# Help! No running water in barn - frozen pipes?



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I'm getting desperate and wondering if I'm going to have to haul water to the barn until april... so if you have any ideas, please share!

Two nights ago, it went down to -39 Celcius. I woke up the next morning to find the water in the barn wasn't running. I figured a pipe froze somewhere. Yesterday it was milder (only about -11 C) and today, we got a really warm day, the temps went up to about +5 Celcius. I set up a space heater in the tack room where the water comes in and checked on it throughout the day. There were buckets with ice in them and there was ice on the floor from drips. Everything has thawed out long ago, but not my tap. 

The water runs from the house, well below frost line. They dug 6' trenches. It comes out of the ground in the corner of my tack room. The pipes that were put in are made of some kind of material that expands to avoid having burst pipes. Where it comes into the tack room, a wooden box was built and inside, we installed insulation and an outlet for a light bulb. If I put my hand in that box, it's warm. So the only explanation is that the ice blockage is located at or below ground level. My floor is concrete so no digging it up. I know now that I should have put in a frost-free hydrant, but hadn't even heard of such a thing until about two days ago. Not impressed with my plumber right now... he should have known better - he even has horses! 

I've already tried the hair dryer trick as well. It didn't do anything, which again, tells me the ice is below ground, where the hot air isn't reaching it. 

Tonight, the temps are falling back down to -16 C. So we're heading right back into the deep freeze. If this doesn't thaw now, it may not thaw for months. Obviously, this is something we're going to have to address in the spring, but is there anything else I can do for now?


----------



## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

if you had ice on the floor from the drips, where were the drips coming from ? 
is there a spigot further up on the line that works ? I have only had frozen pipes once, but then again , I am in a warmer climate.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

stevenson said:


> if you had ice on the floor from the drips, where were the drips coming from ?
> is there a spigot further up on the line that works ? I have only had frozen pipes once, but then again , I am in a warmer climate.


They were old drips from before the pipes froze. Every time I filled a bucket, a few drops would inevitably fall on the floor, forming a thin sheet of ice under the faucet. That is now all liquid, so it's clearly warm enough to melt ice in the tack room.


----------



## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

I would say that the water is frozen probably just below the ground. If it doesn't thaw anytime soon you can always run a hose from your house to fill water and use heaters to keep it from freezing in the buckets or troughs. I would probably get bigger troughs so you don't have to fill more than once a day. Running a hose out there and then undoing it so it doesn't freeze will be a pain but it beats hauling buckets of water.


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Honestly using a hose when it's 20/30 degrees is doable.

When you get really cold it's not, you definitely reach the point where a drop of water will freeze before it hits the floor sometimes!

Heated hoses are VERY expensive and short.

Unfortunately if it's underground not much you can do.


----------



## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Acadianartist said:


> If this doesn't thaw now, it may not thaw for months. Obviously, this is something we're going to have to address in the spring, but is there anything else I can do for now?


Sadly, there is probably nothing you can do until it thaws short of digging it out. It only takes a little ice to block a pipe/hose and once there is no flow at all you're stuck. I suggest that you leave the faucet open every time you're at your barn to see if you get any flow at all. If you get even a trickle of water, that small flow will _eventually_ thaw the ice in the pipe.

...and yes, I would be VERY upset with my plumber. Even here in NC where the frost depth is only about 6", if you don't have a frost free hydrant, you will have an ice blocked pipe/faucet in your barn when it's very cold.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

PaintHorseMares said:


> Sadly, there is probably nothing you can do until it thaws short of digging it out. It only takes a little ice to block a pipe/hose and once there is no flow at all you're stuck. I suggest that you leave the faucet open every time you're at your barn to see if you get any flow at all. If you get even a trickle of water, that small flow will _eventually_ thaw the ice in the pipe.
> 
> ...and yes, I would be VERY upset with my plumber. Even here in NC where the frost depth is only about 6", if you don't have a frost free hydrant, you will have an ice blocked pipe/faucet in your barn when it's very cold.


Yes, I am seriously p***ed at him. We just built a brand new barn and took no shortcuts. Spent a fortune on electrical, have a full concrete foundation, dug a 6 ft trench for plumbing and electrical, in other words, we took no shortcuts. Why would he think we would want to take a shortcut with the plumbing? Presumably because he wanted to do it quick and dirty, get paid cash, and get out. I'll be getting someone competent out this spring to see what we can do to fix this. 

I am opening the faucet every time I'm at the barn. Last night, I even left the outside faucet on for a couple of hours (it was above freezing for most of the day). Nothing. The ice has to be pretty far down.

I'm thinking of getting a really long expanding hose. I have a 75 ft one so maybe with another 150 ft, it will reach. I can plug it in the the garage and because those hoses are easy to drain and put away, I can just leave it in the garage, which doesn't freeze because there are heaters in there that kick in once things get below freezing. A PIA, but better than what I'm doing now, which is hauling 25 litre jugs out on a sled twice a day. The buckets are heated so I fill them to the brim. I don't like the idea of leaving water in my tack room because the only heat source I have in there is a space heater which I won't leave on unless I'm there to watch. Too much of a fire hazard. Plus, it would be like throwing dollar bills into the snow with our climate.


----------



## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Go to *Dreamcatcher's #41 post, * in your other thread.

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-health/how-cold-too-cold-738834/page5/

Look at the picture she posted of how a frost-free pipe should be installed.

I would bet money there is no pea gravel around the frost free (or not enough), the water froze in the pipe and down where the drain hole is.

As someone mentioned, nothing you can do until a good thaw.

1. *Shut the water off to the barn * in case something did freeze and crack.

2. If you have a sled of some sort, you're going to have to fill gallon jugs or regular water buckets at the house (use really warm water) and pull it to the barn on the sled. 

A 4-wheeled wagon will work or a cart hooked to the 4-wheeler. Don't use the wheel barrow, as it has too much tilt and is too unsteady if you have a lot of snow.

*********
IF you can afford to, you could call in another contractor and have them check your hydrant(s) at the barn but mercy that will be expensive.

For now, you are better off shutting the water off to the barn and carrying water.

If misery loves company, please know there isn't one of us who has lived or still lives in an area where we have dealt with frozen water at the barn. Say a prayer for the folks with large herds of cattle or horses.

The lady who runs another small forum woke up to -30F Sunday, *without* the windchill. She is in South Dakota. She stays because her farm had been her grandparents.

Long as you shut off the barn water and get up 45 minutes earlier to do "one more thing" before leaving for work, things will work out. Or make the kids get up and help you


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Haha, thanks for commiserating walkinthewalk. 

I can't see the point of bringing another plumber in at this point. The ground is frozen hard and there is a concrete floor. 

The sled has worked best so far. Can't use a wagon or wheelbarrow with snow on the ground. Sure, I could haul it with the four-wheeler and trailer, but I'm only bringing out as much water as can fit in their heated water buckets so it's kind of overkill. There is a very slight downhill grade from the house to the barn so once I have the water loaded onto the cheap, plastic sled, it's easy going. I actually put the jug in the sled empty, and fill it with the hose from the garage. But getting the water from a 25 liter jug into a hanging bucket is another story. I'm going to put out my back lifting those things. Maybe some kind of hand pump? Or pour the water into one bucket, then into the heated buckets. I don't fill the outside water trough anymore since they have access to their stalls and heated water buckets anytime they're out. They stopped drinking the water outside weeks ago, even though I would break the ice every day. They prefer the warm water of their heated buckets. And right now, they are drinking about 40 liters a day between the two of them. I can't even imagine how I would manage if I had a dozen or more horses!!!


----------



## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Yes, the sled is your best option.

When I empty the barn buckets, especially the cumbersome heated ones, and they are close to full, I have to pour half of them into another bucket, then carry two half full buckets at a time to keep my shoulders balanced.

You're young and don't think about this BUT, this lugging of heavy stuff does catch up to the back, the shoulders, and sometimes elbows, wrists, knees. 

Take the "coward's way out" and empty half the water you haul into another bucket, then lift half a bucket of water.

What we Little Women have in grit and determination, we lack in cubic inches, lollol

Sometimes it seems there is no replacement for cubic inches but that is when we get really crafty and come up with some genius, albeit bizarre, ideas to get the job done, lollollol


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

walkinthewalk said:


> Yes, the sled is your best option.
> 
> When I empty the barn buckets, especially the cumbersome heated ones, and they are close to full, I have to pour half of them into another bucket, then carry two half full buckets at a time to keep my shoulders balanced.
> 
> ...


Agreed! My husband kept telling me all weekend he could haul water out for me (he's the one who chose the plumber after a client recommended him so now he feels guilty), but I'm not about to start depending on him every time the horses need water! Gosh, I sure hope I don't get sick or break an arm or something this winter.

I think your idea of using half buckets is the best one. I was already dumping out the heated water buckets into an empty buckets when the water got dirty. Not that hard to refill the same way. Rather than lift 25 liters, I can do 10 or 15 liters at a time, which is manageable. 

I'm going to be RIPPED by spring! :charge:


----------



## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

One year long ago we had the pipe to the barn freeze and I had to haul water from the house. I would put the water in those camping plastic bag things so no water would spill on the way and I had a good sized plastic tub that I would pull them in. It was a fair good walk to the barn.
One day I got the bright idea of putting a harness on our dog and let him pull the tub down to the barn. I did teach him to pull me on cross country skis that winter as well. I would hook him to the tub and say "go to the barn" and away he would go with the water and when he got there would sit and wait for me. Once in a while he would hit a drift or a rough spot and upset but he would just wait for me to set things right again. This was why I put the water in the plastic bags so I didn't loose half on the way to the barn.


----------



## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

Our water was frozen yesterday. it happens to us every year. We do have a frost free hydrant. What happens in a hydrant is the water in the pipe drains back down when you turn the handle off. The pipe can act as a conduit for cold and the drained water can freeze. Ours usually unthaws after a day or two of warmer temps. Keeps trying the hydrant. What we have done is make sure to have really large tanks that only need filled every 2-3 days. We have horses and 4-5 steers so we use a lot of water.

Just because pipes are below the frost line does not mean they WILL NOT freeze it is just a better way to help them from freezing. Keep trying the hydrant and it should come up eventually


----------



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I feel your pain about frozen water pipes..... 
I had a frost-free hydrant...didn't freeze at the underground shutoff but did freeze above it...

So....this is what we used at my last barn I had up north..
_https://www.lowes.com/pd/EasyHeat-30-ft-211-Watt-Pipe-Heat-Cable/1065647_

Now this product is from Lowe's but can be purchased in most any hardware store in "cold" climates..it comes in several lengths.
I know you have electricity near your stalls and can only imagine your water supply is close to them...
A grounded outlet, wrap the offending pipes as far down as you can reach...the closer together you wrap the wire the warmer the pipe will be...spread out it covers more footage but less warmth...
So if you warm a pipe above the concrete the heat may dissipate just enough to your "clog" and unclog it...:think:
Remember once that clog breaks through you will have free-flowing water everywhere so do keep an eye on your barn or find a potential pool or skating rink from flooding...:eek_color:

Now I have heat tape on my well pipes so they not freeze on cold nights...
I bought it at Lowes and know the one I purchased also had a thermostat on it that turned it on and then off as temperatures fluctuated and was needed...

Maybe that heat tape will get your water going again...if it does a dripping faucet might prevent frozen solid but that working heat tape might be just what you need....
Heat tape is safe to use in a barn unattended overnight too...no different than having your heated water buckets plugged in 24/7.

You have nothing to lose but a few dollars now and saving your back _or_ spending with the plumber when your warm-weather thaw occurs later.
Good luck.
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo..._


----------



## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

Horselovinguy has the right idea with the heat tape for your pipe at the barn. My first winter here in NC was an expensive lesson for me when the lows were 10 degrees for 3 days. Cost me $500. for a new well pump after the pipes froze and pump motor burned out!!! A simple light bulb didn't generate enough heat to keep the pipes warm. I bought a 90 watt outdoor spotlight and installed an outdoor spotlight fixture in my pump house. Works like a charm!

I don't have water faucets at my barn......just a long hose running from the house, which is useless when it gets below freezing. I use a garden cart to get 1 gallon bottles of hot water to the barn. They're the perfect size for weight and handling especially since I only have one useable arm. 
Try the heat tape if you have an outlet close by to plug it into. Or upgrade your box light to a heat generating spotlight fixture like I did, it might fix your problem.


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Welcome to my world!!!
Our outdoor water pipes also freeze in cold weather so we turn them off at the source (in the basement) before it freezes to avoid burst pipes
We keep 8 large sized trash bins in our barn in the winter and fill them by hosepipe that attaches to an outlet in the barn. If we wind the hose up immediately on to a reel and put it in the garage the water gets displaced from it and it doesn't freeze - usually - if it's really cold we put it in the mechanicals area of the basement which as a walk in/out entrance
I then have a couple of water heaters that I sit in the bins so I've always got thawed out tepid water to put in the buckets
We do have a couple of heated outdoor water tubs but they put our electric bill through the roof so I now fill small tubs in the field a few times a day when they're shut outside 
Slidestop bought an insulated bucket last year but I lost track of how effective it was


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

The insulated buckets are great. And so far, my boxed-in light bulb with the pipes held up until it got to -35 C or so (actually, more like -26C with a windchill that was estimated at -35 to -39C, but I don't think windchill affects pipes does it?). I like Hombres' idea of putting in a heating lamp. I could get the type they use for hatching chickens. If I could ever get the water flowing again, I might be ok up to -20C since I was before this big freeze. And if we get really cold temps, I may put heat in my tack room just to keep things from getting that cold again. 

And trust me, I had these conversations about avoiding frozen pipes with the contractor AND the plumber! They just looked at me as if to say "ah, look at that cute little woman who thinks she's going to tell us how to do our job, hehe..." GRRRRR.... The contractor actually told my husband his guys got a kick out of chatting with me. I would go in every morning to meet them and tell them how I wanted things done. It didn't matter that I was paying for the **** barn, they would still call my husband to ask him questions. So (insert swear word of choice) frustrating. 

Anyway, so here are some pictures of my box. I find it hard to believe heat tape would help since it was pretty darn warm in there already. The pipe does not feel cold anywhere (well, as far down as I could reach, anyway). The ice on the concrete at the foot of the "box" had all thawed and even evaporated. If the dryer, light bulb AND a space heater running for the better part of a day didn't reach those frozen pipes, I'm guessing my hands won't be able to go down far enough. I tried to get a pic of where the pipe goes down into the conduit, but of course, it's pretty dark down there. Still, I'm open to suggestions. The "box" is easy to take apart by the way, it's just screwed in. The top opens so I can reach the light bulb.


----------



## Capparouge (Oct 3, 2016)

I would run a hose from the house, sucks but if its in ground pipes where it is frozen then you are at the mercy of the temp


----------



## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

I wrap heat tape around my frost free pump - works like a charm! The lightbulb is providing surface heat, I don't know if it penetrates all the way through and down. If it's below ground though, like others have said - only a thaw will do it


----------



## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Oh that's some crummy luck.
Even if you get the water flowing by using a heat gun unless you keep the water flowing it will keep freezing.

Your best bet is to get a large stock tank with a heater, keep it in your aisle & refill buckets from that. You'd still need to use a hose from the house & drain it after use but maybe only once a week.

Have you called the plumber who did that job? Or have your husband do it.


----------



## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

@Acadianartist, 

Here's a link to the type of light and fixture I use. 90 watt halogen bulb (emphasis on halogen) and a single light fixture. The link shows a 2 bulb setup, couldn't find an example of a single fixture.

Note: I would NOT suggest using the infrared type bulb that is used for chicks.....they create a lot of heat and can cause a fire if too close to the surface of combustible items like the wood your box is made out of. 

Also you would have to rewire in the new fixture (easy to do) as the current light socket you have is not set up to handle the larger halogen bulb.

https://www.google.com/search?q=90+...&ved=0ahUKEwiOxKe4vYHRAhXCOyYKHeF5DA8QgTYI1QQ


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

HombresArablegacy said:


> @Acadianartist,
> 
> Here's a link to the type of light and fixture I use. 90 watt halogen bulb (emphasis on halogen) and a single light fixture. The link shows a 2 bulb setup, couldn't find an example of a single fixture.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info! Will see if I can make that work.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Stupid freaking weather. -25 C again this morning. I could barely stand being out for a few minutes to feed and water. Mucking out will have to wait until it warms to a point where humans can survive more than 10 minutes. Even though only a tiny strip of skin was showing (my eyes, basically, but my eyelashes were sticking together), it was hard being out there. We're used to harsh winters, but it's a bit early for this kind of brutal cold! 

Oh and Harley was coughing this morning. He hadn't coughed in weeks. 

I guess I'm just ranting...


----------



## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

Makes one appreciate what our forebearers dealt with. And they didn't have heat tape, heated houses, horse blankets.

I tip my hat and sip my coffee to them!

I hope the brutal cold doesn't last to long for you. Frozen water pipes suck.


----------



## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

Acadianartist, I feel your pain. We were just in a deep freeze for two weeks (coldest it got was -44 with the windchill). Just gross. Finally getting some chinooks now; so the temp is warmer but the wind is brutal. 

I don't have a barn or heated buckets, so I was bundling up and heading out there a few times throughout the day to chip ice and re-fill buckets. It sucked. And seriously, I kept thinking this was how the pioneers did it. 

Hopefully your deep freeze doesn't last for long - at least winter solstice is tomorrow so we are heading towards spring!! 

Good luck with the pipes - I hope you find a solution that works.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

cbar - hope you get some warm weather soon! I am thankful for the heated buckets. I keep telling myself I can do this. It's not that bad. Must be that Canadian optimism. Most Canadians will have seen this video, but it seemed à propos:


----------



## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

^^^^ Very funny video !!! Gotta love the Canadian stoicism. Now I fully understand the convoy of Rv's full of Canadians heading south on I 95 every October. I much prefer the cold of winter to the misery of summer, but don't think I could handle -35C temps for months. 
Y'all are my new heroes ♡♡


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

HombresArablegacy said:


> ^^^^ Very funny video !!! Gotta love the Canadian stoicism. Now I fully understand the convoy of Rv's full of Canadians heading south on I 95 every October. I much prefer the cold of winter to the misery of summer, but don't think I could handle -35C temps for months.
> Y'all are my new heroes ♡♡


I went out this afternoon and it was -11. Downright balmy! The only good thing about a really harsh cold spell is that it makes you think -11 is pretty warm!


----------



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

One thing about frost-free hydrants. They need occasional maintenance. Every five years I dig all of mine up and clean them out around the bottom. I can generally find a screen to run the sludge and dirt from the pea gravel. 

After leasing an old place that hadn't done maintenance on their frost-frees, and having three freeze solid, I will never neglect that chore. Hauling water in a large tank in the back of my truck for cattle and horses was not a fun addition to the hours in my day.


----------



## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Back before I had large water troughs and heaters hauling water out to my mare got old fast, especially when the bucket of water would freeze before she drank it all. My house was on a slab which meant no steps leading up to it so I would fill a cooler with water and leave it in the utility room and then 4 times a day I'd drag it over in front of the door and then lead her up to the doorway so she could drink. LOL Filling the cooler instead of just a bucket was insurance for extra water in case my pipes froze.


----------



## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I would not even like 30 degree weather, a minus number and I would have to hibernate! That video was great. 
Hope you got the water figured it.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Still no water. Super-excited about this forecast though! Hoping for a Christmas miracle.



Really though, hauling water hasn't been that bad. Twice a day I fill the 25 liter jug on a sled just outside the garage. There is a very slight downhill grade from the house to the barn, so it will actually just slide by itself almost the whole way. I park the sled outside the barn door where I leave a bucket. That bucket gets filled and hauled to their stalls to fill their heated buckets. It was just a matter of adding a step to my routine. If I had more horses, it would have to be hauled by machine, but I'm managing pretty well with just these two.


----------



## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Do your horses need to be in?
Even if you don't have an automatic waterer, with a heat tape, you can fill a steel trough, with a hose you keep inside the house, and use a heater
I worry much more about impaction colic, horses not drinking enough, when it gets really cold, then keeping them in a barn, hoping they have enough open water, esp eating dry hay!
If you have shelters outside, your horses will be much, much better off, outside full time, in winter, able to move, have lots of forage, hay, and always open water, and lots of it.
I live in Alberta, so your temps are not unusal for me at all!


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Smilie said:


> Do your horses need to be in?
> Even if you don't have an automatic waterer, with a heat tape, you can fill a steel trough, with a hose you keep inside the house, and use a heater
> I worry much more about impaction colic, horses not drinking enough, when it gets really cold, then keeping them in a barn, hoping they have enough open water, esp eating dry hay!
> If you have shelters outside, your horses will be much, much better off, outside full time, in winter, able to move, have lots of forage, hay, and always open water, and lots of it.
> I live in Alberta, so your temps are not unusal for me at all!


I have dutch doors that open onto their paddock Smilie, so their stalls are their run-in shelters. The doors stay open all day, until about 9 pm when I shut them in for the night. That's partly just so I can give Kodak extra hay because Harley eats all of hers and is getting fat. Also, we had some really cold nights which seems to make Harley's coughing worse. They know where the water is and stopped drinking from their outside water trough as soon as I put in heated buckets. I don't bother using it anymore because they'd rather drink the warm water in their buckets anyway.

Their buckets are never empty! I go to the barn 4-5 times a day and check each time. I've found they only need to be filled about twice usually (they're quite large), but have filled them both up to 3 times in a day. So that's roughly 50-70 liters of water a day for two smallish horses. Does that sound right? There is still water there in the morning when I come in to give them breakfast and water when I come home in the afternoon. I would never let them go without water. 

Running a hose to the barn is a huge PIA. Because a) it's about 250 feet. b) with the temps we've had, the water would freeze halfway through. Seriously. The ends freeze up and get jammed and the water won't come out. Then I'd have to coil it back up and bring it in all iced up and dripping, and find a place to put 250 feet of hose where it won't freeze. Even the garage is iffy on really cold nights so it would have to come inside. Far easier to fill up the jug and put it on the sled a couple of times a day. Once I got the hang of it and added it to my routine, it wasn't so bad.


----------



## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

Can you melt snow for water? Like half fill the bucket and let the heated bucket do the work? I've heard of other northerns doing it


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Rain Shadow said:


> Can you melt snow for water? Like half fill the bucket and let the heated bucket do the work? I've heard of other northerns doing it


Yes, it's possible. But probably not the best quality water or the most efficient use of heated buckets. Also, if you've ever tried to melt snow for water, you'll discover there is about a 10 to 1 ratio between the volume of the snow compared to the volume of water.


----------



## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

As long as they always have water available, then keep doing what works for you.
This year, I don't have to drag the hose in and out of the house, as I am not using the field that does not have an automatic stock waterer
Other years, when I had more hroses, I did have some horses in that field, that needed to be fed different (grass hay, versus mixed )
I thus used a large steel water tank, which only required filling about every three weeks or so, thus certainly not dragging hose out daily!
We also have hot and cold water taps outside of the house, near that pasture, as I use them to bath horses in the warm part of the year, for shows, thus not a big deal to haul that hose out every few weeks. Sure would not haul one on a daily basis!
I then used a floating heater, which I changed every so often, to de minerize one, while the other one was in use. Thus, it was not a big job for me to get that hose out very few weeks
I also have outside shelters, so don't need to use the barn in winter, plus enough fields, to address individual feeding needs, left over form when I had broodmares and young growing horses, besides mature horses,plus a stud


----------



## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

You would probably benefit with heat tape and pipe insulation, but if the weather won't help then you're going to have to get some heat in there one way or another as the light bulb obviously isn't enough.

I have a torpedo heater for when I really need to warm things up...

Master Kerosene/Diesel Forced Air Heater, 75,000 BTU - For Life Out Here

The link shows the one I have, but I really wish I'd have gotten a little bigger one.....I run kerosene in mine as diesel stinks....

Think hair dryer times 100. These things crank out some serious heat....

The farrier loves it.....and I also use it if I'm forced to work on the tractor etc during cold weather......


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Haven't read all the posts so don't know if the pipes are metal of plastic. If they are metal, a welding rig of substantial size with the needed attachments can thaw them out in ten minutes.

The pipes to my apartment froze up at -30F in Pagosa Springs, CO in 1967. There was a guy in town that went around thawing pipes with his portable welder.

That was the year the city mains froze up in Leadville, CO. The mains were 10 feet deep.

Anyhow, if the pipes are metal I'd suggest calling a local welding supply and ask if they know of anybody that thaws pipes. The welder does not actually "melt" the ice but rather sends a frequency through the pipe that breaks the bonds of the ice apart. Or that is what I remember being told.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Well, I had my Christmas miracle! I have water in the barn again. We had a few milder days (a few degrees above freezing during the day) and every once in a while, I would turn the water back on. I left the outside tap turned on with the water to the barn cut off, but when I turned the water back on and went outside, lo and behold, there is a beautiful steady stream of water coming out! 

Hondo - the pipes are part metal, part some kind of flexible plastic - the idea being to avoid a burst pipe if they freeze. I believe the pipes froze where they go in the ground, not the part that was above ground. That said, I know a plumber probably could have thawed them out, but I worried that they might freeze again.

So I mounded snow up against the foundation and wall of the barn where the pipes run. Snow is excellent insulation. When the pipes froze, we had very little snow cover, which caused the ground to freeze hard. I'm also thinking that if it gets down really cold (and it will), I might shut the water valve to the barn and drain the water from the pipes. Easy enough to do, just one switch in the house and I run the tap until no water comes out. Wouldn't that help prevent them from freezing again?


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

gunslinger said:


> You would probably benefit with heat tape and pipe insulation, but if the weather won't help then you're going to have to get some heat in there one way or another as the light bulb obviously isn't enough.
> 
> I have a torpedo heater for when I really need to warm things up...
> 
> ...


That's actually kind of cool gunslinger! I can think of a few uses for it. A sick or older horse, when my equine massage therapist comes (she hates the cold), if I need to work in the barn for a while in bitterly cold weather... We had something similar in a badly insulated house we rented one winter by the ocean. Not something I'd ever leave unattended, but I can think of many uses for it. However, if the pipes froze underground, I'm not sure it would help even if the tack room was summer-at-the-beach balmy. Still, I think it's something I'd like to have around just in case. We lose power often around here and you can get some that are safe to use indoors.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Well, if you have a stem pipe coming up out of the ground, how would you drain that? If the bar is way lower it might drain to the stem pipe coming up, but it doesn't sound like the pipe coming up out of the ground would drain. Now if the barn is higher, and you have a valve to open at the house that is protected from freezing, the line might drain from the barn to the house.

It all depends. Heard that before?

BTW, since you have horses, you have something that insulates a lot better than snow and does not melt. Used a lot for that where there are horses.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

If I had more of an idea what the elevations were and where and what the valving was I might be able to make a semi useful suggestion.

One way since everything at the barn is in concrete would be to have an on/off valve installed outside the barn that had an underground drain in it. The plumber will know what I'm talking about. That might be the simplest and quickest and cheapest permanent fix. You'd just have to be sure to turn off the water to the barn there before a cold front came in.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Hondo said:


> Well, if you have a stem pipe coming up out of the ground, how would you drain that? If the bar is way lower it might drain to the stem pipe coming up, but it doesn't sound like the pipe coming up out of the ground would drain. Now if the barn is higher, and you have a valve to open at the house that is protected from freezing, the line might drain from the barn to the house.
> 
> It all depends. Heard that before?
> 
> BTW, since you have horses, you have something that insulates a lot better than snow and does not melt. Used a lot for that where there are horses.


Yes, I hate to waste hay though. But I may stack a few bales out there. (Just edited to add Hahaha... wait, you don't mean hay do you? Manure! Brilliant! The composting action keeps the pile from freezing at its core, even in the deepest cold. OMG, why didn't I think of that! I'm on it as of tomorrow.

I wondered if the pipes would drain completely if I shut off the water valve. The barn is indeed higher than the house, and the pipes obviously go down, then into the basement of the house. Even if there was a bit of water left though, and even if I did have some freezing and lost my water again, at least I might avoid a burst pipe? Though it didn't appear to happen this time, and like I said, they put in some kind of flexible pipe material to avoid that, it might still mitigate any damage. Given that it's so easy to do, I might just drain the water as a precaution. Because while some water might remain, it would drain down from where it goes up into the barn. The trenches are really deep so I doubt it would freeze that low into the ground, especially now that we have a good snow cover. Worth a try, I figure.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Ha ha. Yep, you got it on the second guess. I've even heard of people building containers for it for insulation. Free and you can use it on the garden next summer.

Ok, if the house is lower than the barn, and if you have a faucet at the house on the same line, between the shut off and the barn, then you could just 1. shut off the water, 2. open the faucet at the house, 3. then go open the faucet at the barn to let air in as the line drains. Then close the barn faucet. You would only really need to let enough air in to drain the stem pipe and then shut it off.

If the faucet at the house is outside, well that's another problem as it will be frozen. But if inside, just use a bucket and a hose.

Actually, you should probably 1. turn the water supply off 2. then go open the faucet at the barn, 3. then go back to the house and drain say 2 or 3 gallons and that would be more than enough to drain the stand pipe at the barn. Then turn everything off and the water should run the next day.

Save the hay for the horses


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Hondo said:


> Ha ha. Yep, you got it on the second guess. I've even heard of people building containers for it for insulation. Free and you can use it on the garden next summer.
> 
> Ok, if the house is lower than the barn, and if you have a faucet at the house on the same line, between the shut off and the barn, then you could just 1. shut off the water, 2. open the faucet at the house, 3. then go open the faucet at the barn to let air in as the line drains. Then close the barn faucet. You would only really need to let enough air in to drain the stem pipe and then shut it off.
> 
> ...


Hahaha.. yes, going to save the hay for the horses! The shut off valve is in the house. Will not freeze. I think it's the safest thing to do. Other than mounding manure against the barn wall, which I still think is brilliant!


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Good. Shut off valve in the house. Won't freeze.

But do you have a freeze proof faucet between the shut off valve and the barn that could be used for draining the line to the barn?


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Hondo said:


> Good. Shut off valve in the house. Won't freeze.
> 
> But do you have a freeze proof faucet between the shut off valve and the barn that could be used for draining the line to the barn?


No, I'd have to drain it from the barn. So presumably, some water would remain in the pipes, but as long as it is deep underground, it should be ok.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Here's what puzzles me. If it's uphill to the barn from the shut off, how is the pipe at the barn going to drain? Water runs downhill which I'm sure you know.

If the pipe comes up in a concrete floor at the barn making a freeze proof riser in the barn a not so good option, I would either have an underground shut off with an automatic drain feature installed outside the barn, or if possible a faucet inside the house between the shut off and barn to be used for draining inside the house. Wouldn't have to drain much.

Otherwise, I'm not clear on how you plan to get any water to drain out the riser in the barn after the water is shut off at the house? If it's higher, the water will just stand there full and freeze if it has no place to drain.

Am I missing some information?


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Hondo said:


> Here's what puzzles me. If it's uphill to the barn from the shut off, how is the pipe at the barn going to drain? Water runs downhill which I'm sure you know.
> 
> If the pipe comes up in a concrete floor at the barn making a freeze proof riser in the barn a not so good option, I would either have an underground shut off with an automatic drain feature installed outside the barn, or if possible a faucet inside the house between the shut off and barn to be used for draining inside the house. Wouldn't have to drain much.
> 
> ...


Not sure I'm describing it right, but I'm also not sure it will work either... So the shut off valve is in our basement. It goes right out of the bottom of the basement floor, about 6 feet below ground level. Straight to the barn, which is slightly downhill from the house, but not by much. Then, of course, the pipes come straight up into the barn through the tack room floor. I guess I figured that if I shut off the water inside, then opened the tap in the barn to drain whatever water was still in the pipes, there would be some pressure pushing the water out (since it does run slightly downhill from the house). But I guess I won't know until I try it. Maybe nothing will come out and all the water will just sit there. Your idea of a faucet in the house is a very good one though, and I think we could add that relatively easily to our setup. Then I could be sure there is no water left sitting on either end.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Acadianartist said:


> The barn is indeed higher than the house, and the pipes obviously go down, then into the basement of the house.





Acadianartist said:


> Straight to the barn, which is slightly downhill from the house, but not by much.


We have to get this figured out before any solution can be accurately suggested.

And another question: In the basement where the shut off valve is, is there any pipe exposed between the shut off valve and where the pipe enters the wall of the basement?

If the barn is indeed higher than the elevation in the basement where the pipe is, that could be important.

If the barn is just a tiny bit lower, a foot or two, with the pipe being 6 foot deep at both the barn and house, it could still be possible to drain 4-5 feet down below the slab in the barn, IF there is exposed pipe between the shut off and basement wall.

Depending, it could be necessary to get accurate elevations to determine the best and easiest long term solution.

Digging down 6 feet outside the tack room and installing a freeze faucet may still be the best option for long term. But for right now IF the water could be drained into the basement, at least part of it, that could be the solution for now, but it would have to be done before every expected deep freeze, which is a pain. But not as much as carrying buckets!


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Hondo said:


> We have to get this figured out before any solution can be accurately suggested.
> 
> And another question: In the basement where the shut off valve is, is there any pipe exposed between the shut off valve and where the pipe enters the wall of the basement?
> 
> ...


I love how the folks on this forum are so detail-oriented! 

To answer your question, yes there is a fairly long bit of pipe that is exposed in the basement between the turn off valve and where it enters the wall. It's also conveniently located above a big sink. I don't think it would be very hard for a plumber to add a faucet. 

The barn is slightly lower than the house. But over about 250 feet, that could still apply enough pressure, ASSUMING they dug the trench at an even depth (starting at ground level and measuring downward) between the house and the barn. I didn't go out with a ruler to measure it so I don't know. But the barn is at enough of a downhill grade from the house that when I had to lug water jugs out, I would put them on a sled and they would slide down to the barn by themselves. So if I had to guess, I'd say there is probably a 4-5 foot grade, therefore, when they dug the trench with a backhoe, it's likely they dug it about 6 feet deep all the way to the barn.

It's staying warm today, and we haven't had temps dip down more than -15 C, but the next time we get a -20 night, I'm going to turn it off, drain it at the barn, and see what happens. Even if I don't turn the water off, it will still freeze so I figure I have nothing to lose. If nothing else, it might reduce the possibility of a burst pipe somewhere.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Oh, and to clarify, when I said the barn is higher than the house, I meant that the water obviously comes UP into the tack room. It starts out from the basement of the house, but now that I think of it, I'm not sure the lowest part of the basement is actually lower than the faucet in the tack room since the barn is downhill. Rather hard to judge.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

One thing for certain, turning the water off in the basement and opening the faucet in the tack room will not result in the pipe and faucet draining in the tack room. But as you suggest, having the faucet open will reduce the pressure build up and reduce the possibility of a burst pipe or faucet.

Ok, sounds like the elevations are close so it now becomes sort of critical to find out what they actually are for the best solution.

If the pipe in the basement is lower than the floor of the tack room, then installing a faucet in the basement would work.

If not, then an underground shut off/drain outside the tack room is the only solution I can see. Too bad freezing wasn't thought of at the installation. It would have been easy then.

Did a plumber make the installation? If so I wonder if he could have installed something that can be used that you are not aware of? Just seems like an actual plumber familiar with the weather would have done or at least suggested something.

I'm about out of ideas.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Differences in elevations can be quite deceiving by eye depending on the surroundings. You may have been in some of those geographical areas where uphill looks down hill or vice versa.

I would doubt that is the case with your barn, but how much could still be deceptive. Short of using a carpenters or surveyors dumpy level, there are two other fairly easy ways to determine with enough accuracy for figuring out the preferred solution.

One involves water and a hose which doesn't sound like it'd be a good choice due to the temps.

The other would be using a plain old carpenters level with the bubble glass. If you could position it at the house level to the best you could and have someone at the barn to move a target up and down and make a mark when you say, that would work. To be certain the level wasn't off a little, which it likely would be, it should be turned end for end with a second reading/mark being made. The most accurate would be half way between the two marks.

Then if the vertical distance from the level to the basement pipe and the mark at the barn to the floor, semi accurately, it could be determined which way the water would actually run with the water turned off.

Yes, detail oriented, but in this case there is no other way that I know of. I worked two years as a surveyor during the construction of a 750 Megawatt coal fired power plant. Now you wanna talk detail! I lost many a nights sleep during those two years. Heavy machinery coming 6-12 months later to be set on 2-3 inch diameter bolts that "I" had determined the measurements for. And everything had better fit.


----------



## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

When we built our barn, we would go out in the evening and use a laser level. You can easily see where the beam hits the structure.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Laser level. Of course! I just didn't think of that. It was around 45 years ago the last actual surveying I did. Laser levels used to be expensive but I've seen them in home user tools.

I'm wondering what the frost line is in the area. I was thinking that if it is, say 3 feet, the backhoe may well have brought the trench up to only 3 feet deep at the barn. And if the barn turned out to be, say 2 feet below the house, then the pipe would would slope back to the house by one foot.

The easiest way to tell at this point would be to install that faucet over the sink in the basement and see if the line drains. The faucet at the barn would need to be opened for air supply if draining.

And if the pipe size was known, a simple calculation could be made on the volume of the pipe and the volume of the water that drained, if any, could tell what was left in the pipe if any. Or if just the riser drained down a ways.

Sorry for all my verbiage, but this is right up my alley. I even used to have a back hoe but that was even more years ago.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Ok Hondo, let me see if I can respond to your highly detailed questions. The fact that you used to be surveyor certainly explains a lot! 

So yes, freezing was thought of at installation. I brought it up over and over again to the contractor AND the plumber. However, those are rural "old boys" who, while they may be good at their jobs, didn't seem to take anything I said very seriously because I'm a woman. That said, I feel our contractor did an excellent job so I'm inclined to blame it on the plumber who gave me a bad vibe. Not only is he a professional plumber, he also has horses. So he should know all about freezing pipes in barns. BUT, he was in and out too fast, and too cheap. It didn't add up. 

The contractor dug the trenches. I didn't measure, but I was out every day checking their progress and I could stand on the edge of the trench and look down to the guy laying the pipes. This guy was probably just short of 6 feet and disappeared inside the trench. I am absolutely confident our contractor would not have dug only 3 feet. He was adamant that we needed to go down at least 6, more if possible, even though it meant he had to remove some very large boulders and it took a little longer. This was not the type of guy to take shortcuts... the plumber, on the other hand... well, let's just say he was recommended to my husband by a client who likes to do things on the cheap. I should have known he was a bad choice, but out here in the middle of nowhere, there aren't a lot to choose from. So I'm guessing he screwed it up. We did discuss freezing and he made a point of telling me that he angled the faucets downward so water would not stay in them and freeze. I don't think it makes an inkling of difference. 

The contractor is the one who told us we needed to build a box, insulate it and put a light bulb in it. I know some in this forum have said that it doesn't make a difference, but you know what, two nights ago, the light bulb burned out. It was -11C outside, not terribly cold, certainly not enough to freeze the pipes normally. When I turned on the faucet, it was frozen. Not in the ground, but at the tap. I could tell by how hard it was to turn. I got a new bulb, replaced it, things warmed up a little and the water was running again in a couple of hours. It does make a difference, but only in the section that is above ground, and only when the temps do not dip down to -20 C. 

There is definitely a downhill grade between house and barn because as I said, if I load up a sled and place it between the house and the barn where my husband has cleared a path, it will slide down by itself. I know appearances can be very deceiving, but gravity tells me there is a slight grade. While I cannot guarantee that the trench follows that grade exactly, I tend to think it follows it roughly and therefore, has a slight downhill grade to the barn. Whether that downhill grade is enough to push the water out of the barn pipes is something I'll find out I guess... 

Let me use this as an example: we have a 15' round pool which we drain completely every fall. I put a hose in - just a loose hose, no pump - and then lay it down the hill behind the house. The water has to run up into the hose over the pool wall, down the other side and then down the hill. I don't have to do anything to get the water flowing, as soon as I lay it down, some water starts coming out and sucks the rest of the water out. I guess I'm hoping that the pressure of the water going downhill from the house to the barn will push the water up the faucet, but I may be wrong. If that doesn't work, I'll have a faucet installed in the house in the hopes that the reverse is true. If neither works, then I guess I'm going to have to figure out a different solution. With a different plumber, obviously.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Guess what? I think I got it!  The man in the ditch did the trick. Good thing you're out in the boonies or that ditch would have required shoring and that would have doubled the cost likely.

When I was growing up we grew everything we ate. For the winter we had 2-300 quart fruit jars in the "fruit closet". No basement. If there was any threat of a hard freeze, a light bulb was turned on in the closet. Canned beans, corn, peaches, etc never froze. Light bulbs work. Have heard op people putting them under a house that had pipes that would freeze sometimes.

So it sounds like you have the solution already. As long as the bulb doesn't burn out. Might want to change it before it nears its normal life in hours. Or run two for the really cold nights just in case?

If you eventually want a way to drain the line, you will need a faucet in the basement for an air inlet. Then a shut off/drain combo will need to be installed outside the barn.

At the time of installation a freeze proof faucet that has a shut off down deep with a rod that runs down through the pipe could have been installed for around $100. But without digging up the concrete, that's not an option now. Too bad.

Glad to hear it's good to go now anyhow.


----------



## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Is this a pole barn or does the concrete floor support the structure?


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

PaintHorseMares said:


> Is this a pole barn or does the concrete floor support the structure?


Concrete floor with four foot frost walls all around.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Updating to say that we had some pretty serious cold last night. -22 C with -27 windchill. I shut the water off to the barn and turned on the tap in the barn to drain any water in it. Turned it back on this morning (it was still -18.5) and at first there was just a trickle, but I let it run a bit, and sure enough, the water came gushing out. I couldn't be happier! Hopefully I can keep it running all winter.


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Did you have the light bulb on?


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Hondo said:


> Did you have the light bulb on?


Of course. Always on, 24/7. But it was on when the pipes froze the first time too so I think the combination of the light bulb + shutting off the water is the solution.


----------



## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

Hi AA!

Frozen pipes, frozen buckets and troughs, we've even had the "heated" automatic waterers freeze, what a PITA that was. We struggled along with frozen hoses; I have even resorted to placing a coiled, frozen hose under the hood of my truck with a warm running engine to thaw it . . .

But just a quick thought: Would it be possible to re-arrange your homestead such that your horses could come up to your house for a drink? Maybe a temporary corridor of electro-braid or the like? If so, that would make life easier on the caregiver until you could rework things in the spring.

Steve


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

This in not going to earn me any popularity Kudos, but yesterday evening I was sitting outside with the horses while they ate and a mosquito landed on my arm!

Last winter about this time we were having +10F for overnite lows with hoses freezing. I would carry buckets of hot water to warm their water up.

I like the idea of running warm water to them from the house. Something I plan on doing.

Why didn't I think of that????


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Acadianartist said:


> Of course. Always on, 24/7.


Ok. Somehow I got it into my head that the light bulb had burned out the last time.

I'm still puzzled about where/how the water drains when shut off.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

george the mule said:


> Hi AA!
> 
> Frozen pipes, frozen buckets and troughs, we've even had the "heated" automatic waterers freeze, what a PITA that was. We struggled along with frozen hoses; I have even resorted to placing a coiled, frozen hose under the hood of my truck with a warm running engine to thaw it . . .
> 
> ...


I could do that, but it would be just as much of a pain as just hauling water out and a MUCH bigger pain than just keeping the water running! All it took was for me to shut it off last night. It's a simple switch in my basement. It appears to only be necessary when the night-time lows hit the - 20s so not every night. A pretty simple solution really. And the horses have heated buckets in the barn so that's not an issue.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Hondo said:


> Ok. Somehow I got it into my head that the light bulb had burned out the last time.
> 
> I'm still puzzled about where/how the water drains when shut off.


It's not in your head, the bulb did go out once. Let me sum it up: the first time the pipes froze it was a very cold night, we had very little snow on the ground and it went down to about -25 C. I did have the insulated box and light bulb inside it, but that only keeps the pipes that are above ground warm. The pipes stayed frozen despite my best attempts to thaw them out with a hair dryer, heat in my tack room where the water comes out, etc. It took a warm spell to thaw things out. My guess: they froze where they went into the ground, but above the frost line. 

The second time my pipes froze briefly, it wasn't that cold (maybe -14 C), but the bulb burned out during the night. I believe they froze above ground that time, because I put a new bulb in, waited a few hours, and water was running again.

As to the drainage issue, here's a simple sketch. Since the water comes out of the basement of the house, when I turn it off, there is still water in the line that runs slightly downhill. I go to the barn and turn on the faucet to drain what's in it (not much came out, but a little bit did). There will be some water remaining in the line that runs 6 feet underground, but the idea is that some or most of the water that is in the portion that runs vertically will get pushed out. Enough to drain below frost level. Also, one of the differences this time is that we've had a lot of snow. It's mounded up the side of the barn where the pipes come in all the way up to the outside faucet. Snow is an excellent insulator so that probably helps too. Does that make sense to you? (please note, this will drive your surveyor's mind crazy, but none of this is to scale


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

Well glad you got it solved. People who know me would die ROTF at the surveyor's mind quote. That said, we NEED people with surveyor's minds. Otherwise we'd all still be living in caves picking our teeth with bone splinters.


----------



## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Glad to hear it got worked out~


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

I just gotta come back at you with this 

You do realize, don't you, that if there had been just one person, somewhere, loosely associated with the construction of your water line that had a surveyor's mind, you would never have started this thread?


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Hondo said:


> I just gotta come back at you with this
> 
> You do realize, don't you, that if there had been just one person, somewhere, loosely associated with the construction of your water line that had a surveyor's mind, you would never have started this thread?


I didn't say anything negative about your surveyor's mind! Just that my layperson's drawing might be offensive to it  

We do need surveyor's minds... and to be fair, my contractor did his part by digging a trench at an appropriate depth. The plumber, on the other hand...


----------



## Hondo (Sep 29, 2014)

I think we're getting to the bottom of this. Plumbers, (i've worked with a few), are fine folk, but they do not have a surveyor's mind. There was no surveyor's mind on board. Tsk tsk.


----------



## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

I'm glad you got your water fixed! We're hauling buckets every day because we never did have water in the barn. A girl can dream :lol:


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

WhattaTroublemaker said:


> I'm glad you got your water fixed! We're hauling buckets every day because we never did have water in the barn. A girl can dream :lol:


I feel for you Whatta! I grew up hauling water buckets, hay, saddles and everything else to the barn. We didn't even have electricity in our barn when I was a kid - if you can call a 12 x 12 shed a barn (I only had the one horse)! So I was determined to make my life a little easier this time around. That said, once I had a routine down, bringing water jugs to the barn for two horses wasn't so bad. I feed four times a day anyway, so I would just fill a jug and put it on a sled to take it the barn a couple of times a day. Glad to have my water running again though! Given the bitter cold we just had, the fact that it did not freeze again tells me this will be manageable. I just have to remember to turn the water off on really cold nights. The plumber didn't do a great job, but one thing he did right was put a switch in the basement in an easy-to-reach location.


----------



## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

Acadianartist said:


> I feel for you Whatta! I grew up hauling water buckets, hay, saddles and everything else to the barn. We didn't even have electricity in our barn when I was a kid - if you can call a 12 x 12 shed a barn (I only had the one horse)! So I was determined to make my life a little easier this time around. That said, once I had a routine down, bringing water jugs to the barn for two horses wasn't so bad. I feed four times a day anyway, so I would just fill a jug and put it on a sled to take it the barn a couple of times a day. Glad to have my water running again though! Given the bitter cold we just had, the fact that it did not freeze again tells me this will be manageable. I just have to remember to turn the water off on really cold nights. The plumber didn't do a great job, but one thing he did right was put a switch in the basement in an easy-to-reach location.


YES! I now bring my horse to the horse house to lug tack :lol: that's why ground tying is a huge thing for me. I park him by the door, go in and haul the saddle out. I agree that once you get a routine it does get better. I give them half a bale in the morning and keep an eye when they run out, and whenever they do I bring a bucket of water or two with me. Heated buckets are my next step, I HATE hauling full frozen five gallon pails back to the house. They seem to get twice as heavy. Not to mention they take forever to thaw. 

In a perfect world I'd have a heated breezeway from my house to my barn too! Would sure beat snowblowing or shovelling a path to it.


----------



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

WhattaTroublemaker said:


> YES! I now bring my horse to the horse house to lug tack :lol: that's why ground tying is a huge thing for me. I park him by the door, go in and haul the saddle out. I agree that once you get a routine it does get better. I give them half a bale in the morning and keep an eye when they run out, and whenever they do I bring a bucket of water or two with me. Heated buckets are my next step, I HATE hauling full frozen five gallon pails back to the house. They seem to get twice as heavy. Not to mention they take forever to thaw.
> 
> In a perfect world I'd have a heated breezeway from my house to my barn too! Would sure beat snowblowing or shovelling a path to it.


I definitely recommend heated buckets! I hesitated because I worried it might increase my power bill (and you know what kind of rates we pay to start with!), but it really hasn't made a difference. The buckets aren't cheap but wow, what a life saver. They make everything much easier and I'm pretty sure the horses are drinking more. I wouldn't live without them! 

As for the path between the house and barn, it's a nice, clear, 10 foot wide lane  When I built the barn, I gave half the space to my husband for an equipment bay. I figure I can't manage without his tractor to clear snow, move manure, etc. I also keep my four-wheeler in there. So when it snows, he has to drive the tractor from the barn to the house and clear the lane on the way. He has a snow-blower attachment that clears a 6 foot swath. Makes my life much easier! 

That said, I hadn't thought of the fact that I also need a clear path to my manure pile, so that one has to be hand-shoveled


----------



## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

Woo Hoo!!! Glad to see that you are back in action. 
I know the feeling while living in my 105 year old home that is slowly getting updated to the 21st century.


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

WhattaTroublemaker said:


> I'm glad you got your water fixed! We're hauling buckets every day because we never did have water in the barn. A girl can dream :lol:


My mother built the barn like that, after several years she relented and ripped everything apart to put in water (and electricity while she had a giant trench dug). Still not hot water but SUCH a difference. LOL!


----------

