Crap! I was just talking to DH and he thinks it was closer to 325’ instead of the 225’ that I was thinking. Now I have to go find the measuring wheel and measure it.
Well that sucks. It is 355 feet from the spigot to the tanks.
He’s a contractor; make him think on this.
I’m wondering about lengths of big irrigation line or PVC, somehow rigged on a decline so they drain themselves… maybe you can run a hose from the house to the end of the water tunnel and it runs down that to the tanks? PVC would be able to be lifted or put on a support with enough incline…
[QUOTE=Flying Hill;8369470]
Last winter I tried the expandable heavy-duty pocket hose, which I loved until it exploded all over me. I replaced it with one of the clear plastic self-draining hoses which works very well. I’m not sure if you could leave it out, but they are very lightweight and easy to coil up.[/QUOTE]
Where did you get the clear plastic self-draining hose? I want one.
I agree with cowboymom that maybe there a way to work with natural grade, with some minor engineering assists to ensure the whole hose drains. But That hose lying on the ground is going to get so damn cold it won’t take but a few minutes for the water to start to gel up. Here in IA, in the worst of January, I’ve had hoses start to freeze while I’m using them. I just think this setup is pretty much doomed to fail at least once or twice a winter.
Me? I’d get 400ft worth of expandable hoses, with low expectation that they’ll survive past spring. Because DH is going to get this water supply fixed before next winter, right? 
Pile them into a muck bucket that you drag out of the mudroom only to fill the trough, then you put back inside.I’d get a big-ass trough to minimize how many times you have to fill it, and put it near the barn so you can fill stall buckets from the trough.
Bounced this off Mr HH and he just had an outside-the-box idea. What if you put in covered tposts and elec tape to create a fenced alley from the paddock to the water supply? Or at least get your trough close enough that it’s only one length of heated hose needed.
I’d rather die than drag a hose around so that is always the last option for me… I HATE dealing with hoses.
I have a bit of the same problem here but I have a good slope from our frost free to the tank that would need the water. I’m thinking about getting some sticks of irrigation pipe like so http://greatfalls.craigslist.org/grd/5265694265.html or used PVC cheap or even if there was something I could make a trench… I’ll just turn on the frost free and let it run down to the tank and then set the end of the pipe back on the ground for it to drain. Or maybe water line like this (I see it used in irrigation applications here) http://www.factorydirecthose.com/1waterhose that could be rigged so it could be slanted to drain. If you have an easy hose from the house to even a freaking funnel into that water line it could work pretty well. Figure out a way to lift it or cut it into pieces and use hose clamps to connect it into pieces that are easy to shake out. The irrigation line that I’ve seen is stiff, it won’t roll up in anything smaller than a 6 foot circle so it would be quick and easy to drain the sections.
OR totally switch gears and get a tank for the truck? http://gototanks.com/200-gallon-pick-up-truck-water-tank.html
OR maybe a Bar Bar A waterer? horsedrinker.com
I’d rather die than mess with hose that length that often. Nope.
I really appreciate everyone’s thoughts and replies!
I agree with cowboymom that maybe there a way to work with natural grade, with some minor engineering assists to ensure the whole hose drains. But That hose lying on the ground is going to get so damn cold it won’t take but a few minutes for the water to start to gel up. Here in IA, in the worst of January, I’ve had hoses start to freeze while I’m using them. I just think this setup is pretty much doomed to fail at least once or twice a winter.
Once I gave up trying to bring the hoses in after every use, we did try draining them and leaving them out. The house is up a hill, so there is natural grade to help drain it, and then we would blow it out with the compressor. They still froze. I think with the length of hose, and how cold it gets here, the water just freezes before we can get the hoses completely drained.
Bounced this off Mr HH and he just had an outside-the-box idea. What if you put in covered tposts and elec tape to create a fenced alley from the paddock to the water supply? Or at least get your trough close enough that it’s only one length of heated hose needed.
I need to think this through. The horses are in the sacrifice area over the winter. We do have a grass paddock which is attached to the sacrifice area, but comes much closer to the house. Once it freezes and we have snow pack (so they won’t tear up the grass), I could probably open the gate and let them use the water tank in that paddock (around 100’ from the spigot). It’s quite a ways from the hay feeder though, so I wonder if they wouldn’t want to walk up there to get water. We also get some nasty drifting in that paddock, so the snow could get pretty deep for them. But it’s something to consider.
I’d rather die than drag a hose around so that is always the last option for me… I HATE dealing with hoses.
Yep! I distinctly remember one night about 11:00PM, trying to get 1/2 frozen hoses somewhat coiled so I could get them back up to the house. I was so ready to just lay down in the driveway and give up.
If you try connecting multiple hoses you will likely find that they will freeze/ice up at each connection as the metal ends will conduct the cold.
I would get a better container system for the water (maybe use a big plastic rain barrel with a spout at the bottom?), and then just use a short length of hose to fill it (so you aren’t using the kitchen sink), and drive it down to fill in one or two trips. Or consider a water wagon?
Any thoughts on this hose heater http://amzn.to/1M2mLhI?
I found it mentioned in an article on Horse Hype (http://www.horsehype.com/horse-care-preparing-winter)
[QUOTE=Mallard;8366881]
No experience with heated hoses, but I LOVE my self draining hose. But…I only need to go 50’.
We can only get them in 100’ lengths up here.
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Outdoor-Living/Yard-Maintenance/Watering-Systems/Hoses/Hoses/5-8-x-100-Clear-Flow-Garden-Hose/_/N-ntlijZ1of43f/No-48/R-I5038332?Num=0
Just a word of advice… do not try and connect 2 self-draining hoses togther… the pressure that comes through them will just blow the fittings right off.
Same thing if you put the self-draining hose first… it will blow the fittings off the regular hose.[/QUOTE]
I have one of the Home Hardware self-draining hose, and like it with reservations.
I love that it is so light, I can use it, let it drain, and then easily wrap the whole thing up and put it in the feed room.
However, I find it freezes easily - the ad says good to -10C and that is just not true. I can see the ice shards in it even at just below freezing, so that was a disappointment.
And of course there is the fact that I have squirted myself, my horses and the barn when the hose gets out of hand…:).
I have the self draining hose attached to the spigot in the barn and then attach it to a big regular hose to run out to the troughs. It is one of my most loathed jobs, but so much better than carrying water from the house.
Both hoses have to be drained and then put in the heated feed room.
I also think that putting a trench in and running a water line to your barn will be the best thing, in the end.
At our old farm the water line was not deep enough and would freeze in the winter, and I had to carry buckets from the house… putting a deeper water line in was not very expensive, and one of those things I wish I had done earlier.
It might be better to call a well company or barn company and get a price on running a waterline to the barn. Sometimes, you just have to pay people to do things you could do yourself.
I have a 25’ heated hose that I bought a few years ago and like. I attach it to the spiquot outside my barn and then detach it after use.
Sometimes, the money just isn’t in the budget. I’m not speaking for the OP but I know for me it’s been a major factor. Don’t assume that everyone has as much money to spare as you do. :yes:
Cowboymom, I think we all know about constantly stretching our financial resources. I am in the process of painting the exterior of my house right now because it is too expensive to hire a painter. When we first moved to this house, we economized by not eating meat and not going out to eat for 3 months. I decided we would eat a lot of pasta and beans because that water line to the barn was important. Thawing hoses in the living room, when it is 10 degrees, is tough. The OP will have to determine her priorities. My point is that if you can find a way to afford a water line, sometimes it makes sense to do it.
If at all financially able, I do really suggest getting after the husband and running a line, pronto. It really is the best solution.
Had another thought, how often do you use the bed of your truck in the winter? I would be tempted to get a LARGE water container and let it live in your truck bed. The kind with an opening on top and a spigot on the bottom, so you could just fill it with 200 gallons, drive it down, and turn its hose on to fill the tanks. They also make large water bags for this idea.
I’m with cowboymom, there’s no way I’d deal with that much hose in the frozen tundra :no:
If DH can get the time, it is in the budget to run the water line, but not in the budget to hire it out. We didn’t expect DH to be this busy (but hey, that’s a good thing!). He has several jobs going on right now that need to be done before winter (roofs, windows), and jobs that pay do need to come before my work. This is typically a slower time for him, so we thought he would have time to do it.
Had another thought, how often do you use the bed of your truck in the winter? I would be tempted to get a LARGE water container and let it live in your truck bed. The kind with an opening on top and a spigot on the bottom, so you could just fill it with 200 gallons, drive it down, and turn its hose on to fill the tanks. They also make large water bags for this idea.
This is also something we are considering. Anything we get would have to fit in the back of my Explorer. DH runs a snow removal company in the winter, so while we have several trucks - I can’t count on them being available at any given time.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and one of DH’s construction customers will want to push their project back until the Spring, and DH can run my water line. 
[QUOTE=ChristopheDG;8370766]
Any thoughts on this hose heater http://amzn.to/1M2mLhI?
I found it mentioned in an article on Horse Hype (http://www.horsehype.com/horse-care-preparing-winter)[/QUOTE]
Curious about these as well.
The second review confirms my fear with that product. PITA to get the hose into the bag.
[QUOTE=cowboymom;8371532]
The second review confirms my fear with that product. PITA to get the hose into the bag.[/QUOTE]
I like the “idea,” but knowing how hard it is to get cold hoses to coil into any shape, that was my guess that I’d never get a hose into the bag. Probably not a big problem if you are just using the hose in your barn in cold weather. But in my situation the hose sits in the snow for a fair amount of time while the tanks are filling. Then I’m trying to shape a 1/2 frozen, wet hose into an already cumbersome bag.
:yes:
Can you get a food grade plastic barrel, lay it on the side in the truck bed, for hauling water? Barrel should have two openings on one end. You can buy a spigot for one, use the other for filling with water then put back on to prevent losing water in transit. A big barrel holds 50 gallons I think, maybe more! Those spigots for barrels usually come threaded to attach a length of hose for emptying the barrel.
You can fill the barrel, run it down by the tank, then run a short length of hose to empty water into the tank. Gravity feed should empty it for you into the tank. Do your other chores while the barrel empties itself.
You would want some kind of frame or wood to lay the barrel on, with half-round cut-outs, to hold the barrel in place in the truck bed. You might need to have some hot water to unfreeze the spigot if barrel is left on the truck in the cold, but otherwise this could work pretty well for you. Might not even need to fill the tank daily if you can move water in such quantity to keep the tank up for only two horses. My outside tanks are 100 gallons, so they hold quite a lot over a small size tank. Sure don’t want the several horses running out of water!
This method would only need a short hose from water spigot to barrel, a second short piece of hose from barrel spigot to tank when you back in, for putting barrel water into the tank. Not much hose to deal with keeping them unfrozen or stored warm to use.
We also have quite a length of hose to run water to the barn stalls all winter, then fill tanks, so I know the feeling! All the horses come in at night, have buckets then. However that hose wrestling STILL beats the days when I hauled water to a rented barn TWICE DAILY because the shallow well froze all winter. So no water on the premises once the ground froze. Hauling water in containers is NOT fun.
