Suggestions to keep Ritchie Waterers from freezing!

[BCGirl]

Although the weather is still beautiful, in fact a little too hot for September here in Virginia, I am dreading another winter that I know will be here before I know it. We installed Ritchie waterers a few years ago and opted not to run electricity to them (we had a history of about 10 years of pretty mild winters and the person advising us had never heard of them freezing). Well, they freeze. Especially with this Polar Vortex/Artic Blast mess we keep getting. I have spoken with Ritchie and their suggestion is to put a bunch of cattle in the field to drink out of it which will keep the water running and keep it from freezing. Unfortunately, not feasible…

I am wondering if anyone else has dealt with this issue and if so, what did you do?

These are all of the possible solutions I can come up with, if anyone has done any of these, or if you have a new one please let me know. I do not want to be cracking these things open in subzero temperatures if I can avoid it.

1. Run electricity to them and configure a drop in heater (extremely expensive).

2. Drain most of the waterers and run something to the most used one to keep that one from freezing- extension cord to drop in pump of some sort.

3. Is there any sort of magical resuable heat pack that I can drop into them to keep them from freezing? I would be willing to swap them out daily if needed. I am thinking there must be something military grade that would do this. Or I remember reading about some disc type thing people use in their buckets in the barn.

4. Solar. So far, everyone I have talked with says this is a waste of money and they don’t work.

Any and all suggestions are much appreciated!!!

Thank you!

[IronwoodFarm]

I am surprised you installed waterers without electric. It’s pretty straight forward when digging the water line trench. That was a really unwise opt-out, but maybe you never had to chop ice out of water tubs on a regular basis.

All my waterers, Miraco and Ritchie have electric for the heaters. It definitely can get cold in Virginia. I spent enough time in my youth hauling water from a creek and chopping ice to know that I wanted year round automatic waterers. They were literally the first thing I installed on the farm – before the barn, before the ring.

Personally, I would spend the money to get electricity to them. Or if that is too much, then buy some tubs where you can put in the plug in heaters. You’ll have the issue of above ground cords of course.

There’s no quick fix to this and you need to do something because freezing your automatic waterers will ruin them over time.

Sorry to be Debbie Downer!

[lovemytbs]

http://www.ruralking.com/tarter-complete-sheeted-sweep-system-sss.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CP3lpsSf_c4CFY5bhgodLJcNbg

[lovemytbs]

We have Ritchie waterers for out horses and cows, and they still freeze! Even with the “magical” pipe we bought along with them that they stated would render them “freeze proof” in Delaware. We have run electric to a couple, and for the ones were that is not feasible, we took apart the bottom part and STUFFED it with heavy insulation. We found the ones that froze got a lot of the wind, and since packing them with insulation, we have not had this issue. I understand running electric is not an option for everyone, it wasn’t for us but we made it work. Hope this is helpful.

And to clear up the reason we did not do electric with all, it was because Ritchie told us we would NOT need it! They lied, but the insulation is a quick and easy fix that works!

[clanter]

might install frost free hydrants next to the waterers… drain the waterers during cold periods and use the frost free hydrant to fill water tanks… the water coming out will be the temperature of the ground

Since we rarely have prolonged cold snaps we just dump or skim the ice off the top and add fresh water which melts any ice

But as noted it sure would have been nicer to have run electric when installing the water lines… (which we did to all but the most distant hydrant in the back field)

[BCGirl]

Ironwood- Trust me I am aware how unwise of an opt-out it was. When we installed them we did so with funding from the county Soil and Water department and they were the ones who suggested not getting the electric. Apparently if you have 50 head of cattle on them (what they had experience with), they won’t freeze at all because the water is constantly moving. Since this clearly doesn’t work when you have horses who are in the barn half of the time…we have an issue. Had I realized this at the time, I definitely would have pushed to do the electric when the trench was open! I know we may have to do this eventually, but I am hoping there is some other magic solution.

lovemytbs- How did you do this magical stuffing with insulation? We may have to run electricity to some, but others are REALLY far away from the power source. And the issue with ours is the same- the wind. They are all sited on hills so they can be visible (county assistance regulation). Well we get A LOT of wind…

clanter- that’s an idea to ponder. I bet they can just tap into the line and install a hydrant.

On another note, if I do opt to do the electric, I still have the issue of the units themselves not being the electric option. That means I either have to add a sumbersible heater or switch the whole thing out entirely. If I switch it, I am wondering what waterers people have- the OmniFount is the new one for horses, anyone have any experience with this? I currently have the ThriftyKings.

Thanks for the responses and ideas!

[lovemytbs]

These are what we have used with electric:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/farm-innovators-multi-use-utility-deicer-250-watt?cm_vc=-10005

Let me talk to my other half tonight to get more specifics about the insulation. I do think it will solve your issue and is very cost effective.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=BCGirl;8833198]
Apparently if you have 50 head of cattle on them (what they had experience with), they won’t freeze at all because the water is constantly moving. ![/QUOTE]

how about mimicking the cattle? get a circulation pump used for fish ponds run that on solar or a wind tribune (alternate energy tax credits still exist)

here is an $89 kit

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Solar-Water-Pump-Kit-Fountain-Pool-Pond-w-12v9Ah-Battery-w-Charge-Controller-/172181884446

[Simkie]

One more option for your list:

Remove the Ritchies and install something that really doesn’t require electric like the Bar Bar A drinkers? Sounds like you have some other things to try, but maybe an option if nothing pans out.

[IronwoodFarm]

I have Miracos which use submersible heaters and they work well. The heaters seem to last two seasons on average. The Ritchie has an internal heating element and a thermostat, both of which are replaceable. I love the Miracos – simple construction and easy to clean. The Ritchie, not so much, but I was talked into it by a salesman. When it dies it will be replaced by a Miraco.

And really sorry OP about the truly bad advice you got from the soil and water folks. My whole focus on my farm is saving labor and time, as the person providing them is usually me.

Right now I am having a battle with my stallion who shares a two hole waterer with a paddock that contains a TB gelding. My stallion lives out with a group of mares and foals. Even though it is double fenced and a solid partition runs between the two fields, my stallion spends a part of his day guarding the waterer and will not allow his herd to drink from it. He is irate about the TB gelding. So we are forced to put tubs out so the mares and foals can drink in a stallion approved location. Fortunately for me, the gelding is in the paddock to gain weight and he is coming along nicely. He will be moved to another location and the herd can use the waterer. It’s bad enough using the hose to fill the tubs; I can’t imagine chopping ice again.

[PeteCo_Supply]

Hi Lovemytbs, we would be interested in learning more about your installation and who you purchased your Ritchie through. As we are approaching winter, we want to make sure that we can help ensure that you have all of the winter preparation solutions for your water and your installation.

We do not claim or promote that our thermal tubes will render a unit freeze proof however all units will need some sort of riser tube to center your waterline in. Anything in the tube will allow frost to carry over to the waterline and increase the chances of the line freezing.

Please feel free to send a photo of your installation, how many animals are using the waterer and any other information that you would like to provide to rpeterson@ritchiefount.com. We have engineers on staff that will be happy to review your installation and offer other tips that will help get you through the winter successfully.

[PeteCo_Supply]

Hi BCGirl! I would like to offer you one more option. It sounds as if you do not have enough head on the unit to keep it truly energy free. We have our energy free requirements listed in our instruction manual here https://ritchiefount.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/17805_IM_Thrifty_King_CT__09-25-12_.pdf.

Our units require 10 head to keep it truly energy free which creates enough movement and replenishing of the water, with warmer incoming water, to keep it from freezing. What can be done is to remove water daily or if extremely cold, twice a day from the waterer simulating the drinking of animals and allowing warmer water to enter the trough. We understand this will be cumbersome and not ideal but may help a bit should you need another solution. The units will lose about 1 degree per hour so on those cold nights and days, if there isn’t enough water movement from the required number of head, they can eventually freeze. We also have a winter preparation video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcpOHdvgDK0&index=4&list=PLUTe6PjzfDQNsvL5sAtZASqL07teOKdBc that will provide some additional tips on how to prepare your Thrifty King for winter. We understand running electricity can be expensive however it would be the ultimate solution if our energy free requirements are not met. Please feel free to contact our engineers or email me direct at rpeterson@ritchiefount.com if you have any additional questions. Thank you! Ruth at Ritchie.

[PeteCo_Supply]

BCGirl, the Thrifty Kings can be heated with the immersion heater which as you may know plugs in to an outlet under the unit. It may give you the added protection you are looking for without using a lot of energy. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding other units as well. We are happy to help.

[BCGirl]

Simkie- it is likely cheaper to replace the waterers than pay to run the electric, so that is another option I am considering.

Ironwood- I LOVE our soil and water lady, she is a great friend and a limitless resource and this is the only mistake she has ever made. I wish she had known too, but I still think she’s great. That being said, I WISH WISH WISH we had run electric because these things are useless in the winter.

clanter- The premise of why they don’t freeze with the cattle is that the cattle drink down the water and then fresh water comes into the trough, which is obviously warmer than 32 and likely quite a bit warmer as it is coming from the ground. But the circulator might work, I might give it a shot!

Lovemytbs- I would love to hear how you insulated them!!

Ritchie- Ruth, we have actually talked quite a few times on the phone. So far, nothing we have tried has worked. I have tried all of the Ritchie suggested tricks and the reality is that they simply do not work for us, including the winter preparation tips.

I know they can be heated with the immersion heater, the problem is that I have to ditch and run electric to 8 heaters which are all very far away from electric sources. Now, if Ritchie wanted to pay for that- that would solve the problem and be very helpful :D! Otherwise, it is worth considering switching the waterers out to something else.

[BCGirl]

Bump!!!

[enjoytheride]

You can build a wooden box around the waterers that are furthest away and then fill the dead space in the box with something insulating. Either actual insulation or even manure from stall cleaning.

Also, is the water exposed to air or is there a cover the horses can push down? Putting a floating styrofoam lid on top of the water bowl will insulate the water more and slow freezing down as long as the horses learn how to use it.

[Simkie]

@enjoytheride;8849299

You can build a wooden box around the waterers that are furthest away and then fill the dead space in the box with something insulating. Either actual insulation or even manure from stall cleaning.

What a good idea with the manure!