New Farm an opportunity this spring to install watering system of my choice. Narrowed it down
Bar-Bar-A
Geo-Star
Not interested in Nelson at all.
Experiences ??
The farm I board at has Bar Bar A’s and they are nice.
I was looking at installing this type for my goats and in the dry lot.
https://dpwaterer.com/product/horse-automatic-waterer-ultimate/
No experience, but the Geo-Star is intriguing. I was curious to see it in action and found an installation video:
So how “freeze-resistant” are they? Because I imagine in this current polar vortex, they’d freeze. But maybe not?
I’m also dubious about the freeze proof ness of the geo star. Don’t these waterers that skip the heating element keep from freezing by not maintaining water in a bowl until triggered by the horse, and then it drains?
Four feet isn’t even below the frost line for a solid part of the country?
The big bucket is neat, but I just can’t believe that won’t freeze solid in a place with winter.
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I have the Bar Bar A and it’s worked beautifully over the last three years. I went with it after seeing multiple positive reviews on COTH when I was ready to put one in. I’m in NH, and we get fairly cold winters.
My horses figured it out quickly and it has never frozen. It basically works like a frost free hydrant so you’ll need to set up the drain area and put the pipes below the frost line there.
Here’s a nice compilation of a lot of peoples’ opinions on them: https://equiery.com/marylanders-rate-9-brands-of-automatic-waterers/
I installed a DP and have been very happy with it. My horse likes it and will choose to drink from it over a full bucket.
I also considered Bar Bar A but read that the metal parts can get very hot in the heat of summer if in direct sun.
That’s good information. Thank you.
My biggest concern with the metal is my pony getting his grazing muzzle stuck on it.
The DB doesn’t appear to have edges that catch.
We have the drinking post in our fields for 2 years now and it is THE BEST. It has made winter so much easier and there is very limited scrubbing in summer. (Normally I just have to clear a little hay out.
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I put in a few Bar Bar A waterers…considering we’ve had actual temps of 0 F and over a week of single digits and negative windchills, they have been awesome!!! Every day I go out, check the lever to make sure all is good…the water comes up and I want to hug it! Prior to that was breaking ice with a sledge because we didn’t have the option of electric to the fields.
I’ve not had any issues with the metal getting too hot in the summer (and we get plenty hot here).
My horses all learned super fast (well, the one who usually messes with everything took the longest to learn - go figure!).
I respect the zero interest in Nelson and curious why. I was told by a Nelson rep that most people don’t install them correctly. We sunk the 8 foot concrete pipe in the ground to get the geothermal heat and we installed them correctly. Also have the heated element under the bowl.
In 4 years and temps dropping to -20 wind chill they have been great. We have high calcium water - so deposits and the only maintenance we’ve had in adjustments every 6 months or so and takes 5 minutes.
We also got the largest bowl so large muzzles fit.
Love love love my Nelsons.
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Yeah the non-electric ones I’ve seen seem to basically act like a frost-free hydrant and drain so there’s no exposed water.
I’m not quite sure how the Geostar wouldn’t freeze. It’s a similar design as a Nelson which needs a heater in cold climates. Maybe the plastic/insulation and larger reservoir give it a little more freeze resistance but it can’t be a lot.
The Jug Waterer (which also has a large reservoir) says this: ​In marginal climates you need enough animals to keep the water in the tank warm enough to provide heat energy (at least 15 head per bowl) Otherwise a low-wattage heater and thermostat are available to add.
The installation manual gives a vague reference to using a heat tube extender where temperatures stay in the single digits for an extended period of time.
Uhh, try double digit below zero for an extended period of time where I am! 
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By Bar Bar A is the single best purchase and decision I made when I built my farmette.
I worked at a barn that had Nelsons and they were fussy, often malfunctioned, and required much more upkeep.
I think, like that linked article implied, Nelson waterers require a user that is willing to understand them and use them knowing a waterer requires maintenance.
This has been my experience with Nelson. 2 different plumbing Co. that support the large breeding farms say the same.
My neighbor has Bar Bar and the metal gets very hot in the summer. His horses also paw and stick their feet in bowl in frustration. Now this could be due to height installed and location.
In this polar vortex at the new farm have 5 fields and zero hydrants run to them. We rely on hoses from frost free on house and barn. Luckily they only iced up for 3 days. We want to get it done right the 1st time this spring will be our 1st year here… Everything is cross fenced no shared fence lines.
My husband will not run electric for trough heaters. More trouble has been past experience.
Geo-Thermal looks to be way to go. Here in Eastern MD we historically have milder winters with short bursts of deep freeze.
My issue is while Wintering in FL my guys flooded waterers or refused to drink from them. I had to get troughs for them. So learning curve, why I liked Geo-Star bigger water surface with deep removable easier to clean bucket. Not a chin pedal.
It is hard for me to imagine that even with a geothermal tube, that anything with a bowl or bucket of water will stay not frozen if there is a deep freeze.
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Since you’re in a more mild climate the Geo-Star might work for you, but it’s probably worth following the Cobett or Nelson instructions for the geothermal base tube length unless Geo-Star has better instructions somewhere.
This is from Cobett which is also a large reservoir geothermal waterer:
Nelson:
we got a lawn sprinkler company to install our pasture water lines, admittedly were we live frost depth is measured in inches so the depth they install a lawn sprinkler line works fine for us, we have never had a water freeze in the nearly thirty years they have been installed
but it was offseason for them and they showed up with three crews with trenchers, pipe and fittings, the only thing we supplied were the five frost proof hydrants. They trenched and ran about a seven hundred feet of water lines, backfilled and installed the hydrants in less than six hours.
Done.
And I do need to add I am no auto waterer expert and know all the brands and really what is the best system. What I do know is the concrete pipe and stainless steel bowls are rock solid. They can’t be damaged as I see it. The quality of the materials on the equipment is outstanding.
And I don’t know maintenance compared to other brands. My experience after 40 years of chucking buckets etc is the Nelson’s are awesome. If the maintenance adds up to 30 min a year I call that crazy awesome.
My husband is an engineer type and when we did the research on the brands he voted for Nelson given the stainless steel, big bowls, and the concrete pipe.
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