frozen automatic water drinkers

[impresario08]

any tips about stopping automatic water drinkers freezing in outside stables? or do i need to provide a bucket of water separately with something floating in it to stop it fully freezing?

 

[crabbymare]

heat cable can just about stop them freezing if its not too far below freezing but the only way to keep the float or push bar from freezing when the temperatures really drop is to get the heated ones and they are around 200 each

 

[Wagtail]

Are all the pipes and inlets to the drinkers very thickly insulated? It can be a nightmare if they start freezing up. I have four wooden stables that would always freeze if we had a frost but since I re-did the insulation to a higher spec, they have only frozen once in the last 3 winters when temperatures did not get above freezing for several days and nights. The brick block drinkers only freeze when it is well below zero for several consecutive days. Once they start though it is kettle boiling time. If the horses are in then they tend to keep them from freezing up due to drinking and keeping the water moving so it's just day time before they come in that it's a problem.

 

[horselady]

My automatic drinker freezes. I just go and get the whole panel of ice out of the frozen drinker. bit of a pain but have to do it.

 

[impresario08]

thanks