Frost-Proof Drinker: Drinking Water Well Below Freezing Point

Frost-Proof Drinker: Staying Open When Everything Freezes

A frost-proof drinker is not an ordinary drinker with a heating rod added, but built for winter from the ground up. Either a heating element with a thermostat keeps the water moving, or an insulated double wall with a floating cover stops a sheet of ice forming. The mains-free thermal drinkers work with 40 or 100 litres of volume and manage down to around thirty degrees below zero. Which design suits you depends above all on whether there is a power supply at the site.

Mains free through insulation

The principle is simple: a large volume of water cools down slowly, and every animal that drinks draws fresh warmth in from the pipe or the reserve. Between drinking sessions the double-walled insulation holds the temperature, while an insulated flap or a floating lid closes the opening. That works reliably as long as the drinker is used regularly – with a single cow on a large area the system reaches its limits.

Heated bowls with a thermostat

Where power is available, heated bowls are the simpler answer. They usually run on 24 volt extra-low voltage through a transformer and switch on through a frost protection thermostat only when needed. Models with trace heating also protect the last few centimetres of the supply pipe, which in practice is the more critical point than the bowl itself. Take care not to place the thermostat directly in a draught, or it will switch too early and too often.

Frequently asked questions

Down to what temperature does it work without power?
With regular use the insulated thermal drinkers hold out to around thirty degrees below zero. The decisive factor is that animals drink several times a day.

Which is better, insulated or heated?
If power is available, the heated version is less complicated. On remote fields with no connection there is no way around the insulated thermal drinker.

Do I still have to protect the supply pipe?
Yes, in almost every case. The bowl is seldom the problem; the last few metres of pipe nearly always are.