Winter waterer.

[usedhobarts]

Hi all BYC members. I'm starting a new thread on winter watering. I love this site and the information that freely flows to help other BYC members. Some of you have followed my fodder experience.

I'm going to be attempting to create a freeze proof waterer that will sustain 50 chickens this winter in the coldest part of the US.

I just bought my first item on Craigslist for 14.00. It's a 30 gallon aquarium. My goal is to create a energy efficient waterer that mimics my artisian well that never freezes here on my property but is not close enough to the barn where the chickens winter.

Thanks for reading this. This will be an ongoing post like my fodder experience post and I hope to get any and all advise or suggestions during this.

My reason for this is after my first winter with chickens I found the biggest pain in the butt was water here in the deep north. I now own about 6 , primarily worthless for one reason or another, heated waterers.

I may not reinvent the winter waterer wheel but I'm going to give it hell.

 

[joyfulspirit]

I am curious on how this goes for you because we live in Northern Wisconsin and it gets down to 50 below wind chill, even colder. I was going to purchase a heated waterer . . .hmmmmm. . .most out there say water will stay liquid form to zero and some at 10 below . . wondering what to do. .

 

[Egghead_Jr]

There are many threads here on building a cookie tin heater for warming bottom of metal water fountains.

If you have someone home all day the livestock black rubber bowls work well too. Via solar on black they stay thawed longer and are indestructible, turn over and stomp to get ice out and refill. They need water morning, an afternoon drink and evening before roosting.

If your not wanting to carry water then a barrel of water with livestock submersable heater will keep supply thawed. I think they auto shut off between 40 and 50F.

 

[usedhobarts]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that traditional heated waterers don't work here in the deep freeze but they all have pit falls. My artisian well was drilled in 1916 and has been free flowing since. No power needed other than the natural. This well is the sole supplier of water to my house and the entire farmstead. The way the setup works is we have a well house that has a continuos flow from the pipe into a 200 gallon Rubbermaid tub/tank. That tub has a pipe going thru the back wall and over flows into a old claw foot bathtub which in turn over flows into a channel which feeds the pond. The well house is not heated. It is somewhat insulted but poorly at best as it atleast 70 plus years old. The tub out back is open to the elements year around and serves as the drinking station for my horse year around, my labs cool off pool in the summer and just a free for all water source for all my livestock and other animals which include deer, the occasional moose or whomever needs a nice cool drink of fresh water at any given time. This never ever freezes because of the flow.

Some of the pitfalls I referenced above on traditionally available waterers include partial freezing, freezing components of the waterer itself and the big one is the cost of running them. To me the cost would be well worth it if I didnot have to baby sit them nearly full time. God forbid the power goes out in a blizzard.

The theory I'm working on is creating a mini artisian well type set up that will flow via low voltage circulation pumps. ( 1 AC AND 1 DC in case of a power outage). My goal is to accomplish this permanent setup to include solar heating for under 150.00 invested.

 

[joyfulspirit]

"live stock submersable heater"?? Could you note a link to such a heater? Thanks!

 

[MT nest]

What about this? A 5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples, a birdbath heater with a rated wattage for your climate and a small submersible fountain pump to circulate the water in the bucket and keep the nipples flowing. Pump may run continuously or hook both pump and heater or heaters to a thermo cube. I may build one and should be enough for 15-20 hens I think. Would only have to haul water every other day or so to fill bucket.
Let me know what you think and I will try to build and send pics.

 

[joyfulspirit]

It sounds interesting, I would be interested in seeing pictures! Thank you!

 

[LaurelC]

What about this? A 5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples, a birdbath heater with a rated wattage for your climate and a small submersible fountain pump to circulate the water in the bucket and keep the nipples flowing. Pump may run continuously or hook both pump and heater or heaters to a thermo cube. I may build one and should be enough for 15-20 hens I think. Would only have to haul water every other day or so to fill bucket.
Let me know what you think and I will try to build and send pics.

This is my plan if we have extended cold snaps this winter in the PNW. I finally got the girls to start using the horizontal nipples.

 

[MeepBeep]

Your well stays thawed out because it's got an endless supply of naturally heated above freezing geothermal heat and a vast volume of heated water with a sufficient flow rate to overcome it's temperature lose for a short period of time once exposed to the cold environment...

Flow/movement alone in a small water dish will not stop water from freezing, you will need a source of heat...

One source of heat that can be exploited for free to keep water liquid is that same geothermal heat, they are called 'earth tubes' you would run a water line loop down well bellow the frost line and of sufficient length the water is cycled endlessly through that underground looped tube and gets heated while down bellow the frost line and returned to the surface...

The above is a lot of work, but it can be done...

Otherwise you need 3-5 Watts of electric heat per gallon of water to keep it thawed..

God forbid the power goes out in a blizzard.

IMO a backup generator that can provide the basics is a wise investment and great insurance... A tri-fuel conversion is also a great upgrade to the generator, allowing you to run it on gasoline, natural gas or propane...

I can't bring my entire house online with my generator, but I can provide sufficient lighting, power to the furnaces, the well, the fridge/freezer and limited power to the barns and coops to keep water liquid for the animals...

 

[88sub4x4]

IMO a backup generator that can provide the basics is a wise investment and great insurance... A tri-fuel conversion is also a great upgrade to the generator, allowing you to run it on gasoline, natural gas or propane...

I can't bring my entire house online with my generator, but I can provide sufficient lighting, power to the furnaces, the well, the fridge/freezer and limited power to the barns and coops to keep water liquid for the animals...

Truer words have never been spoken. I have a generator that will run my basics, and while I have not invested in the tri-fuel conversion mainly because I haven't lost power in 5 years now, I do always keep a supply of treated fuel to be able to run my basics for 3-5 days depending on season in case the gas stations have no power. An all too often occurrence here.