For all of you that have auto waterers in your oaddocks, how much did it cost you to have them installed? We are looking into it for the future in our farm. We have water and electricity run out to every paddock already thankfully. We would need 3 waterers for individual paddocks and 2 that could be shared between two paddock fence lines. Looking for all different brands, we currently have Nelson waterers installed in our barn and love them!
The Nelson model we have are about $900ea, and labor is going to vary a lot.
We got a quote of about $4K to install one extra requiring running water and electricity 60’. So it went onto the DIY-one-day list. I have no love for trenching, but for $3K I’ll suffer along.
I installed about 2000 feet of water lines 12-2 electric to various paddocks around our place. Used what is known as 3/4 Black Poly pipe, pretty much the standard around here and most farms I know. Can be had in different lengths. 500’ and 100’ reels being the most easily bought around here. Bought the direct bury 12-2 supply line on 1,000 reels, considerable savings. 5 hydrants @ around $60 each. Rented a pretty high end walk behind trencher. Even though the trencher was a big one it still took quite a bit of time and a learning curve. It is not as straight forward as it looks. Bit of a PITA, more than I thought it would be. And I did not have to deal with rocks. I think total costs for materials and rental around $2,000. Most of which was in the 12-2 wire. The price of which goes up and down depending on commodities prices. This did not include the waterers. Always install hydrants with the waterers. This was a DIY project so no labor cost.
Installed Nelson and bought a rather new brand in this area called Equa-Spring. Which I really like the design of but is still in the “testing” stage before I commit to more. More to do with it standing up to the test of time under our winter conditions and horse abuse. And this winter has been good “acid test”. The horses love it, stands high enough no one can play in it. The water level is adjustable and it services a horse population of 10-15. Can’t say much for the company’s “customer service” though.
Other than the cost of the waterers it shouldn’t cost more than a couple of hundred each to connect to your existing lines. Depends on how much trenching has to be done. The cost of materials to extend are cheap and installing is pretty simple for most waterers. Adding a concrete pad will bump it up a bit. This is based on ideal conditions without a site inspection. Things can be problematic and make installing a lot more expensive.
[QUOTE=tangledweb;8023869]
The Nelson model we have are about $900ea, and labor is going to vary a lot.
We got a quote of about $4K to install one extra requiring running water and electricity 60’. So it went onto the DIY-one-day list. I have no love for trenching, but for $3K I’ll suffer along.[/QUOTE]
Pretty hefty quote. 100’ of black poly, $40-50, wire around $75. Trenching 60’ does’t take that long unless a lot of rocks are encountered. Connecting to your existing water supply line may or may not take a lot of time. Running the line to your “fuse box” may or may not take a lot of time. The hook up for both is straight forward and simple using inexpensive “parts”. This is not a very difficult DIY project.
Not sure about the above posters, but locally any outside water line NEEDS to be down 6ft at the least. If line runs under a driveway, the barnyard that gets driven on, you probably want to go down 8ft to keep the lines unfrozen in the worst of times. Having the ground cleared, driving on it, seems to push the frost down further into the dirt, which WILL freeze those lines. Yeah, we do get frost down 6ft some years.
Oddly enough, with the deep snow we had last year, the frost didn’t go deep in the field ground with the constant snow cover from Nov. to end of March. This came up because some folks lost horses, were surprised how “easy” it was to dig the holes for those animal with frost only down a foot or so into the dirt.
So anyone putting in waterlines, should check for local depths to bury the tubing so you have the correct kind of equipment to get down that far. Walk-behind trencher is fine here for the electric, but sure not what you need for water lines in this location. A suggestion for doing electric buried, is to run the wire thru conduit so if one line goes bad, you can pull the wire and run another without the digging. We did NOT do the conduit, so when one line died, we now need to do major work in replacing the electric since our barnyard, drainage ditch has all changed with laying cement tubes. No longer a “simple job” to get the wire laid out to the barn. WISH we had done conduit the first time around. Dead line leaked electric for a LONG TIME, cost money, before we found the problem to cut that line off the service. You CAN lay the electric and water in the same trench, just allow some depth between each service. You may want to lay wide warning tape over each service, warning you should you EVER need to go back and dig it up. You will hit the tape first, can proceed more carefully so things don’t get ripped apart using power equipment.
[QUOTE=goodhors;8025959]
Not sure about the above posters, but locally any outside water line NEEDS to be down 6ft at the least. If line runs under a driveway, the barnyard that gets driven on, you probably want to go down 8ft to keep the lines unfrozen in the worst of times. Having the ground cleared, driving on it, seems to push the frost down further into the dirt, which WILL freeze those lines. Yeah, we do get frost down 6ft some years.
Oddly enough, with the deep snow we had last year, the frost didn’t go deep in the field ground with the constant snow cover from Nov. to end of March. This came up because some folks lost horses, were surprised how “easy” it was to dig the holes for those animal with frost only down a foot or so into the dirt.
So anyone putting in waterlines, should check for local depths to bury the tubing so you have the correct kind of equipment to get down that far. Walk-behind trencher is fine here for the electric, but sure not what you need for water lines in this location. A suggestion for doing electric buried, is to run the wire thru conduit so if one line goes bad, you can pull the wire and run another without the digging. We did NOT do the conduit, so when one line died, we now need to do major work in replacing the electric since our barnyard, drainage ditch has all changed with laying cement tubes. No longer a “simple job” to get the wire laid out to the barn. WISH we had done conduit the first time around. Dead line leaked electric for a LONG TIME, cost money, before we found the problem to cut that line off the service. You CAN lay the electric and water in the same trench, just allow some depth between each service. You may want to lay wide warning tape over each service, warning you should you EVER need to go back and dig it up. You will hit the tape first, can proceed more carefully so things don’t get ripped apart using power equipment.[/QUOTE]
You must live in the very coldest part of the state having to bury water lines 8 feet. At least according to the Missouri Climate Center. http://climate.missouri.edu/news/arc/feb2010.php
I should think it is a given that anybody that is going to take on this kind of project will read up or consult with someone in the know in their area. It is not that technical more labor intensive. Especially back filling. Walk behind trenchers come in various sizes/depths. 2-3 feet is the most common rental units around here. Frost line being around 30". Getting to 3 feet can be a struggle depending on the machine and slow going. Rocky areas can and will slow the operation down to a crawl. The best are mounted on a tractor or a track skid loader.
I have never found a need to run conduit for a basic electric lines. IMO over kill and a lot of extra time and expense. The only way a supply line will fail if proper cable is used is in 1 of three places. At the connection or the end, or at the buried splices. The buried splice is usually where the fault is. But if the cable is spliced correctly, which is not a difficult job, it should never fail. If a splice should fail I sure as heck wouldn’t go and replace the whole line first. I would rent a line voltage detector and find where the line failed dig it up and repair. I have pulled cable is not nearly as easy as it looks in some cases. Especially if it is a long run and or in small diameter pipe. I would even use conduit, just another run of large diameter black poly pipe. Cheaper and less labor intensive.
A farm is not a residential property and in a lot of area not subject to the same rules and regs. When I have a short run of buried electric I just trench 6-8" with my chain saw and an old chain. Push the direct bury rated wire in and foot tamp closed. No one else will be working on the property without my knowledge so I am not worried about accidental digging. Even if it cut by accident it is only 120 and will trip the breaker. No big deal The same with a low amp 220 line. All of my water and electric lines are run under our “cart” paths to the paddocks and fields so it is easy to know where everything is.
Anything I have installed is marked on my farm map so when we sell the next person has the layout. IMO there is proper and prudent ways of doing things that are safe, efficient use of my time, money and materials. I don’t believe in over kill. That’s something the government and contractors like to do with other people’s money.
Gumtree, I am in Michigan, not Missouri. Yeah, we do need that depth, 6ft or more in driving areas, for waterlines to stay unfrozen. And truly, it does appear that the frost is driven deeper with weighty vehicles driving over the water lines. This even happened in town at my job location. City did not install the water main deep enough, so our large Utility trucks going in and out of the cleared driveway would cause the water main to freeze at the beginning of each winter. Their fault, their problem, which was resolved by unthawing the water main and telling our building to keep the one water faucet running constantly thru the ENTIRE winter, and City did not bill us for winter water use.
Same thing happened at a barn I rented after the “new owner” had the water system “improved” by laying new pipe and installing a new frost free hydrant. He only went 6ft down under the driveway, plus hydrant was not installed correctly so it could not drain well, that water froze before leaving the stone around the pipe. Was a LONG winter running water from the house with a hose every day.
I will say something to husband about the splice in electric being bad, not sure if they considered that. The Electric company came out to test why we were using SO MUCH electric, said the wiring was bad, which is when husband disconnected that side.
Black poly tubing is fine to run electric thru. Conduit is just “tubing” as a way to protect the electric a little better than just the plastic coating on wire itself. I would certainly recommend using a larger diameter for that conduit use! As you say, larger the conduit, the easier it would be to pull wire thru if you need to replace the bad wire or for putting in a bigger wiring service.
Agree with the waterlines being at least six feet. I’m in central WI, and where my water line crosses the driveway, it’s buried eight feet and has insulation over it as well. I have four hydrants spaced 300 feet apart, and a Nelson and electric outlet near each. Wherever the length of wire ran out, it comes above ground to a junction box, which I believe is code here, so there are no buried splices.
If you already have water and electric run out to the every paddock, then it’s not going to be that much digging and set up. I have had great luck with Miraco’s Lil Spring waterers, both one and two hole variety.
Could someone explain to me the hydrant? We’ll be installing pasture waterers at some point at the new place, DIY, and this is all very new to me; what do the hydrants do? Is the water source for the waterer direct from the pipe, from underneath, or direct to the hydrant? Is the hydrant above ground, and same as a frost-free or basic faucet? Thanks to anyone willing to explain all of this 
The water source is direct into the waterer from underneath. I also have hydrants near my waterers (you can have both) because it is possible that something could go awry with the waterer and I will need to put in a tub as a temporary expedient while I fix my waterer. Sometimes you have to order a part, for example. I don’t like hauling water anywhere, so a hydrant is very handy.
I am in northern IN and my water lines only need to be down four feet. When I lived in WV the frost line was three feet. Call your extension agent before you start digging to kingdom come.
That said, I put in Nelsons last fall and it was very expensive, even as a DIY, once you count renting a mini excavator, putting in the lines, putting in concrete blocks, all the GFI outlets and wiring needed…I put in three and easily have four thousand dollars in the project. We did all the work ourselves. They work great and I wouldn’t trade them for the world but cheap they were not, nor was it low-cost outside the Nelsons.
[QUOTE=fordtraktor;8030329]
I am in northern IN and my water lines only need to be down four feet. When I lived in WV the frost line was three feet. Call your extension agent before you start digging to kingdom come.
.[/QUOTE]
You lucky dog! ONLY four feet deep would be terrific. Ha ha
Interesting how things change about every 50 miles, heading straight south. You folks get Spring a lot earlier than us too, by a couple to four weeks. My Mother is located by White Pigeon on the State Line, calls to gloat about having the tulips blooming first every Spring! Mine are just thinking of poking the leaves out of the dirt at that time, certainly not flowering yet.
Hello, There may be some ways to save while installing an automatic waterer. Check with your local NRCS office for potential grants or funds that may be available. For instance the EQIP program is a popular program that pays for a large majority of the installation of an automatic waterer. Certain requirements must be met and from what we have heard it can be a lengthy process. Also check with your local electric provider to see if they offer any rebates towards the installation or purchase of an automatic waterer. Some smaller heated waterers qualify for rebates throughout the United States.
Installation is key to long term, proper usage of an automatic waterer. Shortcuts or money saving techniques are usually not recommended as you want to be able to use your waterer for a long time. Paying a little extra at first will ensure less headaches down the line.
I thought I had been reading a lot of complaints on COTH recently about all sorts of heated auto waterers freezing up? 
And not just in this big freeze. But more of a typical complaint. Especially about a couple of brands.
Interesting someone is on the bandwagon to auto waterers in.
Good luck OP & I hope yours never freeze up. As it sounds like a major PITA.
Up in frozen Manitoba Canada. Our water trenched 8 feet down (with his excavator) about 200 feet from our well pumphouse to the waterer, and also to the barn. We bought a Richie heated auto waterer. Only froze once and that was right where the water leaves the pumphouse (we now have in-line heat on those lines). We paid about $3000 for the water line upgrade. The waterer was $800. We put it on railway ties instead of concrete - I only have 2 horses and concrete would have sunken because of the trenching. If the railway ties sink, we can remove them and re-level them.
[QUOTE=eastendjumper;8029844]
Could someone explain to me the hydrant? We’ll be installing pasture waterers at some point at the new place, DIY, and this is all very new to me; what do the hydrants do? Is the water source for the waterer direct from the pipe, from underneath, or direct to the hydrant? Is the hydrant above ground, and same as a frost-free or basic faucet? Thanks to anyone willing to explain all of this :([/QUOTE]
By hydrant, I believe people are referring to a frost free hydrant, above ground. As Ironwood explained, it is a good idea to install a hydrant near where you install your autowaterer. In the event the autowaterer malfunctions, you would have a backup source of water for a trough until you can repair the waterer.
BarBar-A waterer. Cost around $500 plus $800 to install. Best-money-spent EVER. No electric needed - just water line. Works like a frost free hydrant. Horses press paddle down to bring water up into bowl. After they drink, water drains all the way back out. NEVER freezes. Water is warmer in winter, cooler in summer as it comes from under ground…I think ours goes down about 6 feet. Have had horrible winter here in VA and no issues. Took a bit to train the horses but when one learns, the others follow along quickly. LOVE it.
