyes:
Speaking of which, the kids drink from them too.

Just one of those products that works well. Created by a farmer/rancher after all…..:D

I too copied the idea from something I read in mother earth news. I scaled it down to fit the tank I had. It doesn’t seem to have enough sun catching ability as the water will still freeze. If I had it to do over I would go with the bigger tank. (more mass and more glazing=less likely to freeze)

A few eeks ago there was an episode of “The prairie Farm Report” with a couple of designs for ice free cattle waterers – either Alberta, Sakatchewan or manitoba – but they all qualify as plenty cold places.

I’ll see if I can find more details of their design.

I forgot you had tank heaters. I was wondering is the enclosures would conserve enough heat from adding 75 gal or so a day in a 100 gal tank to keep it from icing up to the point where the cattle can not break the ice. It seems like they can break it until it builds up an inch or so. Big difference between lows near zero and lows in the teens.