[RC] heaters for water tanks / de-icer - Tx Trigger
I personally would never use any kind of tank
heater that my horse could get a hold of it, or the cord. We bought a Rubbermaid
trough to use just for the winter months, and put one of the drain hole de-icers
in it. I am able to put it next to the barn, which has power, and plug it
directly in, with no extension cord. I just cut a hole in the barn wall, ran
cord straight from trough to plug in. The only cord exposed to the horse
area is about 8" behind trough, against wall, where they can not get a hold of
it. I have a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupt) on it too, which is a
must. For about a $100 investment of both the trough, and de-icer, I was
no longer breaking ice off the trough. End of winter, I store whole unit
until next season. Just easier than installing and taking out the deicer
out of a trough. We have hard water, and it builds up on the copper heating
coil, so didn't want it being used in the tank 365 days if not
"needed".
This is the one I got, from Tractor Supply. It's
about $34
I leave my other trough as it is, and it will
freeze over the top few inches, but the gold fish inside just keep on swimming!
Thankfully, in TX we only get the below freezing weather for a hand full of days
at a time, not constant for weeks....or more.
