Are you sick of dragging hoses and carrying water? If you’re like us, the answer is a resounding YES! Have you have frequently wished you had automatic waterers? But also felt like upwards of $1k per waterer was unaffordable or unjustifiable? Particularly if you’re rotationally grazing and need waterers in many locations throughout your farm. This is a conundrum we finally solved on a budget last year. Now that we have automatic water everywhere, we don’t know how we lived without it! In this article we are going to tell you how we inexpensively set our farm up with DIY automatic waterers.
There are of course a multitude of commercially available automatic waterers. Most of which in our experience using them are not only expensive, but also leave something to be desired. And then there are water trough float valves available, most of which are designed to be attached to a garden hose. This is the easiest solution. It also leaves much to be desired. We wanted permanent waterers with buried water lines. And we were going to figure out how to do it in a way that we liked and could afford.
The first thing we had to do was decide on our goals.
After studying the commercially available waterers we decided on a simple, easy to replicate style that uses ground heat rather than electricity to keep the water open in the winter. We decided to install a couple more elaborate insulated winter waterers where we overwinter animals. Then we just installed easier warm weather waterers in summer grazing areas. The summer waterers can simply have the water shut off and be drained and removed/covered during the winter.
The winter waterers are insulated with waterlines trenched below the frostline. In our climate this is sufficient. They lightly freeze over at night but can be dumped in the morning and stay open during the day while the animals are using them. In a colder climate or with fewer animals you would most likely wish to add a heat source to the base to ensure nothing important freezes.
So let’s build a waterer!
First, you’re going to need supplies. The hardest part to find is an appropriate float valve. We opted to use ¾” Apex xtraflow long tail trough valves, with a pipe thread to garden hose thread adapter. We have been happy with them. They will set you back about $70 a piece. While they are admittedly one of the most expensive components, they seem to be durable and reliable. Plus, your float valve is really the heart of your waterer. A quality one is a must.
These valves are installed in the bottom of 5 gallon buckets. We are using 5 gallon buckets as they are cheap, readily available, and easy to replace if damaged. They are also a good size. They allow multiple animals to get a good drink without having to wait for a small bowl to refill, but not so large as to be hard to handle to dump and clean.
For each waterer, you will need two 5 gallon buckets.
One to install your valve into. One you need to cut the bottom off to set into the ground. If you can find 5 gallon bucket dimensioned 3 gallon buckets to install your trough valve into even better. That will give you extra space between the two buckets for your plumbing fittings.
You will need a hose lead to connect the trough valve to your plumbing in the ground. This allows you the very important feature of being able to remove and dump the waterer to clean it. You will also need plastic 55 gallon barrels and waterproof insulation if you want to make insulated waterers.
Lastly you will need water lines.
If you are making winter waterers, what you use is dependent on what your water lines are and how you will be tying in. You will need to attach to your water lines either below the frostline or indoors somewhere. In our case, our waterlines are PVC.
For warm weather waterers, we opted to use ¾” mainline irrigation tubing as it is inexpensive, durable and easy to work with. Irrigation line can withstand being frozen with water in the lines. The only caveat is that you have drain them enough to depressurize them. You also need to leave valves open to give space for the freezing water to expand.
Once you have your needed materials, you can trench your water lines to the desired locations.
If you need the waterers to be functional in freezing weather, they need to be trenched to the same depth as your houses waterlines. If they are just for summer use, a shallow trench is sufficient. We used a single bottom plow to dig a trench about 12” deep most of for our water lines. Then laid out the irrigation line and reburied the trench.
At the location of each waterer, you will need to dig a hole big enough to bury your 5 gallon bucket in the ground. Your waterline should come into the bottom of this hole. Fit the end of the irrigation tubing with a hose end fitting (and a shut off valve if desired) that you can screw your hose lead onto. Hook everything together and settle it all in the hole so the hose isn’t crimped. Voila, you have an affordable automatic waterer in your far pasture!
To make an insulated waterer, you need to do the same thing but on a bigger and deeper scale.
Please keep in mind that we live in a very mild climate. We only have a few weeks a year that the ground freezes and its not above freezing during the day. Its hardly worth even owning a heated bucket here. Therefore, “heating” waterers without electric is much easier for us than most people.
The principal on which these ground “heated” waterers work is that once you get down deep into the soil the temperature is stable, and this heat keeps your water from freezing. They also rely on your animals drinking water to keep the water moving as that also brings warm water from deeper in the ground. If you live in a colder climate or have few animals, you will need more insulation, much deeper insulation, and will probably do best with some added heat.
Please consider this and adapt according to your climate!
For an insulated waterer, you will need to dig a hole big enough to fit a 55 gallon barrel inside the ground instead of just a 5 gallon bucket. This hole needs to be deep into the ground, and the bottom of it needs to be below your frost line. It needs to be down to the depth of your water lines or further for it to work. So if you live somewhere cold, you may need to stack several barrels, use a piece of culvert, or some other tube instead of barrels.
You need to insulate the inside of this barrel to below the frost line. You do not want the frozen ground radiating cold into your waterer. Then you will install the same 5 gallon bucket waterer we made above through the top of the barrel. It is a good idea to insulate the portion of the 5 gallon buckets sticking above the side of the 55 gallon barrel. We did this by cutting the bottom off a large plant pot that would fit over our 5 gallon bucket and sandwiched insulation between the two.
If you wish to use heat inside your waterer, it is easy to do. There is plenty of space inside your hole for a heat source. Even if you are going to try this without heat, it is a good idea to install something like a heavy duty extension cord before you bury everything. This makes it easy to add heat later if you change your mind. Lastly, we highly recommend installing a shut off valve between the waterer and your water line, particularly if this is directly attached to all the plumbing in your house.
In closing, please note regarding the insulated watereers:
Because your waterlines are exposed down in the hole. It is essential that these waterers are on and being used in the winter. If you turn them off and dump the water out without insulating the hole your pipes will freeze.
We hope that gives you some ideas on how to simplify your life without breaking the bank! If you’d like to read more about how we get things done on our farm, please sign up for our newsletter!
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