Cowpuncher said:
Jason wrote:
If you are running a water line, power isn't a big deal.
I can use a lot of electricity for the extra $1000 per waterer.
I use 150 watt oil pan heaters in my waterers.
Even if they ran 24 hours a day 30 days a month for a full 6 months, that's 648 kwh. At the current cost of $.06 / kwh that's $38.88
Interest on the $1000 is $60 a year if you borrow at prime.
I don't think you can run electricity very far without high voltage. If you want to run electricity here, it will cost you $10,000 per mile and a minimum charge for electricity of about $45.00 per month. Some of our watering tanks are 6-8 miles from power. We just use an ax for about 60 days a year.
IMO, you're right about running electricity very far Cowpuncher. It just ain't practical or possible to go very far from the source, at least with conventional underground wiring. I've always had the impression that a quarter mile is about the limit. REA charges for new services within 500 ft of an existing line aren't too bad, but go any further than that and the cost gets prohibitive quite fast!
I'm using the new waterline I put in this year in my winter pasture. The tank itself is not winterized and is at the end of the waterline 2 miles from the water source. I don't think 2 miles of underground electric line would do much out at the far end. And it's at least a mile to bring in electricity from any other direction. ($$$$$)
The tank I'm using is a 10' round Zane's fiberglass tank with a Lewis/Watson valve coming in the center of the bottom of the tank.
So far, so good with temps down to about 0. I have just been chopping one hole for the 55 cows to drink from. Today I had to chop the float loose and will probably do that every day from now on. As the long as the tank stays full, I don't worry about the valve in the bottom of the tank freezing. The tank was about half full from yesterday because the float stayed frozen. I just chopped the float loose and pushed the arm down to make sure it was free. It was, but a full tank is good insurance to keep the valve from freezing.