I feel like I got away with something...

[m.kitchengirl]

So, I have been scrambling to get all sorted out for winter.
Haven't we all, right?

Our outside hose has 2 faucets. One is hot water.
I asked about what the deal was in winter. The M.O.T.H. said that it got shut off.
His father & brother are the ones who did most of the work on the place, and his brother was here yesterday & told me that even the cold water hose can stay on all winter because it is actually a line from INSIDE the house and the hose has an anti-freeze mechanism that will keep the water from freezing if I leave the drain on after I am done watering ducks.

The hot water will be hot all through winter to clean things, and mix into the ducks pools.

I feel like I got away with something.
We had a snow storm a few weeks back and I spent 4 days lugging warm water out in my industrial kitchen 15 gal. stock pot. (Four trips to fill the small pool.)
Sheesh! I know what I am avoiding with this stroke of luck.

Would asking Santa for a heated hose be being greedy?

 

[mandelyn]

Yes, very greedy indeed! I'll think of you on the morning I forgot to drain my hose out in freezing temps and have to walk 150 ft through mud and crud to refill waters and buckets.

We have a hose strung all the way to the house, that faucet won't freeze unless it gets really flipping COLD, but it will only do any good if I remember to drain the hose after each use. Otherwise... I'll be trying to drag a frozen solid hose into the basement to warm it up!

Hot water by the birds? SO jealous.. my fingers are cold just thinking about the next couple of months.

 

[jbourget]

Quote:
x2

 

[jbourget]

do they really make heated hoses?????? im in the same boat as above....gotta drain the hose every use!

 

[dumb_cluck]

I've heard of heat tape that you wrap around pipes, etc, BUT...... I think the cold will be too much for the wrap and your electric bill will triple trying to keep up.

I have a frost free (sure Bob!) hydrant, but it will freeze if the lever isn't adjusted correctly. This past winter I hauled buckets from the house down to the chickens, ducks and horses. NOT fun.

 

[goosedragon]

m.kitchengirl :

So, I have been scrambling to get all sorted out for winter.
Haven't we all, right?

Our outside hose has 2 faucets. One is hot water.
I asked about what the deal was in winter. The M.O.T.H. said that it got shut off.
His father & brother are the ones who did most of the work on the place, and his brother was here yesterday & told me that even the cold water hose can stay on all winter because it is actually a line from INSIDE the house and the hose has an anti-freeze mechanism that will keep the water from freezing if I leave the drain on after I am done watering ducks.

The hot water will be hot all through winter to clean things, and mix into the ducks pools.

I feel like I got away with something.
We had a snow storm a few weeks back and I spent 4 days lugging warm water out in my industrial kitchen 15 gal. stock pot. (Four trips to fill the small pool.)
Sheesh! I know what I am avoiding with this stroke of luck.

Would asking Santa for a heated hose be being greedy?

I don't think you understand what you have, but I am fairly sure that if you don't remember to cut the water off at the house and leave the hose empty and open when you are finished with it, that you won't have it next spring. The taps sound like deep taps that actually cut off the water inside the house but if you leave water in them they will freeze (even in tropical Maine) If they do freeze they might split and flood the basement. Here in cold NC I have lost these taps just by having a undrained hose attached I fixed that by puting in a "Y"conector, attaching the hose to the upper arm of the Y and leaving the lower arm of the Y open after I have cut off the water at the tap. The lower drain Y assured that the wall mounted tap does drain. I always leave the working end of the hose open so the hose itself is not damaged by water freezing. And for that hot water line I need to let the sink run for several minutes to get hot water and the hot line runs entirely within the heated part of the house so I expect it will be a while for the water to get from your water heater and warm up all of you pipe and hose before it arrives at your pool​

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Yep see this thread http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/page.aspx?p=64795&cat=2,2280,33160&ap=1 Sorta pricy both in initial cost and power costs ~gd

 

[FarmrGirl]

Quote:
Yep see this thread http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/page.aspx?p=64795&cat=2,2280,33160&ap=1 Sorta pricy both in initial cost and power costs ~gd

2X. The electric company will give you an award as their #1 customer if you buy one of these

ETA: I actually mounted a hose reel up at head level on the barn right over the frost-free spigot. So that after each use I can disconnect the hose from the water source, then wind it up to store it. While I'm winding it, all the water drains out so it won't freeze. I get tired cranking around on the thing but it's soooooo much more prefrerable to holding the hose over my head as I walk down it's 150 foot lenght!

Now, I just need to devise a motor so I can press a button and have the hose auto-wind

 

[newbyduckmom]

I learned my first in "drain the hose and roll it up" this morning. It froze last night. Silly me. Didn't even give it a thought. Also frozen the water feeder that the hubby designed as well. Guessing need to make other arrangements for the next few months. Hubby didn't think it would freeze....

 

[gryeyes]

<*innocent expression*>

My contractor dug a trench and piped water to the coop, insulating the exposed pipes at the house connection and where the pipe comes out of the ground and through the wall into the coop. There is also a shut-off valve at the house, in case something untoward happens after that point.

It's not heated, but it IS running water. Two faucet taps inside the coop AND a self-filling water fount for the birds.