Propane/Diesel Water Heater/Deicer for Stock Tank

[picard335]

Anyone have one or something similiar, ? I found two propane models on the internet, but they want $369 dollars, there good for big water tanks 500+, and require a bigger 100 gallon propane tank to use.

I need something smalller for my 100 gallon water stock tank, no electricity there, and i can use a 20lb propane bottle to, or diesel to.

I have electric, but its about 500 feet to the house, I don't think a 1500watt drain plug de-icer will work correctly with the biggest extension cord I can find...

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
John

Thanks

[zuiko]

I would think 12ga extension cords would work fine. Even with the voltage drop, it won't hurt the heater any (unlike a motor). It's just a big resistor element, not much can go wrong with that. Maybe the efficiency will be lowered some but it should still do the job.

[Slyder]

I use a drain plug heater with an extension cord that runs 200ft from my house currently. I have never had a problem...don't know the gauge, but it is rated for outdoor use and has it's own power surge protector near the plug. I have used this for seven years (same cord, same heater) no problem.

[Linda]

We use electric stock tank deicers in three tanks, but switch to propane burners for any remaining tanks. We support the metal tank with thick square logs around the edges, leaving about a 10 inch opening on the side where our propane tank is. If it's a very large tank, we also place old cutting edges off a grader across the logs to better support the tank when it's full of water. You need to place the logs so they cut out any wind, or you'll forever be pulling the burners out and re-lighting them.

We bought burners for about $20/ea. from our local propane shop and use those for the flame/heat. Just light the burner, adjust the flame & slide it under the tank.

The hardest part of this setup is to protect the tank and hose so livestock don't have access to them.

I think the galvanized tanks we use tend to rust out sooner than they otherwise might. I think this kind of heat source burns off the galvanized coating and leaves them more susceptible to rust, but it's a small tradeoff.

We also did this with a homemade heavy metal barrel that came with the property. Boy, that water sure got to steaming! That's when we bought burners that were easier to adjust the flame.

We've had a cold winter this year and have a burner under a large stock tank. The tank was icing over pretty badly, except for a round open spot directly over the burner. This tank was between two corrals and it was hard for some of the livestock to reach the open water. So, for the first time we used a second burner under the same tank and that's worked out well for the remainder of the cold months.