Large potable water tank use

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Easy Heat 240' 1200 Watts 120 V Roof/gutter Deicer Cable at Amazon $119.91
Throw in a thermostat for 20 Benjamins…
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002KTFRHK/?tag=backy-20

 

[Folly's place]

That's the cost of a pretty good hydrant, not including the rented trencher or the plastic pipe to it. But then, no cost for electricity, and no chance that something could go wrong with that power cord on the ground...
The insurance inspector wouldn't like that at all.
Mary

 

[aart]

Easy Heat 240' 1200 Watts 120 V Roof/gutter Deicer Cable at Amazon $119.91
Throw in a thermostat for 20 Benjamins…
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002KTFRHK/?tag=backy-20

Have you used any of this stuff?

 

[Club cramahe coop]

I am new to this and this will be my first winter. I installed a rain barrel that I just fill with the hose. I can run a hose out there every few weeks in the winter to fill. Then I attached it to a pvc pipe installed horizontally with horizontal nipples. It’s gravity fed. My plan is to use a bird bath heater in the barrel For the pvc pipe, I installed a hose on each end, running to and from the barrel. My plan was to install a small pump to trickle the warm water continuously. I have heard I can get a temperature controlled extension cord or plug to use so the pump only runs below freezing. I also think the bird bath heaters or livestock tank heaters are controlled by temperature as well.
Has anyone tried this approach. That way , I can have several weeks of water always and all o have to do is check each day that the pump and heater don’t fail. I will most likely have a spare on hand.

 

[Folly's place]

@Club cramahe coop , where are you located? There's cold, and then there's VERY cold, and I guess it will be interesting to see how your plan works out.
Mary

 

[aart]

I am new to this and this will be my first winter. I installed a rain barrel that I just fill with the hose. I can run a hose out there every few weeks in the winter to fill. Then I attached it to a pvc pipe installed horizontally with horizontal nipples. It’s gravity fed. My plan is to use a bird bath heater in the barrel For the pvc pipe, I installed a hose on each end, running to and from the barrel. My plan was to install a small pump to trickle the warm water continuously. I have heard I can get a temperature controlled extension cord or plug to use so the pump only runs below freezing. I also think the bird bath heaters or livestock tank heaters are controlled by temperature as well.
Has anyone tried this approach. That way , I can have several weeks of water always and all o have to do is check each day that the pump and heater don’t fail. I will most likely have a spare on hand.

Thought about it, laid out a design, saw some other similar systems...and decided it was too complicated and went with a simple heated jug. You'll need constant flow thru the nippled pipe, put your circulation supply line all the way at the far end of the pipe(and out of the way of the nipples).

 

[Club cramahe coop]

We live in Ontario Canada. We get to -10to -20 C which would be around your 0F I think. THE water bar is in the run and I have a stainless braided hose on each end going in and out of the barel. My plan was to attach an inline pump directly to the one end of the water bar . This will take water from the pvc pipe and dump it back into the barel. This should keep a constant supply of water going. Then if I drop a livestock tank water heater in the bottom of the barrel, it should keep it warmed enough. I would also wrap the barrel with an insulated box. The run will have plastic on it to keep out the drafts so it will also be slightly warmer than the outside temperature and there should be no drafts on any of it. I hope it will be ok and will have a b ack up pump . Maybe get a heater water pail in case of a last minute failure.

 

[aart]

THE water bar is in the run and I have a stainless braided hose on each end going in and out of the barel.

Got any pics, please?
Would be good start a new thread here instead of hijacking this one any further.

The run will have plastic on it to keep out the drafts so it will also be slightly warmer than the outside temperature and there should be no drafts on any of it.

Will need to make sure you still have ventilation.

 

[pibb]

If you were happy with what you had except the foam insulation boards, then you could just replace those with more plywood to acheive the same R-value. I don't think hardware cloth will keep the foam from being chewed up.

Here are the R values for the insulation board:
https://www.homeconstructionimprovement.com/foam-board-insulation-values/

And here are the R values for plywood and osb:
http://theplywood.com/r-value

 

[Bald Bee Man]

If you have electricity at your coop this is what I did. I took a 275 gallon tote wrapped it in Black visqueen. Then put in a stock tank heater and a pond pump.
Hook the pump to PVC that went down and horizontal at chicken level and put nipples on it. Then it comes back up and dumps back into the 275 gallon tote. In other words the water just constantly circulates it worked just fine last year through the Indiana winter. Wrapping it in Black helps absorb some heat I wrap it in white in the summer. Before too long I plan to build an insulated box to keep the electricity cost down as much as possible. Here's some pictures the plastic tubes are hook to the PVC showing both outgoing in return hoses.