How to keep a water tank from freezing without electricity

| Updated August 11, 2017

Things You'll Need

  • Water trough or bucket

  • Shovel

  • Manure

  • Extra trough

  • Polystyrene foam, dirt, straw or hay

  • Tarp

  • Scissors

  • Bricks

  • Block of untreated wood

  • Rubber ball

Warnings

  • Use only untreated wood inside a water trough to avoid the risk of chemicals from treated wood affecting your horses' health.

Tips

  • Larger containers of water take longer to freeze, so the bigger your horses' water trough, the better.

    Encourage your horse to drink more during cold weather by giving it warm water (up to 65 degrees).

When the temperature drops below 32 degrees, horse owners think about keeping their horses' water from freezing. A horse may drink up to 12 gallons of water every day. Lack of electricity presents the added challenge of providing your horse with ice-free water without the use of an electric water heater. Alternative methods will keep water from freezing and ensure that your horse stays hydrated and healthy throughout the winter.

How to keep a water tank from freezing without electricity

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Drain an outdoor water trough or bucket and move it to a spot that gets sunlight most of the day. Dig some of the dirt from underneath and replace the trough into the hole you have dug out. Pile the extra dirt tightly around the sides of the trough, and add manure around the sides for extra insulation.

Place your horse's water trough or bucket inside an old stock tank to keep the trough off the freezing ground. Insulate the layer between the stock tank and the trough with polystyrene foam. If you do not have foam, insulate with dirt, straw or hay. This option works outdoors or indoors, if you have enough room for the horse to move comfortably around the stock tank, which takes up more space than the bucket alone.

Spread a black tarp over the top of an outdoor trough. Cut a hole large enough for the horse to dip its nose into the water. Wrap the rest of the tarp down over the sides of the trough and secure on the ground with bricks. The tarp absorbs the heat of the sun and helps keep the water temperature above freezing.

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Place a small block of untreated wood, such as a two-by-four, into the trough with the water to move the water and slow the freezing process. Or, place a rubber sports ball such as a football or basketball into the water trough. This works best in outdoor troughs where the wind keeps the object bobbing.

References

Tips

  • Larger containers of water take longer to freeze, so the bigger your horses' water trough, the better.
  • Encourage your horse to drink more during cold weather by giving it warm water (up to 65 degrees).

Warnings

  • Use only untreated wood inside a water trough to avoid the risk of chemicals from treated wood affecting your horses' health.

Photo Credits

  • Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

How to keep a water tank from freezing without electricity

By admin | March 27, 2020

“Water tanks are an important part of your house as they are exposed to the environment and hold the complete water cycle of your house. It is your duty to protect it by a water tank jacket and take better water tank insulation to prevent your tanks from various environmental conditions. Let’s take a tour of a few tips which keep your water tank away from freezing in winter time.”

Houses are bodies that require maintenance and need an organized structure so that humans can live happily. A man takes care of his house and makes sure there no issue arises in terms of electricity, households, furniture, water pipes, and other basic things. Maintaining these things fix your house and lead to satisfaction. Out of all these activities of house maintenance, there’s one thing you may have noticed, i.e. the water tanks. Now you must be thinking what maintenance a water tank needs apart from cleaning it at intervals? Well, you may have also noticed that water gets hot during the summers and tap pops out the running fire in the form of hot water. This may be troublesome. The same thing happens in winter when water gets too cold and you need to beg the geysers for warm water. In some areas, the water tanks freeze and this may take your water system in trouble.

Places like Australia and other cold areas faced this problem more often. Preventing your water tank from freezing during winter is a tough task. Let’s quickly have a glance over a few tips that may help you to prevent your water tanks from freezing in winters.

Use Large Water Tanks

This is a simple yet useful tip. If the tank is larger in volume, then it will have a large capacity for storing water. The water tank with a large volume takes less time in freezing. When the tank is refilled with new water, then the new water due to its warmness melts the remaining water. Likewise, the regular usage of water and refilling it at intervals delays it from freezing.

Round Shaped Water Tanks

The round-shaped water tanks have a smaller surface area compared to cubical or rectangular tanks. The smaller the surface area is, the less are the chances for the water to freeze. One should always prefer round-shaped water tanks because these cause less heat loss and afford better covering.

Go for heating systems

You can use a water heating system that will maintain the temperature of your water tank and set it above the freezing temperature point. There are various types of water heating systems available in the market such as an electric heater placed in the tanks, heating systems installed in the walls of your water tank. These measures give 100% results in preventing your water from freezing up.

Water Tank Insulation

Water tank insulation cover is the best way to prevent the loss of heat from your water tank. Many suppliers offer 4 layered or 5 layered water tank insulation covers which maintain the temperature of water tanks and prevents it from freezing. These water tanks jackets cover the top surface as well as the side of the water tank and insulate the tank from the outer environment. A good insulating water jacket covers the water tank from all the sides. Many water tank suppliers offer the various types of water tank insulation according to the need. These water jackets come in various sizes.

Read: – Tips and Steps to Insulate the Water Tank

Sloped water jackets

Tanks with flat covers often welcome the buildup ice on the top of the water tank jacket and this may lead to a decrease in temperature of water. In cold areas where there are snowfalls, it is recommended to cover the tanks with slope water tanks so that ice slips down and it maintains the temperature of the water. A sloping water tank cover prevents the ice or water from forming on the lid and keeping the water inside the tank a little warmer.

Check the leaking pipes

Check the connecting pipes during the winter season, as the leakage in the pipes may lead to heat loss from the tanks and eventually results in freezing in water tanks. It is always recommended to get your water pipes checked by professionals to identify the issue quickly and get it fixed, regardless of how minor it is. Check your water pipes as the leaking water pipes lead to heat loss and may sometimes trouble you in the form of water leakage.
Say no to insulation bottom of the tank:
Although, it is recommended to insulate the water tanks. But it is a good idea to avoid covering the bottom of the water tank. This is because the warm air below the tank increases the temperature of the tank and prevents it from freezing.

Keep the Water Moving

Moving water freezes less than standing water. In cold conditions, if the water in the storage tanks is used for a longer time, then there are chances of it to freeze. Therefore, water usage should be high enough so that the new water with its little warmness makes the remaining water warm and prevents it from freezing. This can be possible only if the water is used regularly so that the water tank fills up faster and prevents the temperature from crossing the freezing point. If the water freezes, it expands and damages your tank. The damage is not repairable as it splits the body of the tank. Move your water in some intervals and maintain the temperature of the water tank.

Final Words

These were some of the tips which will surely help to maintain the temperature of your water tank. Water tanks though seem to be an easy part of the house. But it is essential to protect it from various climate conditions. Since the water tanks in most of the houses are exposed to the environment. Therefore, it is important to shield it from every possible damage.

How do you keep water from freezing in a tank?

Insulate the Water Tank One of the best—and cheapest—ways to limit the risk of freezing is to insulate the tank. This involves wrapping the top and sides with blankets made from fiberglass, mineral wool, ceramic fiber, or some other cushioning material.

Will bottles of salt water keep water from freezing?

Saltwater has a lower freezing point than freshwater and tends to stay liquid even in the coldest weather. In fact a water to salt mixture of about 3:1 won't freeze until around -5 Fahrenheit. That's the cold! So a saltwater bottle can easily last all night in the single digits without freezing.