# Stock Tank Freezing



## Dontworrybeappy (Jul 21, 2014)

What are some ways to keep stock tanks from not freezing? I have power, but am terrified of a fire. I work a full time job so I am not there during the day to break ice. Do balls really work? What about stock tank cozies? thanks


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I've used electric tank heaters without issue. There are solar ones for remote tanks.

I've also done almost submerged tanks. A friend like her solar wrap, but it got torn.

At one place, there was a box which held a warming lamp. The box around it came down almost to the high water level. That worked, too.

We have some Nelson automatic waterers and we put a light bulb in the compartment under that small tank.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I have 3 tanks with electric heaters in them and in 30 years have never had a fire.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

If you have electricity available you'll be happier with a stock tank heater rather than messing with other methods.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

Stock heater are nice and easy.

If you want to go fancy and no electric, then Richie makes a nice waters. They are kept thawed by ground heat. My boss has 3 double ones for his cows. They work great.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

Subbing. 

My barn doesn't have electricity to the paddocks. I've been looking at solar things, from solar tanks to pond aerators, to help prevent/slow the ice. 

One thing I know is I'm going to insulate my bucket really well! I was thinking of a black garbage can stuffed with straw or bubble wrap.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

I did electric for one winter, but my electric bill went up by almost $200. 

Instead I built one of these: Build a Solar Stock Tank - DIY - MOTHER EARTH NEWS









And for 3 winters now it has worked well. We get about 2 weeks straight of temps below freezing, often dipping down into the teens and single digits (Fahrenheit) and once in a while I have to break ice, but it is never very thick.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

I use a 1500 watt tank heater that looks like this:










When the nights get down to 40 below zero, it won't keep a 100 gallon tank open, so I use a smaller tank in January. Most of these heaters have a primitive thermostat and don't run continuously, so anything you can do to insulate your tank will reduce your electricity cost.


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

i think the electric options are best, just use a 12 guage extension cord if you must use a cord to get to the tank, keep the cords in good condition and connectors out of the water.

we have a submersible one in a muck-bucket water trough and until it's below 0 F we don't have to worry about it freezing. February's average temp here was 5 and I think I only broke ice a handful of times


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Dontworrybeappy said:


> What are some ways to keep stock tanks from not freezing? I have power, but am terrified of a fire. I work a full time job so I am not there during the day to break ice. Do balls really work? What about stock tank cozies? thanks


You need a heavy duty outdoor extension cord assuming you don't have power at tank. Don't lay cord over combustible items such as hay. If they caught fire they wouldn't be selling them. Other option would be too put in an auto water that the ground temp keeps it thawed.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e07428-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&sfb=1&itemguid=30e093bb-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&utm_content=22368&ccd=IFM003&mr:trackingCode=8D4BC464-3C81-E211-BA78-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=plaonline&mr:ad=43741505443&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:tid=kwd-84506736883&mrloc=1024290&mr:iloc=&mr:store=&mr:filter=84506736883&gclid=Cj0KEQjwnrexBRDNmZzNkf7c4c4BEiQALnlxhR60GfiYzZPWs6fcaHmySgABhx2yqArpjpY60Rz2AcYaAqGv8P8HAQ

I have 5 of these and have had them for years and never had a single problem with one. When I used the floaters and the sinking ones, Ms. Patti would grab them and throw them out of the tanks. These she can't get ahold of.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

The floating ones are not worth the money, my horses kill them. The submersibles last forever. I have used stock tank heaters with an extension cord for 30+ years, no fires, do you have old, faulty wiring or something?


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail...ZPWs6fcaHmySgABhx2yqArpjpY60Rz2AcYaAqGv8P8HAQ
> 
> I have 5 of these and have had them for years and never had a single problem with one. When I used the floaters and the sinking ones, Ms. Patti would grab them and throw them out of the tanks. These she can't get ahold of.


I tried one of those drainplug heaters. One fall I didn't move the tank back over to its winter spot until after the water in it had frozen. I tried to turn the tank over and dump the ice, but it apparently had frozen all the way down around the heating element and the torque of that heavy ice on the heater was enough to break the heater and crack my tank. That's when I went to the submerible heater. Moral -- if you use the drainplug style heater, don't act like a Neanderthal.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I would be less afraid of a barn fire and more afraid of electrocuting your horse. Every year I hear a story of someone shocking and killing a horse with a float. Even if you use one, when it dips to -20 you will only have a puddle of water surrounded by a block of ice and that ice can still crack your tank.
Spend your money on this:
https://ritchiefount.com/product/green-watermatic-100/
or this:
http://www.statelinetack.com/item/high-country-insulated-bucket/E000395%20BLU/?srccode=GPSLT&gclid=CMLig5-W48gCFQMEaQodgt0EYA&kwid=productads-plaid^97588841148-sku^169021-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^40405968348

and tote water in paint buckets. I've been turning my tanks over for the winter and been carrying buckets for 30 years. It is just more work to keep your horses when it's cold. =D


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

Corporal said:


> It is just more work to keep your horses when it's cold. =D


 TRUTH! No matter what method of horse keeping you follow!:wink:


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

If you can water the horses before heading off to work, they'll be fine until you get home. That is when they drink the most. Use a smaller container so you're not trying to dump a tank full of ice. Mine drink outside. Initially I used the plastic toboggan with sides. Easy to slide over snow to dump where the ice won't be in the way. I try to dump it each time. My waterer is the Nelson hydrant where the water in the pipe drops back down underground. For two horses I switched to a $6 kids snow saucer. It's really easy to dump. Can't be left out during the summer tho or the plastic deteriorates. Otherwise it's surprisingly tough.


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

Saddlebag,

Do you mean that you leave the toboggan with the pails on top out as the source for the horses to drink from? Than haul it off a ways to empty, and back to the pump for refilling.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

I really think the answer lies in where you live. In my area of NW IL a solar heater cannot keep up with the wind and cold in Jan and Feb. it will get through Nov but not the true cold of winter. I run 4 stock tanks with heaters all winter long. The biggest tank is 150 gallons for my steers. I have insulated boxes for all of the tanks as well as a lid that covers the top except for a small hole for horses and cows to get in and drink. This keeps the critters from pulling out the drop in heater and also helps with evaporation. I have to run an extension cord to the cows tank - but we put it in a perforated PVC pipe to give it some protection from animals and the weather. My electric bill doubles in the winter when I run tank heaters but it sure beats hauling buckets twice a day from the water spicket. Horses and cows drink a LOT of water when it is cold out.


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## Mingiz (Jan 29, 2009)

I have used the floaters but horses pull them out. I now use a submersible and have never had an issue. I do have to run an extension cord but it is a 12 gauge. I have done this for 2 yrs now without a problem. The extension cord is plugged into a GFI plug so if something does happen it will pop the circuit.


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

carshon said:


> I really think the answer lies in where you live. In my area of NW IL a solar heater cannot keep up with the wind and cold in Jan and Feb. it will get through Nov but not the true cold of winter. .


Very true! OP, what are your winters like?

Here in Central Oregon, we get cold snaps where it stays cold for a week or two, then we get above freezing again. And most importantly for passive solar boxes, we get 300+ days of sunshine per year (even when it's cold). If we were in a foggy, cloudy area, no way would my box work! The wind also is a huge factor. We get crazy winds in the spring, but generally not in the dead of winter, so that helps.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Anndankev. I leave the toboggan there, tied to the fence. No pails are involved. My standpipe has a 4" plastic pipe that reaches the fence. I add water and wait until they're done, adding a little more if needed I'll then pull it thro the fence and dump the little bit that's left. The toboggan is light and worked for 4 horses. Now that it's two I switched to the snow saucer, it's even lighter and slips across the snow like it's greased. If the weather is too nasty to remain to dump that's when the ice starts to build up. Sometimes I'll drizzle a little molasses on the ice and they'll lick it until the ice is almost gone. The saucer needs to be level and holds about 10 gal of water.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

In Ontario we pay exorbitant hydro rates. Instead of using a tank heater, I opted to have the frost free hydrant installed. A friend used a heater and her bill went to over $300mo. No thanks. At that rate, the payback on the hydrant was less than 4 months. That was the trenching, the hydrant and it's installation. It's not right at the fence because the big machine couldn't get thro the frost so it's about 8 or 9' away. I hung a 4" diam. plastic sewer pipe on the spigot and water flows nicely to the water container. The large diameter never freezes. If a bit of ice forms, a sharp rap breaks it loose. The pipe has been exposed to the elements for 6 yrs and still holding up. Why carry buckets when I don't have to?


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

OK, so you don't leave water out there, just go to water them a few times per day. They look for you and come up I presume. 

Someone I know learned to ride as a long ago teenager in Panama. She said the barns and stables there did not normally have water in the stalls at all. They led the horses out to a courtyard where a well was 4 times a day to drink. This of course was near the equator where I imagine it gets pretty hot, and the horses did fine.

I recall a story by you, Saddlebag, where you would put large buckets lined with plastic bags on a toboggan, fill them with water, twistie the bags shut to prevent spillage, and pulled the toboggan over the snow down the the field for watering. Must have been before you had the hydrant installed.

Pretty brilliant about the 4" pipe from hydrant to trough instead of a hose to freeze up.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I'd forgotten about the buckets in the toboggan. Seems like eons have gone by since those days. Yes, when the boys want water they come to the fence after daylight. I keep and eye out and head outside. That's one of the perks when working at home.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

A hydrant is a must in this country, never freezes! And the submersible stock tank de-icer is just that, it keeps the ice off, when there is not ice forming, it shuts off, my hydro bills aren't bad at all.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Does anyone remember and tried the old hand pumps "out in the yard on gramma's farm? You pump and pump and finally water comes. They were the fore-runner of the frost free hydrant we use today which works off the pressure system, either from the city or the pressure tank in the house. I wouldn't mind the exercise but they became trendy garden décor and often times are pricier that the modern version.


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## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

Yes, my Grandma Hancock had a working one.

Hmmm, as a matter of fact so did Grandma Major.

Both fairly close to the back door, off the kitchen.


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## 131jan (Dec 15, 2015)

To cut down on electric use for waterers on our farm,I buy insulated beverage coolers. I like the ones that have the split lid as I cut the hinge on one half and take half off. I have a low watt heater in it which I drill an inch hole in the upper back corner to run the cord through so the horses can't get to it. At night I put the lid on to keep the water from freezing. If the temp outside doesn't get below 20, filling the waterer with tap water is enough to keep the ice off. Also I have small circulating pumps that I have in each one that keeps the water moving to keep the ice off


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## HarleyWood (Oct 14, 2011)

I've been using heaters for 5 years now with no issues even when they drink it down and burn the heater out!! last fall we build a simple box, with 1 inch insulation around the outside and plywood. with a top and hole for them to drink out of plus a stock tank heater, works great never freezes!!! i usually have to fill it every other day to keep it full and so they don't burn the heater out. we drilled a hole for the power cord and keep it on the other side of the fence that is in front of out big door that leads into our barn that plugs into a power saver cord thing that will turn off if it needs to. on warm days in the winter i will turn it off like about 40s they are rare but they do happen!! and the box keeps it warm!


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