Automatic Waterers

[mkevent]

Since I'm new to this site,so I apologize if this has already been discussed. I am interested in installing auto waterers in my barn. I like the Nelson but they are a bit pricey and having to dig down 7-8' to take advantage of the "geothermal heating"(as the company explained it) sounds like a real hassle! Does anyone have any feedback on the Equuspring product line? I plan to install heated waterers-live in South Jersey so not the coldest spot in the nation, but we can get sub zero temps during the occasional artic blasts. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Evalee Hunter]

If you are installing heated waterers, you do NOT need to use "geothermal". That is an OPTION where electric is not available. Buy the Nelsons. They are worth the extra money!

[ShadowsMom]

I second the Nelson recommendation...they are GREAT!

[tuppysmom]

Buy the Nelsons. We have 17 of them and they have done the job for 16 yrs now.

[Bosspaige]

I have 5 of the Equuspring heated waterers which I have had for 6 years. My boss has the Nelson heated waterers which she has had for 4 years. I think they both have their negatives and positives.

The Equusprings work on a float mechanism inside. I found they were giving me problems with underfilling or overfilling and called the company. They were really helpful and said that hard water seems to do this. We had a water softener in our house but the barn water bipassed it so we ran the barn water through it and it fixed the problem. I would say once every 4-5 months, we routinely just replace the floats (which you can find cheaply at Lowes). My husband also epoxied a screen over the water outlet so that the dirt and hay wouldn't float into the water tank. As far as the electrical on them, they work great and I have never had a problem with them. My horses love the warm water and since the storage tank is a good size, their entire drink is warm.

I find that the Nelsons when you clean the Nelsons you have to watch that when you set the bowl back in that it is set in squarely or they will overflow. Also, one of the horses that is at the barn is a hay dunker and he has to have a seperate bucket hung because the weight of the hay will make it overflow as well. Their system is based on a weight system to keep the bowl full. I like the fast flow of the Nelsons and that when you need to fix something it is so easy to get to where the Equusprings are harder.

Nelsons were way out of my price range so they were never a consideration. I also put them in after my barn was built and it seems like the heated ones my boss has come up from the floor (but maybe they make others). My Equusprings are piped across the ceiling. All in all, after having these in my barn, I would never want to be in a barn again that doesn't have automatic waterers. Some people say you can't monitor what they are drinking but if I ever suspect they aren't feeling well, I shut mine off immediatley and hang a bucket.

[lindasp62]

I used to run a barn where there were Nelsons in all the stalls...all the original Nelsons that had been there about 15 years...all worked great! I had my maintenace guy check the heat tape at the beginning of each cold season to make sure they were working properly. The only thing, our waterers did not have the guage that could determine how much the horse was drinking...they have those now. That would be a good investment. Go for the Nelsons....

[Evalee Hunter]

. . . . Nelsons were way out of my price range so they were never a consideration. I also put them in after my barn was built and it seems like the heated ones my boss has come up from the floor (but maybe they make others). My Equusprings are piped across the ceiling. All in all, after having these in my barn, I would never want to be in a barn again that doesn't have automatic waterers. Some people say you can't monitor what they are drinking but if I ever suspect they aren't feeling well, I shut mine off immediatley and hang a bucket.

When we bought our Nelsons about 4 years ago, if you bought more than 10 at once, Nelson would give a significant price discount which helped. (We bought 15.)

Regarding the piping. I'm not sure how your piping can run across the ceiling & not freeze. I guess it depends on how low the temperature goes where you live. Running the pipes underground has nothing to do with the waterer & everything to do with putting the pipes where they will never freeze & never be damaged by an inquisitive horse.

You can easily put pipes underground after you build the barn - we did. The main pipes bringing water to all the stalls should always be run outside the perimeter of the barn, parallel to the barn walls. Do not ever run your piping under the floor of your barn. There are two reasons for this: (1) If/when a pipe breaks, you won't flood a stall or the barn & (2) the piping is easy to get to without disrupting your stall floors or aisle floor.

There is a small side pipe running from the outside pipe under the outside wall of the barn into one corner nearest the outside & that is where the waterer is installed.

Automatic waterers save a tremendous amount of water - if you are on a well & have a dry summer, you will be so thankful for the auto waterers. Yes, you still need to monitor auto waterers twice a day & clean them once a day, but you don't waste a whole bucket of water, dumped because it is stale or full or hay or whatever. When you dump the auto waterer dish, you dump just a little water, maybe a quart.

Regarding monitoring water intake. You can buy monitors for the Nelsons. We did not do that because they are an additional expense. When a new horse comes in (we do layups & rehabs), we not only watch the horse but also offer them a bucket at feed time to see if they drink. I have "tuned my ears" to listening for horses to drink. I spend a lot of time in the barn. I feel confident I know who is drinking & whether they are drinking enough.

[Tackpud]

We installed 40 Nelson waterers about 3 years ago and I have regretted the time I spent before they were installed. 7 years of dumping 80 buckets a day! What was I thinking??:eek: They are the best investment we've ever made.

The automatic waterers have made a huge difference in time management. I really like the Nelson's because the horse doesn't have to be a genius to figure them out. The company is great to work with and easy to contact if you have a problem.

[mkevent]

Thank you all so much for the helpful suggestions-I've only heard good things about the Nelsons but they are 3X the price of the Equuspring. I never thought of running the pipes around the perimeter of the barn-that's a great idea. Just wondering your opinion on this-my barn is set up with individual paddocks and pastures with each horse having access to his stall-do you foresee any issues with the pipes on the outside if the horses will be on that area constantly? I know the pipes are buried at least 3' down. Also, did you dig the additional 3-4' below frost line under the waterers as the company recommends?(it seems silly to me and other posters say it's not necessary...)

[deltawave]

I have no complaint about the Nelsons other than the bowl is really small. They certainly seem durable and trouble-free.

But I always put in a plug for Varnan (http://varnanwaterers.com) waterers on these threads--I have just one, outside in the shared sacrifice area, and it is THE most important, valuable, and timesaving thing on my farm, hands down. :yes: Yes, they're a bit of a PITA to put in (all of them are if you do them properly) but after the initial install the time saving and sheer pleasure of NOT having to deal with muddy hoses, frozen water chunks and buckets is PRICELESS. I live in cold, snowy, SW Michigan and have the heavily-insulated one, which is grrrrrrreat.

ETA I just saw where you have individual paddocks, so my shared waterer setup wouldn't work for you. But also wanted to add that OH MY GOD YES you need to bury your water pipes below the frost line. Even in NJ. Not 4 feet BELOW the frost line--that's unnecessary--but the frost line in Central NJ is at about 3 feet IIRC (grew up there), so down that far at least. For us it's 48". Maybe if you were using geothermal to keep the water at a certain temperature you'd have to go 8 feet down. Our house is heated with geothermal and the coils are four feet and eight feet down.

[7HL]

There are Nelsons all over the place where we board, in stalls and outside. They are great and the horse love always having fresh water. They have been in four over three years and work well during all seasons here on PA.

[fivehorses]

I am interested in the nelson auto waterers. When I built my barn 20 years ago, I remember I did not have the extra 1000 to buy them...I didn't think it was worth it...how wrong I was.

My question, who do you need to install a nelson or any kind of waterer?
An electrician, plumber, excavator, etc? I am not handy at that kind of stuff and will have to hire out.
thanks.

[deltawave]

We had our waterer "plumbed" when we had the water line put into the barn from the well. Just asked the well guys (who laid all the pipe) to put a "T" connector in the spot where the waterer was going to go, and cap it off.

When we were ready, my husband dug the hole: four feet down and about 3 feet in diameter. It was a lot of work, but nothing that required any heavy equipment or anything. Just muscle. :) He then plumbed in the "guts" of the waterer and laid the housing in the hole and did the wiring himself. He's pretty handy. :) It took him the better part of a day, between digging the hole and doing the guts. I'd say any general handyman could easily tackle this kind of job--it's pretty plain vanilla stuff to a handyman-type.

[Bedrock]

We installed Bar A waterers in our pastures, they don't require any electricity and were less $ then the Nelsons and have been one of the best decisions we have made. Go to www.horsedrinker.com and see for yourself.

[Go Fish]

Do they make these now so they shut off if damaged or torn off the wall? I distinctly remember a yearling filly who would "play" with the waterer and regularly flood the barn during the night.

[pattir7]

I love the Nelson waterers. I work in a boarding barn and I'm not sure how old some of them are (20+) years, maybe... and I'm amazed they still work. They are easy to maintain... but do need to be monitored daily as they can go out of adjustment and overfill....but are generally, pretty reliable.

Now for my complaint...which has nothing to do with the waterers. Even though all the stalls have working automatic waterers (that are heated in winter), people (boarders) still insist on buckets. So, we're still dumping/filling 2 buckets/stall daily...in addition to cleaning/checking the waterers. I gotta say, I wish the barn didn't allow the use of buckets...or, at the least... if you want a bucket... clean/fill it yourself. Here the barn owner went to the expense of putting in Nelson waterers... and virtually nobody is willing to use them exclusively (except one boarder). Sigh... :confused:

[mkevent]

I had boarders like that in the past-luckily they're all gone now!! If you have waterers that are being checked/cleaned daily then buckets would not be necessary. I think sometimes people who don't feel involved enough in their horse's care can go crazy overcompensating on unnecessary things!!Filling and cleaning 2 buckets/stall at 40 lbs per bucket is ridiculous if you have a safe and efficient answer! It would be interesting to see who would still insist on buckets if they had to do the filling/dumping/cleaning themselves on a daily basis!!!

[county]

I put Ritchies in last year I looked at Nelsons but they wouldn't gurantee them not to freeze at -35 and here in central Mn. it gets down to that. 7 to 8 feet down is pretty standard depth for most nothern locations we go 10 to 12 feet here. Its to get below the frost line so the line doesn't freeze not to heat the waterer.