Frozen buckets? Not on this farm! Electricity-free bucket heaters!

[dungrulla]

I came up with a little bit of a brilliant idea I figured some people on COTH might appreciate (yes, I am patting my own back).

My husband wants finished compost. I wanted buckets that don’t freeze in the winter. Poop produces massive amounts of heat as it decomposes. We were able to combine these ideas into frost-free buckets that work! I figured I’d share the idea for everyone else. When properly constructed this system is contamination-free, clean, and will result in finished compost when you are done. So here we are!

MATERIALS:

Two muck buckets
One 500-gallon stock tank (preferably old)
Poop
Hay, Straw, or Shavings
A shovel

STEPS:

1. Poke some holes in your stock tank for airflow. This is why you want to use an old one. A few near the top is probably adequate, we don’t want the poop mixture leaking everywhere. My stock tank already had some holes so I got to skip this step.

2. Fill the bottom of the stock tank with poop mixed with a small amount of organic matter. You want to keep a good carbon:nitrogen ratio so you want about 1:3, and try not to break up the clumps. You’ll need about 6 inches, or until the muck buckets are level with the top of the tank. Don’t pack too deeply! You want oxygen to get in there so it rots.

3. Place the muck buckets in the stock tank being sure to leave some space around them

4. Continue to fill the gaps between the stock tank and the muck bucket with your mixture until you are about 3 inches from the top

5. Pack the 3 inches toward the top with hay, straw, or shavings–inedible is better if you have it. This will help to keep the poo and the water separate and prevent cross-contamination

6. Wet everything down just a little to help speed decomposition and pack down the top layer so it’s less mobile–a little goes a long way here!

7. Fill your buckets!

We set this up two nights ago and so far out of the three muck buckets we have filled with water, only one has frozen, and it’s the non-insulated one. It had a half inch of ice whereas our insulated buckets were both 10+ degrees warmer than the non-insulated one AND had no ice on them. Eventually we will need to add more organic matter but that is a fast and easy process.

In the future I will probably construct a corrugated cover to place over the top so I don’t have to line my compost heap with hay.

Hopefully this gives someone else some ideas!

[Bluey]

Years ago, we had an old stock tank that needed replacing.

We bought one a little less than a foot smaller circumference.
We inserted it in the old one and plumbed up from the old one.
It rested on old bricks, so it was a few inches taller than the old one.

That was before good insulation was easy to come by, so we filled the spaces on the sides with scrunched up newspapers up to a few inches from the top, then added concrete those few inches, at a slant, to close the top between tanks and let any water falling there run off.

For many years after that, when all other tanks would freeze, that one barely had a little ice on top.

[dungrulla]

@Bluey

Years ago, we had an old stock tank that needed replacing.

We bought one a little less than a foot smaller circumference.
We inserted it in the old one and plumbed up from the old one.
It rested on old bricks, so it was a few inches taller than the old one.

That was before good insulation was easy to come by, so we filled the spaces on the sides with scrunched up newspapers up to a few inches from the top, then added concrete those few inches, at a slant, to close the top between tanks and let any water falling there run off.

For many years after that, when all other tanks would freeze, that one barely had a little ice on top.

That is a brilliant idea!

I think a bigger factor here past just insulation is that breakdown of organic matter generates heat. So in addition to being insulated, this one SHOULD also stay warmer than its surroundings.

[goodhors]

Can we have a clue as to your location and how “cold” is it getting there, yet uncovered tubs are staying unfrozen?

Many unique ideas work in certain locations and in what folks think is cold. They do not work in other, more intense or deeply cold situations.

[dungrulla]

@goodhors

Can we have a clue as to your location and how “cold” is it getting there, yet uncovered tubs are staying unfrozen?

Many unique ideas work in certain locations and in what folks think is cold. They do not work in other, more intense or deeply cold situations.

I live in western new york. It got down to about 15 with wind chill. The unsheltered bucket had about a half inch of ice.

[demidq]

Mmmm. Windchill doesn’t count in this situation. We live in Ontario, easily gets down to -20 C ( someone else can do the conversion- maybe -10F?) and small manure pile freezes solid. It will be interesting to see how long your trough compost keeps working, and whether you can get it out when it has stopped and possibly frozen!

[dungrulla]

@demidq

Mmmm. Windchill doesn’t count in this situation. We live in Ontario, easily gets down to -20 C ( someone else can do the conversion- maybe -10F?) and small manure pile freezes solid. It will be interesting to see how long your trough compost keeps working, and whether you can get it out when it has stopped and possibly frozen!

I live in WNY and we do have a bucket heater for if that eventuality comes to pass But for these milder less biting temps this seems to be working great!

I also keep extra muck buckets on hand because you never know when someone’s gonna be stupid and put a hole in one.

The interior part of even a small pile can exceed 180 degrees F so I think you’d find if you broke it open that it’s not actually frozen solid. Whether we can hold those kinds of temps in a smaller space remains to be seen though.

[sherian]

actually a friend of mine heats her indoor arena with the manure pile as a geothermal setup - not as warm as powered heaters but keeps the chill off and it’s free once you pay for the materials to make it. You could run a similar set up to a stock tank, the bigger the pile the more reliable the heat.

[dungrulla]

@sherian

actually a friend of mine heats her indoor arena with the manure pile as a geothermal setup - not as warm as powered heaters but keeps the chill off and it’s free once you pay for the materials to make it. You could run a similar set up to a stock tank, the bigger the pile the more reliable the heat.

Is there any way you could get me some details on exactly what she did? My husband would be very interested in this.

[theresak]

You can also put a cover on the tank if the horses are inside overnight or cover half of the tank all the time.

My barn owner built boxes for all of the outside water tanks with covers and has found they don’t freeze until it’s much colder (for reference I am in WI). We do still have to put a tank heater in once it’s below 20F overnight for several nights.

[OverandOnward]

@dungrulla

I came up with a little bit of a brilliant idea I figured some people on COTH might appreciate (yes, I am patting my own back).

My husband wants finished compost. I wanted buckets that don’t freeze in the winter. Poop produces massive amounts of heat as it decomposes. We were able to combine these ideas into frost-free buckets that work! I figured I’d share the idea for everyone else. When properly constructed this system is contamination-free, clean, and will result in finished compost when you are done. So here we are!

MATERIALS:

Two muck buckets
One 500-gallon stock tank (preferably old)
Poop
Hay, Straw, or Shavings
A shovel

STEPS:

1. Poke some holes in your stock tank for airflow. This is why you want to use an old one. A few near the top is probably adequate, we don’t want the poop mixture leaking everywhere. My stock tank already had some holes so I got to skip this step.

2. Fill the bottom of the stock tank with poop mixed with a small amount of organic matter. You want to keep a good carbon:nitrogen ratio so you want about 1:3, and try not to break up the clumps. You’ll need about 6 inches, or until the muck buckets are level with the top of the tank. Don’t pack too deeply! You want oxygen to get in there so it rots.

3. Place the muck buckets in the stock tank being sure to leave some space around them

4. Continue to fill the gaps between the stock tank and the muck bucket with your mixture until you are about 3 inches from the top

5. Pack the 3 inches toward the top with hay, straw, or shavings–inedible is better if you have it. This will help to keep the poo and the water separate and prevent cross-contamination

6. Wet everything down just a little to help speed decomposition and pack down the top layer so it’s less mobile–a little goes a long way here!

7. Fill your buckets!

We set this up two nights ago and so far out of the three muck buckets we have filled with water, only one has frozen, and it’s the non-insulated one. It had a half inch of ice whereas our insulated buckets were both 10+ degrees warmer than the non-insulated one AND had no ice on them. Eventually we will need to add more organic matter but that is a fast and easy process.

In the future I will probably construct a corrugated cover to place over the top so I don’t have to line my compost heap with hay.

Hopefully this gives someone else some ideas!

This sounds like a great idea, but just to be clear, when you say “muck buckets”, since you are putting water in them for the horses to drink, you mean those larger tubs that can serve for muck or for water, I’m sure. To me, a “muck bucket” has actual muck in it, so I had to read it over twice! LOL

Are you emptying the water tubs and cleaning them out occasionally? So setting up the compost layer again - or does the compost layer hold its shape fairly well? I haven’t composted, although I’ve certainly seen muck dumps seem to solidify over time.

This seems useful even in climates that don’t freeze often, as horses drink more in winter when the water is not so cold.

Thanks for the idea!

[dungrulla]

@OverandOnward

This sounds like a great idea, but just to be clear, when you say “muck buckets”, since you are putting water in them for the horses to drink, you mean those larger tubs that can serve for muck or for water, I’m sure. To me, a “muck bucket” has actual muck in it, so I had to read it over twice! LOL

Are you emptying the water tubs and cleaning them out occasionally? So setting up the compost layer again - or does the compost layer hold its shape fairly well? I haven’t composted, although I’ve certainly seen muck dumps seem to solidify over time.

This seems useful even in climates that don’t freeze often, as horses drink more in winter when the water is not so cold.

Thanks for the idea!

I’ve only had this set up for about a week and haven’t had to deconstruct yet, but mixing everything around is going to help with aeration since I don’t have an air pump through the system. This is something for me to consider…you’re putting ideas in my head LOL

The muck buckets are the big round ones yes, we don’t put poop in them. They’re more convenient to move around/empty than a full size stock tank.

[OverandOnward]

Actually one idea to make it easier to remove the water tub temporarily, to empty/flush/clean, is to nest one water tub inside another. Just lift the top tub, and the bottom tub stays to hold the “manure nest” in place. It means buying two water tubs, along with the surrounding tank, but it would be well worth it, I think.

It would be easier to remove the top tub from the bottom tub if a couple of inches of shavings are layered into the bottom tub before inserting the top one.

That doesn’t do anything for interim mixing/moving the compost nest, of course. That would be another step for people serious about composting.

[Joozybug]

I live in northeast CT. I only have 2 horses. I switch to this for the winter. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Xtreme-150-qt-Cooler-Green/21947771.
In winter horses are out from 8am to 4pm. At night I almost top off the cooler and put cover on. In the morning (even very cold CT winter) I only have minimal icing. I easily break that ice with the handle of a child’s (clean) manure fork, and scoop ice out with other end. I add two kitty litter containers of hot water to cooler and it stays drinkable until they come in at 4pm.
I learned this from someone on here 7-8 years ago. Not perfect, but better than dealing with frozen water trough.

[trubandloki]

I look forward to updates on how this works when it actually gets cold out here in NY (where the actual temperature stays below freezing for an extended time).

[js]

Do you think the smell from the composting manure would effect horses wanting to drink from it?

[Bluey]

@js

Do you think the smell from the composting manure would effect horses wanting to drink from it?

I don’t know about that, but horses don’t seem to care, if not like the smell of manure?

Those smells are like reading your daily newspaper to horses, much information in it for them.

Since we had metal stock tanks, that manure would corrode those too quickly.
With plastic tanks that may work, if it doesn’t get warm enough to melt them?

[AKB]

A friend tried the manure insulation technique years ago. We had rain, then very cold weather. The trough froze solidly. The frozen trough was so solidly frozen that it took weeks to thaw it out.

[dungrulla]

Update: it’s been in the teens for about 36 hours now. Thin layer of ice this morning that I took right out. The unmodified bucket had a brick of ice inside.

I do have a heated muck bucket I bought at tractor supply for the express purpose of putting the hose in so it doesn’t freeze. I wish I’d broken down and bought one sooner because it gets to bath water temp and I didn’t have to boil any water this AM!

[CL_Moonriver]

Looks pretty ingenious! Please keep us informed on how it works.

The best solution I’ve come up with so far is to replace my 100 gallon stock tank with a 64 gallon one, build an insulated box around the tank that only leaves half of the opening exposed, and replace my 1,500 watt heater with a 500 watt one. So far, I’ve had no ice. And hopefully, it will cut down on my $350 a month electric bill I had last winter. I have propane heat in the house, and a propane water heater. So yeah, I’m assuming the stock tank heater must be responsible for why my electric bill was so high.