Breaking ice in troughs, top tip:

kerilli

kerilli

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Courtesy of my boyf... I was still doing it the hard way, with a hammer, risking blinding by flying ice shards. So, the new improved version is:
use a wooden fence post or similar, dropped vertically. even really thick ice smashes easily.
then i use a metal sieve to take all the ice pieces out so it takes longer to freeze again... :) :)
 
Also, I cover my horses field bucket over with bubble wrap and put a lid on when he goes in at night and that way the frozen layer is a lot less thick in the morning...probably a few mm rather than an inch or more...much easier to deal with!
 
Ditto pottamus

Got 2 different sizes of tubtrug things-bubble wrap inbetween the two tub trugs and stick lid on at night

just the tiniest slither of ice only at about -10
 
Sorry to sound like a dim girl :o .... My OH has an "Ice axe", something to do with climbing? Anyway, its great for smashing the ice in the water trough. :)
 
HollyWoozle said:
I am also a fan of the fence post manoeuvre! I considered standing on the trough but I could see that going badly...
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I tried this, jumped up and down. All that happened was sore ankles. Went and got the kettle on it a few times and it soon defrosted. YO has an aversion to taking ice out of the baths, i even got told not to do it. just top up through/ over a hole in the ice. This eventually leads to 6 inch thick ice. Common sense does not always prevail.
 
Ive just been filling two jerry cans with hot water from the bath in the house, pour them on and then use poop scoop rake to sieve out the ice - easy peasy!
 
somethingorother said:
YO has an aversion to taking ice out of the baths, i even got told not to do it. just top up through/ over a hole in the ice. This eventually leads to 6 inch thick ice. Common sense does not always prevail.
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There is a damned good reason for not taking it out....I guess the pipes are frozen therefore the trough won't re-fill if you keep taking the ice out eventually you'll have no water left in the trough, at least if you leave the ice in there it can be defrosted to water, the more ice you take out the more water you need to replace it with! Better having a thick layer of ice that can be defrosted than having to lug lots of water out to a trough!

If I crack it I only crack an area big enough for them to drink out of then put the lumps back on top of the still fozen end! Also the horses are very good at licking or breathing on the ice and making themselves puddles on to drink!
 
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My sister has a very effective method. She leaves a bucket 2/3rds full of water floating in the trough so all you have to do in the morning is lift the bucket out and you're left with a circular hole in the ice :cool:.
 
Foxfolly said:
There is a damned good reason for not taking it out....I guess the pipes are frozen therefore the trough won't re-fill if you keep taking the ice out eventually you'll have no water left in the trough, at least if you leave the ice in there it can be defrosted to water, the more ice you take out the more water you need to replace it with! Better having a thick layer of ice that can be defrosted than having to lug lots of water out to a trough!

If I crack it I only crack an area big enough for them to drink out of then put the lumps back on top of the still fozen end! Also the horses are very good at licking or breathing on the ice and making themselves puddles on to drink!
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I put the ice in a bucket at the side for that very reason...
 
Wow, wait till you hear my genius idea!

I smash the ice with a wooden pole, thats alright, and i imagined that ice in the water allows it to freeze quicker. So i grab a rubber garden skip and scoop out water and ice. I hold the handles together, so it makes a spout, i put my hand over the spout and open my fingers a bit, so the water pours out but my hand stops the ice!

Talk about making things hard eh? :p
 
Whatever method you use don't copy me.... breaking ice with metal spigott, bare handed as gloves already soaked, slip on ice surrounding trough, grab nearest thing to stop yourself taking a purler..... nearest thing being the electric fence :eek:
 
Mary Christmas said:
Whatever method you use don't copy me.... breaking ice with metal spigott, bare handed as gloves already soaked, slip on ice surrounding trough, grab nearest thing to stop yourself taking a purler..... nearest thing being the electric fence :eek:
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Oh christ! Well our electric fence is right beside the drinker, i'm always bumping into it when i meet a stubborn piece of ice!
 
Foxfolly said:
There is a damned good reason for not taking it out....I guess the pipes are frozen therefore the trough won't re-fill if you keep taking the ice out eventually you'll have no water left in the trough, at least if you leave the ice in there it can be defrosted to water, the more ice you take out the more water you need to replace it with! Better having a thick layer of ice that can be defrosted than having to lug lots of water out to a trough!

If I crack it I only crack an area big enough for them to drink out of then put the lumps back on top of the still fozen end! Also the horses are very good at licking or breathing on the ice and making themselves puddles on to drink!
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I get that part, but the reality is like last year, you end up hacking at it with a claw hammer trying to get through 6 inches of ice, because the hole gets smaller and smaller until they cant get through. The horses were scraping the ice with their teeth today and getting no where fast. 4 kettles of water later and it had melted enough to break up. I pulled the bigger chunks out. The hose reaches from an indoor water source so can easil be refilled when needed.
 
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