# Stock tank heaters



## rjmoses

I have been going through electric water tanks heaters like mad this year. Bought two new ones at the end of Dec.,---both have died on me.

What do you all use for tank heaters?

Ralph


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## ontario hay man

http://www.tscstores.com/1500W-FLOATING-STOCK-TANK-DE-ICER-P10979.aspx#.UuJeJJFybJs
This is what I use. I have had the same 2 heaters for 5 years and they are still going. They also have ones that go in the drain plug if your critters like to play with them.


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## DSLinc1017

I've been around the block with tank heaters for years. The best solution I've come up with is this:
http://www.gemplers.com/product/217978/Stock-Tank-Heater

They come in 250 and 500watt.. As a posed to the floating kind that are 1500w. We use the 250w for the 70 gallon rubber made tanks and the 500 for the 100 and 125 gallon tanks. They can sit right on the bottom of the tank with no problem. Despite the warning on the tank. Had them now for at least the last 7 years with excellent results. It does help to insulate the tanks. But not necessary. My 125 gallon isn't insulated, but is blocked by a wall in a run in. 
I use a piece of hard foam insulation under the tank then wrap it with this silver bubble wrap insulation that they sell at Homdepot. Then cover part of the top with plywood.

Have never had any problems even with this -20 weather.


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## Dill

My Parents use one of these http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/allied-precision-sinking-de-icer-1500-w

They also have a double walled stock tank that seems to help. Also the insulation under the tank.

I keep my tank in the barn on the bedded pack which helps. The other big thing is my bull will break the ice, either with his head or if its too thick his foot. Probably not the most hygienic solution, but its one less thing I have to worry about.


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## Bonfire

Have you thought about trying these?

For cows

https://ritchiefount.com/shop/thrifty-king

I use of couple of these. No electric. The water source is the pond using gravity.

For horses

https://ritchiefount.com/shop/ecofount

I installed one of these for my wife. Haven't touched it since. Has a SS trough inside with an electric heater mounted to the bottom side.


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## Chessiedog

I use the electric ones as above . But there are some that run on propane . A burner sits in the tank . I think they are around 500 dollars or so though .


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## Hayman1

I use the ones that go in the drain plug with rubbermaid tanks and the heaters come from TSC. Guess we have 8 or so here and probably transfer one to the landfill per year. Always take them out after danger of freezing has past and let them soak in white vinegar for a day-cleans them right up. Now we have had a string of weather here that is abnormally cold which is forecast to continue through the next 10 days never getting above freezing during the day and they are still going strong. Can't say about your neck of the woods. Unfortunately, we have 7 stall buckets and 3 went out last night- not so impressed with the manufacturers qc on those.


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## Grateful11

The new Ritchie fountain that was put in here about 3 years ago has the same heater in it that DSLinc1017 linked to Gempler's. No problems in about 3 years. The really old Ritchie rusted out after about 20 years, the new one is all plastic.

Heater

https://ritchiefount.com/shop/immersion-heater


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## panhandle9400

We have some that are Broyhill ? they are a propane fired tank heater , havent used them in years but they are in the shed if we ever need them. In a pinch we would use 55gal drums with 1 end cut out use weight to hold them down in tank and fill with old cedar posts and gas/diesel mix .


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## rjmoses

Thanks for the suggestions, everybody.

I am using two 150 gal. Rubbermaid tanks to water 15-20 head of horses. I have a hose strung under the road through a culvert to get water to the pasture. I have two 20 amp circuits strung there with GFI's on them. The GFI's tend to trip out on anything over about 1200 watt draw every though I'm using 20 amp GFI's.

So, as soon as I get a warm-enough day, I'm swapping out the GFI's for a standard outlets. I already put grounding straps into the tanks because I've had the guard and hoses come in contact with the electric fence and it takes me 2-3 days to retrain the horses after they've been bit on the nose.

For whatever reason, the horses drain one tank completely before drinking out of the other. (Go figure!)

Has anybody tried the "new" H&K tank heaters?

I keep thinking that some kind of recirculating approach might be best for me, but I can't quite figure out something that would work.

Ralph


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## Lostin55

Cobett.com is where I got mine. Power free and work pretty well.


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## Maryland Ridge Farms

I bought a new Ritchie "thrifty" drinker. Money well spent


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## DSLinc1017

rjmoses said:


> Thanks for the suggestions, everybody.
> 
> I am using two 150 gal. Rubbermaid tanks to water 15-20 head of horses. I have a hose strung under the road through a culvert to get water to the pasture. I have two 20 amp circuits strung there with GFI's on them. The GFI's tend to trip out on anything over about 1200 watt draw every though I'm using 20 amp GFI's.
> 
> So, as soon as I get a warm-enough day, I'm swapping out the GFI's for a standard outlets. I already put grounding straps into the tanks because I've had the guard and hoses come in contact with the electric fence and it takes me 2-3 days to retrain the horses after they've been bit on the nose.
> 
> For whatever reason, the horses drain one tank completely before drinking out of the other. (Go figure!)
> 
> Has anybody tried the "new" H&K tank heaters?
> 
> I keep thinking that some kind of recirculating approach might be best for me, but I can't quite figure out something that would work.
> 
> Ralph


Your GFI may be tripping out for several reasons, one may be because of voltage drop over your run. Make sure that your extension cord is properly sized wire gauge for the run. The other reason may be a bad ground and or bad neutral at the panel. Or neutral and ground reversed. Could also be a bad or improper bonding of the ground and neutral. GFI can be sensitive to all of the above. A double bond ( ground loops) will also cause nucence trips. Something else could also be your electric fence. 
I wouldn't suggest getting rid of the GFI if you can help it.


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## rjmoses

DSLinc1017 said:


> Your GFI may be tripping out for several reasons, one may be because of voltage drop over your run. Make sure that your extension cord is properly sized wire gauge for the run. The other reason may be a bad ground and or bad neutral at the panel. Or neutral and ground reversed. Could also be a bad or improper bonding of the ground and neutral. GFI can be sensitive to all of the above. A double bond ( ground loops) will also cause nucence trips. Something else could also be your electric fence.
> I wouldn't suggest getting rid of the GFI if you can help it.


I've checked for improper ground/reversed  neutral/ground--no problems. The electric fence is now isolated away from the tanks.

But I had not thought about voltage drop or ground loops. I am running two 20 amp circuits, one for each tank, over two 100' 10 gauge cords (cords I built) so my original thought was that it wasn't voltage drop--but I can test that easily enough then move the GFI's closer to the tanks if appropriate.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Ralph


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## swmnhay

I use the submersible type 500 watts in a tire tank and it keeps it all thawed out.1500W is going to make the meter spin?

Floating type is harder to keep cattle away from the cord then submersible.


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## DSLinc1017

rjmoses said:


> I've checked for improper ground/reversed neutral/ground--no problems. The electric fence is now isolated away from the tanks.
> 
> But I had not thought about voltage drop or ground loops. I am running two 20 amp circuits, one for each tank, over two 100' 10 gauge cords (cords I built) so my original thought was that it wasn't voltage drop--but I can test that easily enough then move the GFI's closer to the tanks if appropriate.
> 
> Thanks for the suggestions.
> 
> Ralph


Your on the money, 10 gauge over 100' is fine with room to spare. I spoke about bonding, the rule is to have your neutral and ground bonded ( connected ) at the main panel. The panel that is feed from, say your meter. All other panels (sub panels) coming from your main panel don't want to be bonded. This is where you end up with ground loops. Electric fences can be pain when it comes to a good ground and often are the cause of issues with noise on your power lines as well as ground loops. A few things to try and or inspect. Does your main panel have a good solid ground? We will often do a grounding grid with our temporary power installations. 3 - 8' ground rods 6' apart all connected together. We will often do this if the ground they are in is dry or sandy. Electric fences almost always require a good grounding grid. Built in the same manner. The grounding on the electric fence is the first place I would check.

One more thing, now that I think deeper about your issue. Assuming the GFI's are out side. Moisture may be the issue. Especially if they are near a steaming water troff. Spray (soak) the GFI with WD40. If you think there is moisture behind the GFI in the box, take the cover plate off and do the same with WD40.
I spray all me electrical connection every time we are on a job. It saves a lot of issues.
WD 40, if you didn't know it was designed to displace water for NASA. Water Displacement formula # 40.

I hope this helps, I tried to explain in laymen's terms. 
Michael


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## Fowllife

I would think that if your tanks are not insulated you will need at least 500w to keep them open. I use a 325gal tank for the cows & a 1500w will keep it open down to -15. At -5 ice will start to build up around the perimeter but the center is still open. I have a 100 gal in with the steers and i tried a 1250w floater in there & it didn't do the job, I think it's because it's a floater though.

And yes Cy, the meter spins like a top. I had 2 1500w, one 1250w heater in the water tanks, plus two 250w heat lamos for the litter of hogs that farrowed out a couple weeks ago. Electric bill isn't going to be good this month.


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## deadmoose

I figure my Ritchie ecofount 2 that I installed last year will be paid off in saved electric in the next year or two. It has paid dividends already though not dealing with hoses all winter and manually watering daily.


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## stack em up

This pic was taken last cold spell at -24. Bohlmann 75 with a 250 watt heater to keep water in the bowl liquid. 14" tile going down 6' to water lines.


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## stack em up

Trying the pic again...


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## stack em up

And again... Ugh.

And no, the cow pie is not for insulation...


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## DSLinc1017

rjmoses said:


> I've checked for improper ground/reversed neutral/ground--no problems. The electric fence is now isolated away from the tanks.
> 
> But I had not thought about voltage drop or ground loops. I am running two 20 amp circuits, one for each tank, over two 100' 10 gauge cords (cords I built) so my original thought was that it wasn't voltage drop--but I can test that easily enough then move the GFI's closer to the tanks if appropriate.
> 
> Thanks for the suggestions.
> 
> Ralph


Did you get your GFI issue fixed? Or should I assume you like us are hunkered down around the wood stove


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## Vol

stack em up said:


> This pic was taken last cold spell at -24. Bohlmann 75 with a 250 watt heater to keep water in the bowl liquid. 14" tile going down 6' to water lines.


Good grief....you folks have to bury your water lines 6 feet deep to keep from freezing?

Regards, Mike


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## Fowllife

Vol said:


> Good grief....you folks have to bury your water lines 6 feet deep to keep from freezing?
> 
> Regards, Mike


Nope. They are "energy free" waterers. The 14" line down 6' works as a "chimney" to bring warm air up to the bowl. With the heat coming from the ground below you use less energy to keep them open. In a little warmer climate some guys don't put heating elements in them, way up north though they more then likely need something.

Well, I shouldn't say no though. Their frost depth may be close to that depth up there. It's only 42" up here.


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## DSLinc1017

4' here is safe. Especially with typical snow cover..... The last few (10) years hasn't been like it used to be with snow cover. In fact I'm willing to bet the south has had more snow than us this year.


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## Grateful11

Not if you've had more than the 1" we got today. We've had more than our share of cold weather though.


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## DSLinc1017

Grateful11 said:


> Not if you've had more than the 1" we got today. We've had more than our share of cold weather though.


Yes way to much cold weather up here. For an example, we build our houses for cold, I had a radiator pipe freeze and burst not more than 15 feet from a hot wood stove! I own an industrial building in town, 25 years old. had a pipe freeze in the building for the first time ever. We only have around 3" on the ground. Not normal for Vermont.


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## deadmoose

6' minimum. I made sure when burying mine. on a side note one of the local radio stations have a contest going on tomorrow. You win if you can guess the closest time that the temperature goes above 0 degrees Fahrenheit. For the first time since last Saturday.


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## swmnhay

Vol said:


> Good grief....you folks have to bury your water lines 6 feet deep to keep from freezing?
> 
> Regards, Mike


Yep,6' deep is the standard here.You also try to keep snow cover over the lines if possible.Bare ground the frost goes deeper.


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## swmnhay

deadmoose said:


> 6' minimum. I made sure when burying mine. on a side note one of the local radio stations have a contest going on tomorrow. You win if you can guess the closest time that the temperature goes above 0 degrees Fahrenheit. For the first time since last Saturday.


That reminds me You get a free 1/4 lber at Mcdonalds if noon temp was below 0 yesterday.Buy 1st 1 and get 2nd one at yesterdays noon temp.


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## rjmoses

DSLinc1017 said:


> Did you get your GFI issue fixed? Or should I assume you like us are hunkered down around the wood stove


Partially! I read up on how GFI's work. I found I had coiled the extension lines around a steel T-post to keep them off the ground and out of the snow.

What I had actually done was create a current transformer! The same thing that is inside a GFI.

I'm guessing you might have heard a thunderclap around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. That wasn't thunder--that was my hand hitting my head! THUNK!

I reworked it a little, but I haven't checked yet today. (It was doggone cold and windy.) Went out to town last night to drink my sorrows away over the State Of The Union.

Thanks for your help.

Ralph


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## DSLinc1017

rjmoses said:


> Partially! I read up on how GFI's work. I found I had coiled the extension lines around a steel T-post to keep them off the ground and out of the snow.
> 
> What I had actually done was create a current transformer! The same thing that is inside a GFI.
> 
> I'm guessing you might have heard a thunderclap around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. That wasn't thunder--that was my hand hitting my head! THUNK!
> 
> I reworked it a little, but I haven't checked yet today. (It was doggone cold and windy.) Went out to town last night to drink my sorrows away over the State Of The Union.
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Ralph


It would have to have a lot of tight wraps, but with the T-Post combo I guess I can see it. The trick here would be to figure eight the cable. This will eliminate that issue, common practice for single conductor cabling. I hear you on the cold, was out this AM delivering a few large squares to a customer down the road, froze my a** off! Don't get to upset over the SOTU, a few more years and we might end up with another Clinton in the WH!


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