JDSeller Question and others

danofarming · Jan 6, 2014

What kind of livestock water fountains do you have/use? What is your favorite, most trouble free? I ask because I have one in the bull lot that needs to be replaced. It is an old Nelson marketed by Unico, it has served well. My other founntain is a ritchie, new this year, replacing another ritchie that was some 40 years old.

IaGary · Jan 6, 2014

At one time there were 8 Ritchies on this farm. There was a reason they were all Ritchies.

They worked well.

Later on some were switched to Ritchie energy free. The energy frees were like any other energy frees, as long as there plenty of animals drinking regularly they work fine. Long times between drinks and too few of animals and they freeze up.

Gary

oldtanker · Jan 6, 2014

(quoted from post at 05:21:38 01/06/14) What kind of livestock water fountains do you have/use? What is your favorite, most trouble free? I ask because I have one in the bull lot that needs to be replaced. It is an old Nelson marketed by Unico, it has served well. My other founntain is a ritchie, new this year, replacing another ritchie that was some 40 years old.

Most around here are Ritchie's. Got one my dad put in sometime in the early 80's. Hasn't been used in years. Parts are still available for it.

Rick

WCS · Jan 6, 2014

Well said, Gary, especially the part about "energy free". I have 2 older Ritchies, both with electric heaters. I covered one of them up last nite with some old tarps and cardboard, weighted down with concrete blocks. Cattle don't drink enough overnight to keep it from freezing up on a night like last night.

Big M · Jan 6, 2014

I own 3 Pride-of-the-Farm 4 hole energy free automatic waters and one Pride of the Farm 2 hole. Last energy free I installed for myself was a Myra Fount with the floating balls. Myra Founts are easier to work on the float controls. There is a separate lid that comes off with just two bolts for service or adjustment.
Very little freeze up trouble with plenty of cattle drinking out of them.
I am not as far north as some ranchers. Located in central Kansas.

M Nut · Jan 6, 2014

Central MN, many mornings colder than -20F, use an energy free Mira-Fount. 40-50 stock cows and 20 head of young stock drinking from it. It has been in place over 20 years and still works well. In the rare times it does freeze, pop the small cover on top, pour in a teakettle of boiling water, and your good to go.

JD Seller · Jan 6, 2014

I have the Ritchie Watermatic waterers. I do put a submersible heater in the top and I have 110V receptacles in the bottoms. I put 40 watt light bulb in the bottom to keep the water supply from freezing. I have had great luck with them.

I have 16-17 of them in used. The old metal waterers just will not seal up as good as the molded plastic ones.
Ritchie Watermatic waterers

farmerwithmutt · Jan 6, 2014

ritche fairly trouble free wish they had better door latches usually special wrench is missing. had one froze yesterday steers got lid off top .i think a lot has to do with size of ground tube coming in have one in old milking barn put water over the water pipe coming through cement works fair if bulb dont burn out check jds idea something to do when it warms up. anybody remember the fun of frozen drinking cups and what happens when the pop?

caseyc · Jan 6, 2014

Here's what I use in South Dakota. 3 total on the farm now. Mine are heated. Currently have one that only has one horse on it and it wasn't froze this morning at -24. Another one is outside in the wind split by a fence. Cows on one side and horses on the other. 3rd is out in the pasture and shut down for the winter.

Casey in SD
Untitled URL Link

Tech 7 · Jan 6, 2014

Bought the place we are on 17 yrs ago, "Thrifty Ritchie" waterer came with it. I have redone the insulation once and modified the penning around it to minimize the wind effects on it. Base is getting a little rotten but the basin is still in really nice shape. Apparently I can still get parts for it. Sheep don't drink enough water to keep an energy free waterer working.

donjr · Jan 6, 2014

I have two four hole Behlen waterers, with two holes exposed to each of four pastures. It's very rare we have any trouble with them- most of the time it's an ice buildup around the ball areas that stop the balls from closing and allow the valve to freeze. If we keep the ice from getting built up, they are rarely any trouble. In over ten years, I've only had to replace the flow valves once in each of the two units.

LonM · Jan 6, 2014

This summer we installed two 3100 Mira Fount waterers for our cattle. These are very similar to what are in the link in one of the earlier replies to this post. The lines are buried 7 feet deep, and they come to the surface in about a 12" diameter insulated, corrugated, black plastic pipe. This helps transfer ground heat to the waterer. Then we have heat tapes tied to the pipe near the valve and submersible heaters to go in the float chamber. The wiring is run off a GFCI circuit breaker. This is working really well for us this year; it is -22 F here on the SD/MN border and there is no ice to fight today on these waterers. However, our spring-fed 8' tire tank waterer had three inches of ice on the surface, is freezing in badly all around, and may get pretty stiff before it warms up in a few days.

caseyc · Jan 6, 2014

Yep, I have a pair of the 3100's and one 3000. Put two in back in 2004 and one in 2010. Have yet to freeze one up, even with nobody drinking out of it. It's warmed up to a balmy -18 now. The steam is rollin off the water out there...

Casey in SD

LarryH · Jan 6, 2014

installed watereres for years and spi are way ahead of anytyhing out there ritchies will freeze and parets are costly ---mirafount same now we only sell spi

JDSeller Question and others

danofarming

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IaGary

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oldtanker

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WCS

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Big M

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M Nut

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JD Seller

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farmerwithmutt

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caseyc

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Tech 7

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donjr

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LonM

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caseyc

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LarryH

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