Stock tank heater - measure kilowatts used??

andy r · Nov 28, 2017

Pasture and stalk ground renter would like to use an electric heater in his stock tank. Ditches and creeks have all but dried up. He is willing to pay for the electricity. How can I keep track of his electrical usage? I see there are some cheap meters on ebay that will measures up to 1500 watts. Is that enough for a tank heater??? I see the tank he is using is only about 4' by 3' so the heater might not be all that large. I know we could figure it from the wattage of his heater, but if we would happen to have warmer days this winter I am sure it won't run as much. Any ideas are appreciated.

blue_tractor_man · Nov 28, 2017

I use a Kill A Watt, but I do not know if it is weather tight. Looks like it can handle 15 amps. Seems like that should be good for 1500 watts.

Ted in NE-OH · Nov 28, 2017

Just measuring watts won't help. You want to measure kilowatt hours as the stock tank heater has a thermostat and won't be heating all the time, only when needed.

Janicholson · Nov 28, 2017

This will do it. It can even calculate the cost based on local electrical rate. Jim
Home Despot

oldproudvet · Nov 28, 2017

I use a old house/pole KWH meter, from my fire dept days. At a structure fire we would enter a bldg w/o the meter being pulled. As our rural electric outfit could take well over an hour to respond, we'd usually pull the meter ourselves. I have one in 110 volts and another for 220. I plug them into appliances, like freezers etc. The 220 has checked my hot water heater, radiant floor boiler etc. These measure KW hours and I run them for a month and can then figure usage based our KW hour rate. Very handy. I use a small 100 gal tank in the yard, in the winter (grass fed pasture raised beef). I insulated the steel tank with 1" styrofoam pieces, sheathed with 1/4" plywood pieces, all held together with 2 motorcycle tie down straps wrapped around the tank. 2" styrofoam piece under the tank sitting on a piece of plywood. I cover half of the open top of the tank with plywood also, holding that on and the base insulation with 2 more tie downs. Measured during the month of February 2 years ago, west central MN. I used 143 KW hours @ 11 cents an hour for a cost of $13.50/month.

Stroby · Nov 29, 2017

Just curious, had you considered building a 3 sided structure, put the tank inside. Insulate the walls with 1" styrofoam, and put an old sliding glass door on the top, at @ 45 degree angle. Then put a pipe across the open side, near the top to hang a tarp or fabric on. If you build a short knee wall across the bottom of the open side, that will help contain the heat from the ground as well. The sun will keep the inside of that warm enough to keep water available. I used this kind of setup years ago when I had livestock. I had a small stock tank, @ 4 ft by 2 ft and it would get a thin layer of ice on really cold spells, but the sun melted and reheated the interior/ground/tank and water during the day. I live in Illinois. Food for thought.

howdy1960 · Nov 29, 2017

I have used the kill-a-watt meter to see that my OLD refrigerator uses about $10 a month.
Not enough to warrant spending hundreds to save a couple bucks a month.

RJKeith · Nov 29, 2017

As an alternative, why not use an hour clock. The tank heater will be a fixed resistance, therefore a fixed KW. Multiply by the number of hours in use and then by the KWH rate.

Stock tank heater - measure kilowatts used??

andy r

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blue_tractor_man

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Ted in NE-OH

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Janicholson

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oldproudvet

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Stroby

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howdy1960

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RJKeith

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