Learn how much money you can save by replacing your electric waterers or avoiding them all together.
[click here to go directly to the cost savings calculator]
Caring for horses, cattle, and livestock during the winter is a task with the main goal of ensuring the animals remain healthy. In the winter, as in any other season, animals need a combination of nutrients to remain healthy. Energy derived from feeds and the resulting body heat is very important for horses, cattle, and livestocks health and survival. If any animal is not consuming enough water, it will eat less feed than it would otherwise.
There are a number or reasons an animal will not consume an adequate amount of water during winter months.
The most common reasons animals will not consume enough water in the winter months are:
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Water provided is too cold to drink comfortably.
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A trough or bucket is completely frozen over.
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Water is too hot due to a malfunctioning or improperly adjusted water heating device.
If a horse considers water to be too cold it will not drink enough. As we’ve all heard before, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”. This is never more true than in winter months. It’s well documented that water should be at least 40° Fahrenheit. Studies show that increasing water temperature from just above freezing (read here – icy or frozen buckets or troughs) to 40°- 65° Fahrenheit, will increase the amount of water consumed by 40%.
If for some reason, one chooses not to or is unable to adhere to these guidelines, there are essentially two problems that can arise from horses not consuming enough water during winter months:
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Decreased feed intake; This will have a direct impact on the animal’s ability to maintain body weight as well as decrease their ability to consume enough feed/energy to tolerate the cold weather.
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Impaction colic; This risk is more widely discussed, and possibly more harmful. If a horse doesn’t consume enough water either because it’s frozen or it’s to cold for them to drink comfortably, the risk of impaction colic rises sharply. On top of that, even if the horse does drink a proper amount of water; water that is too cold has a negative impact on the digestive track and causes disturbances during digestion and absorption.
These risks can be mitigated by installing the Drinking Post Waterer, which provides water at an ambient 50° Fahrenheit, ensuring there will be adequate water consumption through out the cold winter months.
The waterer maintains this temperature year round with out the need of electricity to warm it because the water source is below the frost line. This ensures the temperature of the water is to animals liking throughout the winter and will assist in promoting good health.
In addition to the health benefits to the horses, there are some additional benefits to the caretaker in the winter months:
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No breaking ice off troughs or buckets
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No refilling buckets or troughs in cold weather.
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No unnecessary energy costs associated with heating water all winter.
Cost Savings of Utilizing Non Electric Waterers
Anyone who’s paid the electricity bill for a ranch during a cold winter can understand the need to reduce energy costs.
In 1994 the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute published a study comparing energy free fountains versus those that require electricity to keep from freezing. The purchase prices of the energy free fountains tested by PAMI ranged from
$475 to $930 (dotted line), while heated fountains ranged from $280 to $475 (solid line).
To the left is a graph from their study projecting the cost of energy free fountains versus heated ones over a five-year period, including purchase price. The graph assumes energy rates of 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Superimposed over-top of their graph in green is the cost of The Drinking Post.
PLEASE NOTE: At publish time of this webpage, this study conducted by PAMI is 16 years old. The current US national average cost of kilowatt hour is currently over 10.99 cents (double the costs used in this study!).
Even when compared to some of the most energy efficient heater waterers (with a lower initial purchase price), The Drinking Post Waterer will still completely pay for itself by means of eliminating normal operating costs of an electric waterer within a few years.
Not to mention, this is assuming everything runs perfectly, there is also the chance you might not notice an improperly adjusted thermostat and end up paying for energy all year long.
To read the Prarie Agricultural Machinery Institute study in full, click here, or visit them online at http://www.pami.ca/
In addition, if you ever experience a power outage during the winter months, you will not have to be concerned about your waterers freezing due to the fact that The Drinking Post Waterer requires no electricity to function perfectly throughout the toughest winters.
The interactive tool below will calculate what electricity will cost you over the life span of an electrically heated waterer.
To calculate kilowatt-hours on your own, take the wattage of the device, multiply by the number of hours you use it, and divide by 1000. (Dividing by 1000 changes it from watt-hours to kilowatt-hours.) Your electric company bills you based on killowatt-hours used.
If you want to fact check this calculator, or set up your own formula completely, here is a great website that explains how to calculate the cost of electricity .
While some other water choices can offer a year round supply of water, The Drinking Post is completely unique in that it requires:
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No electricity
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No float
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No thermos system
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No de-icer
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No heat cable
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No special installation requirements for cold climates!!!
Drinking Post Waterer delivers the most reliable and cost effective means to provide water to your horse, cattle, and livestock, hands down!