cattle waters // Rithie or Jug

Here's a post I made on the tool forum. See if this helps you.

You can also use a heat pipe. At 8ft in the ground the temperature is stable year around at 50º in most of the USA.

The second law of thermal dymanics states: "heat flows from a higher source to a colder source"

So install a "insulated" stand pipe (pipe#1) in one end of your tank down thru the frost line for your area in to a larger diameter horizontal pipe at 8ft then return to into another vertical stand pipe (pipe#2) back into the tank above the desired water line.

Water will be drawn from pipe#1 to the under ground horizontal heat pipe thus heating the water to around 45º. The heated water expands and flows back into the stock tank thru pipe#2 as stated by the 2nd law of thermal dymanics.

You will want your supply and return pipes in the center of your tank surrounded by water as the water will be a insulator at that point.

If you look on the net there is a system drawing that uses simular engineering of a hill side water tank. It works close to what I described without any explantion.

There is also another way but you run the risk of having too much hot of water. At one end of the tank install a clear plexy-glass cover sealed to the top of the tank with a veritcal piece towards the bottom of the tank to seperate the hot and cold sides.

The sun will solar heat the enclosed tank end and the cold tank water will move in and out of the solar collector trying to equalize temperature.

You could use Butyl caulk for a gasket sealer and glue to hold the solar glass on. Butyl caulk is some very tuff sealant. If your in snow country then you would want to 45º the collector glazing to the tank horizontal to keep it clean.

T_Bone

I'm located in central Manitoba, so I'm familiar with watering livestock in cold climates. I would make sure that you have electric heat in the waterer. Install a heat tape on the line feeding the waterer. My experieince mirrors Kyhayman's. The two places waterers freeze are the valve and the pipe at or just below ground level. The more animals drinking the better.

If you are worried about energy requirements, install a timer to run the electricity at night and turn it off in the day.

I just replaced our last Ritchie a few weeks ago. Good waterers, just the high salt content in our water eats things alive. As I posted at the time, it is made from an old 5 foot mining tire. So far, so good. I still need to make the lid and install a timer on the heater, but so far I really like it. Lots of surge capacity if a lot of animals want to drink at once. Also it's virtually indestructalbe, which is nice around cattle.

John

Ritchie 2 and 4 hole beach ball waterers (no electric)
Univ Co-op 2 hole beach ball waterer (no electric)
Concrete tanks with propane fired heaters

All my water supply is municipal water so leaving them running isnt an option. Occassionally, the U/C black one will freeze right in the top of the valve. Usually happens in a sudden temp drop (3 Christmas Days in a row once). Takes me about an hour to thaw it out. Unscrew the valve put on dash of truck. Heat screw driver and gently press into the pipe down to where the ice plug is. Usually about 1-2 inches.

Your waters from Ritchie would be CT2 2000 and CT4 2000.

And here in Iowa when I have a valve freeze I just get 2 or 3 gallons of hot water and slowly pour it over the valve.

Takes about 5 mins and your done. No need to remove a valve. Just a suggestion.

Hows leg recovery coming along?

Gary

I've done that hot water trick many a time myself. If that fails here is another trick. bail the cold water out of the trough. Pour that hot water as you described. Maybe a second pail. Cover the top with a bat of pink fiberglass insulation. Wait for a little bit, this should thaw it out.

Hope this helps some day

John

They like hot water in the winter.

Gary

Thats a really good idea about the water. My first though was "how can I do that" since some of my waterers are miles from the house. Then I got to thinking, hmmm. Jug of water in the cab, metal pan, and the propane torch I've been heating that screwdriver with. Thanks for the suggestion.

I would recommend the CT1 2000 where you live.

The watermatic is more apt to freeze with the open design that it has.

Now I assume that you are going to use the optional electric heat on either one.

I have two CT2 2000's and neither has electric heat.(I'm a little farther south)

The one in the feed lot where the cattle drink at odd intravals never freezes. But the one for the cows on cornstalks that all come to drink at all at once will slightly freeze over nite.

The secret to keeping them thawed out is fresh water coming in every once in a while.
The more cattle you have drinking out of one the better. It is also important to install with the large stand pipe that they recommend.

If I know its going to be a cold nite I will dip a bucket or two of water out of the cow waterer before dark and that sure helps. A wind break also helps.

If you are not using the electric heat the Watermatic will never work for you.

With that all said the commander series is a good choice from Ritchie also but that is full electric heat.

If I sound like a salesman it is because I do sell the Ritchie waterers.

Never heard of a Jug waterer here so I don't know a thing about them.

Gary

Sorry first line in reply should have been CT2 not CT1.

The CT1 has just one hole and ball.

Gary

Our Ritchie fountains very seldom ever freeze up - and only when it is well below zero and we have a lot of cattle drinking from them and the well can't keep up. If we had better water pressure I'm willing to be there would never be a freeze up.

Used to have one of those non-heated black plastic fountains with the balls the cattle push down - it would freeze when it got to about 10 degrees and then was useless for the rest of the winter. Just my experience...