Energy-Free Freeze Proof Waterer

Energy-Free Freeze Proof Waterer ENERGY Fuel-Saving Devices 18-2-11 A simple housing around a dairy barn exhaust fan can be used to keep stock tanks ice-free, even in temperatures down to 40? below zero, says Grantsburg, Wis., farmer Doug Dewing. "I got the idea from my neighbors, Gary and Cris Peterson, who have used a similar system for several years with no problems. In this increasingly high-tech world, this idea is so simple and cheap it's unbelievable," says Dewing. Using light angle iron and corrugated tin, he built duct work around the hood on a continuously running exhaust fan on his 45 by 90-ft. dairy barn. The duct work extends down to within a couple inches above the stock tank, which sits next to the building. A waterline comes out of the barn alongside the fan and runs down inside the duct to the tank, where it connects to an ordinary float valve. "The accompanying photo was taken on a morning when the temperature was 32? below zero and more than half the tank is totally ice-free. At temperatures of 10? below and higher, there's no ice at all in the waterer. One morning at 41? below zero, there was a thin coat of ice over the tank but the float wasn't frozen. As soon as it warmed up slightly and there was more activity in the barn, the ice melted." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Doug Dewing, 24376 N. Fossum Rd., Grantsburg, Wis. 54840 (ph 715 689-2373).

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