Cattle waterers

Sparktrician · Nov 12, 2017

Getting to the point of putting in the waterers in the new cattle barn. Always had Ritchie before, what do you guys recommend? I've set them up with electric, concrete is poured so the energy free type are not going to go in easily at this point, lol

coonie minnie · Nov 12, 2017

I prefer the Miraco (old Mira Fount) to Ritchie. Simpler, better insulated...

I have both.

farmerwithmutt · Nov 12, 2017

Put a electric outlet inside the waterer that way if it gets real cold you can plug a small electric heater in to supplement the heating element. I have used light bulbs and they do work but the heater can be set to kick in when the temperature gets below a certain point shutting off automatically when not needed. I also placed a small cheap dial thermometer inside to fine tune the system.

JD Seller · Nov 12, 2017

I have the NEW poly Richie waterers. I put a receptacle in the bottom of them. One side for the heater and the other gets a 20 watt light bulb. The light bulb keeps all the lower plumbing warm. I also like being able to walking by the waterers when it is dark and knowing at a glance that the waterer has electric.

The model is OmniFount #2 and #5s. I have them that are over ten years old and they have not been touched other than to clean them. I remove the heaters in the summer.

SHALER · Nov 12, 2017

I have Ritchie 2A fountains with heating element of course, and like others, have a light bulb underneath when it really gets cold....under ten below.

NEKS · Nov 12, 2017

This summer replaced a Ritchie that had been there 25 years. Install a Ritchie 150. The electricity was already there.

donjr · Nov 13, 2017

I have two four hole Behlen waterers in the pasture. They're black ( or dark gray} amd have only frozen twice from the cows drinking and slopping water out that froze. The dark color seems to catch more sun and tends to stay clear of ice.

4520BW · Nov 13, 2017

I have all Ritchie cattle fountains with stainless steel water pan. One trick I would suggest is remove the cheap Styrofoam insulation and replace it with 1" armor flex insulation, I have not had one freeze since I did that.

LarryH · Nov 13, 2017

try spi and ou will get rid of all the ritchies

Sparktrician · Nov 13, 2017

All I found with local dealers were Ritchie brand, and I am pretty satisfied with the ones we have that are those already, except a older one that has a steel water bowl, it has a bit of rust issue starting, but that would be expected I reckon.

So, we ordered the Omni 2 (three of them) and a Omni 3. Should have them early next week. In the three local dealers that we have, I was surprised in the difference of price, The Omni 2 was $640 at one, $589 at another and the place we ordered $500, The omni 3 followed suit on pricing. Pays to look around thats for sure

SodBuster87 · Nov 13, 2017

. Can't /won't take a side as to what brand is best but I will say make sure you seal the bottom of the waterer where it sits. Used to use roofing tar. +1 on the outlet. Also if you can find the heat tape that goes inside the pipe. Its pricey but works MUCH better. Another thing we did was put a piece of corrugated plastic pipe down to below frost line and wrap insulation around water line coming up.

Cattle waterers

Sparktrician

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coonie minnie

Well-known Member

farmerwithmutt

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JD Seller

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SHALER

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NEKS

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donjr

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4520BW

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LarryH

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Sparktrician

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SodBuster87

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