The AG Stock Tank Experimental - What Works Best?
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- čas přidán 21. 01. 2019
- Today we start an experiment on Our Wyoming Life. Testing the best way to keep a stock take open and thawed. From heaters running on timers to bubblers. What works best? We also will be measuring whether removing ice from a tank helps to keep it from re-freezing and how much water is wasted by doing so. This is the AG Stock Tank Experimental.
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Our Wyoming Life
PO Box 667
Gillette WY 82717
Join us on our journey as we leave a life in corporate america to come back to Wyoming and help on the family ranch.
Our Wyoming Life features our Wyoming ranch and our ranch family. Giving you a look into the workings of ranching from raising cattle to raising and harvesting crops. Erin will join you weekly out of the garden, showing you how she helps provide for our family through growing produce and selling at local farmers markets, and Mike will take you along as he tends to the animals and land of ranch, from calving to fencing to planting and harvesting hay.
Mike, I am a H.S. Science teacher, and I am going to be showing this video to my Physical Science class - we're starting to look at the basic steps for experimental design, and you're doing a good job of showing us a great example of how its done in 'the real world'. I even made up a worksheet that follows your steps, the design, and the results from the first night of testing. Great video, keep up the good work.
Keith Knapp I wish I had you as my teacher when I was in high school !
Your Father-in-law would like a joke I used in teaching people in industry about change. A woman cut both end of the roast off and tossed then in trash. Her husband asked why, here response was " That is the way my mother always did it". That weekend his in-laws were over for dinner on Sunday. He asked his mother-in-law why she cut the ends of the roast off. Her response was the same as his wife, "That's the way my mother did it". About two weeks later they were visiting the wife's grandmother. He ask her why she cut the end of the roast off. She said, " Oh, that's easy. The pan was to small!".
A side note, my design of experiments background kicked in and said You should have randomized the sequence of tanks to assure there bias based on location. LOL.
Great video, I enjoyed it. Also remember to keep smiling even when it is below zero.
Our best way to keep tanks open turned out to have *4 feet*. One particular horse learned how to lift ONE front foot and tap repeatedly until she found out just the right "hardness" necessary to break the ice..and never got the feathering on her leg wet! Definitely some draft blood in that girl, her legs had some pretty good feathering, and her head was definitely NOT "refined"...but one of THE best horses I've had the honour to have owned and known!
Might not have been pretty, but wasn't a prettier or better jumper in our province! She'd size up a fence(construction didn't matter) then canter away from it, make a large circle in the field, take a bead on where she intended to jump and set forth, scared the bejesus out of me once, set a bead on a point where the place intended, the takeoff point was coming UP a hill(good 60 degrees gradient) putting her takeoff point at LEAST 12 feet back from the fence(4 feet high, and littered with nasty junk pile on the landing side) and the wee wench took off from that stupid point anyways, made it into what had to be a good 9' vertical jump and at least a 20 some foot spread to clear that junk, centered away as though it were a sunny day in the clover patch, I spent 45 minutes trying to catch her before she took it into her head to wander onto the road for further giggles.. and then put her into another pasture! This time with 6' fences. Figured THAT should at least keep her busy for long enough that I could figure out a "safe" solution for her near term housing that would let me sleep at night. Next thing I know, she's jumped back into her old pasture to be with her buddy. An older gelding, Olympic level jumper who has always been her"uncle". Inseperable. *Obviously more* than I'd realized. So, given there's not a fence on any property that can hold *him* if he really chooses, it's *into the barn with both of them*... kept them there for two weeks. Unless there was a human attached. Or on top of. THAT'S the worst part when you have an animal demonstrative of that caliber. *Insurance demands.* Coverage is dependent upon, "unless under human control" or its deemed null and void. ALL insurance. Including that of "if a car is driving down the road" and pretty horse jumps out in front, car either swerves to avoid, and goes into ditch, or doesn't and is wrecked because it hit pretty horse...horse's owner is liable for ALL DAMAGES! UNLESS HORSE'S OWNER WAS IN CARE AND CONTROL, OR VERIFIED out of commission, "by act of God" etc. 🙄😉🤦♀️ good luck with THAT one! Unless you've got an angel willing to come and swear on a stack of bibles, giving a wing feather as proof of realism...🙄🙄🙄💔 you're pretty much out of luck! And up Schitt's Creek! Without that proverbial paddle, let alone the boat!
A Kansas rancher taught us to let an ice cap form over the full tank then poke at foot wide drinking hole for the horses and cattle to drink from (I remove that ice). Each morning we check the hole but the animals usually are drinking frequently enough to keep it open. When we fill the tank we add water to just under the ice cap. This has been a great system just south of Kansas City.
Happy 2nd Anniversary Mike and Erin. You've come a long ways since I found you guys and it's been an adventure. Now all aboard the 100k Subscriber Train.
Mike, I am new to your You Tube channel and in the last two week have covered almost the whole two years of videos. I stumbled across your channel while looking for cattle ranching info, now I am hooked. Excellent content and insight into the cattle ranching business in every detail of the numerous tasks in your day to day life. Thanks for the honest look at what it takes to be a cattle rancher!!
Congrats to the winners, and Happy Birthday to Our Wyoming Life!
Congrats on the 2 years :) Hope the work you put in making the videos is worth the rewards.
I have been watching for a few months. But I just Subscribed I enjoy the heck out of this show. Great Job!!
Congratulations on two years‼️‼️‼️ Love the videos and seeing the ranch👍❤️❤️‼️‼️
Congratulations on your two years! You have a wonderful channel. Many Blessings to you and your family for 2019!
Great video as per usual and congratulations on 2 years on CZcams.
Wow this is awesome guys! I've always struggled with water and heaters and keeping my tubs open all the time and saving money! Please keep doing this guys! I will share this with everyone I know!
Congratulations on your two year anniversary! And thank you for doing the experiment, very interesting!
Congrats on 2 years. You’ll do a great job. Have a good one
Mike great job, I'm new to your CZcams channel... I can only imagine how many Ranchers you are helping.. You have helped me understand how difficult being a rancher really is and hope you stay vigilant and enjoy knowing you are making a difference... God bless my friend....
Congratulations Mike and Erin. The last 2 years have been awesome. Can't wait to see what the future brings.
Man that was a good video, Mike!!! Thanks for all you do for us, I know it's hard work, and you dedicate alot of your time. Take care my friend
Happy Anniversary ! Thank you for making me appreciate a lot closer the Ranch life style. In your Wyoming Life.🌟🌟🌟🎂🌟🌟🌟
congrats on the anniversary! may you have more prosperous life!!!!!!!
Great move, getting sponsored and all that! Once again, your presentation, performance of the task, and real results! Almost $5 a day adds up in a hurry!
Great video Mike! Thanks......getting ready to install a bunch of tanks on the farm...watching this again!
Happy Anniversary to Our Wyoming Life! Here’s to a great future.
Experimenting is what I have done for the last two years. Good on you, sir. Solar is awesome in summer, not so much in winter which is why I have had to keep my batteries charged with a generator these days. Nice video Mike, thanks.
When it's cold out I try to run my water heaters all the time and it seems to work for me also good to know u have reached the 2 year mark on utube and hope u have many more years keep up the wonderful videos
This is interesting. I am looking forward to the final results. Congratulations on the 2 year anniversary. It’s very cool. 🥂🥂🥂
Congrats on 2 years on CZcams! Keep the videos coming!
Thank you very much - Mike
Congratulations on your 2 year anniversary so thank you for sharing you lives with us all.....🍾🍾🍾🍾🎉🎉🎉
Really looking forward to what you come up with. This is practical testing for actual use.
Two whole years, kinda crazy isn't it? Thanks for putting out quality content Mike & Erin. As far as the testing goes, I'm kinda surprised the bubbler didn't work better. My parents use a similar in concept if not scale system to keep the lake ice from damaging the dock at their house in New Hampshire.
Thank you Mike for another enlightning and informative blog. I think you will like the solar tank heaters as my uncle has three of them and he just loves them. Take care my friend
Congratulations on 2 years looking forward for many more.
Thanks Paul - Mike
Great video as always! Can't wait to see what the final thoughts are on the experiment and the stock tank heaters. Happy two year anniversary by the way! Have a great rest of the evening - Everett the human and Lachlan the farm pup
Congrats on 2 years 🎊 Here is to many more
What a great experiment and a true way to find out what works and what does not
Feel very comfortable watching these videos I'm not a farmer or rancher but my thought process seems to be in line with this guy. He just seems to be smarter than I. Is all. Luca
Hi again! Congrats Mike and Erin!! Lots to look forward to and many more years to come. You two do a wonderful job!! Oh that darn water again Mike! I cringe at the word sometimes even though I love all things water except water in winter!! I have to smile at you Mike doing all your tests and all the effort you put out. But it is true if you don't try you'll never know!! Looking forward to hearing the results. Keep warm and stay safe out there! Til next time...
Seriously a great video, can’t wait to see more results. Planning to implement which ever ends up with the most savings. Would be a great science project for the kiddos as well!
Congratulations to the winners!
Thank you for another fun video
I've followed you scince the beginning. I'm so happy your channel has blossomed. Your channel reminds me of home.
I get that, thank you very much - Mike
Congratulations Mike, keep up the good work .
congratulations to the winners. Thank you mike for the video . looking forward to the next video.
Congrats on 70k!
There is a way to keep the stock waterers open, would be to construct a large compost pile having approximately 800 foot of black poly pipe used to move water. You will have the pile supplying the heat. The only downfall would be the volume used. Larger the pile, the longer it will last. There are videos on CZcams about this.
LOVE math and science experiments like this!! In our area of the California Sierra most of us have solar for barns that have water tanks. Even in winter with snow on the ground as long as its a clear day the batteries store power.
Awesome, thanks Beth - Mike
Great video!
2 years. I've been here from the beginning!
Awesome experimental video Mike
When I put my floating heater on a timer it burned out because the cattle drank the water level down leaving the float frozen in a layer of ice hanging above the water. Now i only use sinking heaters. Great Video!
Until one of those burns to the bottom of the tank.😉
Congratulations on your two years!
Thank you very much - Mike
Happy Anniversary Guys! May you continue to grow and prosper!😎❤
I realize here in Missouri we don't have the prolonged cold Wyoming does, however we do have extremely cold days and yet we've been successful in keeping our water tanks ice free. We do it by using 4ft in diameter by 4ft tall man hole casings. We add a 2ft extension to this because we bury the 4ft tall casing in the ground having only the 2ft extension above the ground. Only on the coldest of days are the tanks frozen over. But it's not thick ice. It tends to be thinner and the cows are still able to poke through it with no problem. We've got more water than we can use on our farm so many of our tanks run continuously. Just a little water movement makes a huge difference.
Great video!! Owning a small ranch ,my wife and I are always looking for new ideas and ways to improve for both us and the animals .Cheers from northern BC Canada!!
THAT'S COLD!🥶
Great video. Super idea to do a test and you did a great job doing it.
Congratulations on your Second Birthdays Mike and Erin! Congratulations to all three winners also.
Awesome! Will be following
HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY GUYS KEEP THE VIDEOS COMING
Nice. Definitely learning, thank you for the input.
Congratulations to your winners. And Congratulations for 2 years on CZcams.
Happy two year utube anniversary Mike and Erin !!! 🎉🎊🎂🍰🏆👍
Thanks Calum - Mike
Th bubbler couldn't keep a pail of water from freezing. The one that I mentioned that Northern Farmer uses in Alberta is a pond bubbler. It's a ceramic disk that rests on the bottom of a tank or pond. It is powered by compressed air from an outside pump. Good Luck on the experiments! Congratulations on two years young!
Happy Birthday to Our Wyoming Life!
Thanks for the experiment. I live in Meeker Colorado temps can drop to -30 at times. I use a float heater 24\7 to keep the tanks open.
So.... First congrats on this mile stone. And when you were announcing the winner of the grand prize I got excited. Because I'm from Eugene Oregon and my name is Mark. Once I heard that I paused it out of disbelief and excitement. But then I watch the rest of it...... Haha
Been watching your channel for a while now and man you guys are awesome. We live on a ranch in North Dakota and it's so cool seeing the similarities and differences between the ranches and tips and tricks I pick up along the way. Just curious what kind of software do you use for editing your videos? I've been trying a few and like the layout and style you edit with. Thanks.
Interesting experiment. I hope you make some great discoveries. I'm looking forward to followup videos.
Going to be interesting to see the final results. Funny part, first episode I saw was running a garden hose to the long tunnel thing, and there you are stretching the hose to the tubs. :) Great video, thanks.
Thank you man
Congratulations to the winners.
Don't give up Mike,help us out😉
Happy anniversary to you both
Great video....a little science on the ranch.
Hey mike really cool experiment. If you’re tired of using power to keep tanks open you should consider a covered and buried concrete tank. Initial cost is not bad. Boom concrete in Newell South Dakota builds an excellent one. I break ice on ours only when the night temps drop below -15 and even then not very thick. Happy Anniversary for the channel!
Congratulations on 2 years
Good test I'll be waiting to see final results
It has been many years ago- I read a article about a Wyoming Rancher(if my memory serves me) Who had the issues of stock tanks freezing in the winter. He took a section of 12” culvert. I believe was 6 to 8 feet long. He dug a hole that deep. Placing the culvert on end. Then refilling with rocks and then backfilling and leveling. He then placed the stock tank back over the culvert. Using the earth’s thermal heat to heat the tank. Claiming the tank never entirely froze over even in Wyoming’s harshest weather.
Not all of our tanks had electricity near by so they were thawed manually by some cowboy every morning
You are very lucky to have Meanders as when I go to the Veteran’s Hospital in MN that is where I shop also
Cool experiment
Cool stuff! Following along and am interested to see the outcome
Very interesting
Happy anniversary, good excuse to have carrot cake and lots of cream cheese icing!
very informative video
We use some oval shapped stock tanks for horses and we cover about half with a partial sheet of plywood with a hole large enough to run the heater cord through. Do it to keep the heater in the stock tank, horses were throwing it out, but I think it keeps the water warmer longer and allows the tank heater to stay off longer, might be wishful thinking. Might be an interesting modification on your heater with the timer on it.
Congratulations on the CZcams success. I really enjoy your show. Look forward to seeing the results of your tests. There is one thing I noticed about the results you have so far. The tanks are sitting on top of the ground yet the ice seems to be only forming on the top of the water in the tank. Therefore as I said before the water below the ice is more likely close to 39º (4ºc). I suspect the bubbler is not circulating the water enough especially from the lower part of the tank where the water is warmer because at 39º water is at its most dense. Does the hardware store have a small pond pump you can try? Maybe one gal/min?
Congrats on 70k guys!! I love my daily dose of the Western life!!
You probably dont give a damn but does someone know of a method to get back into an Instagram account..?
I was stupid forgot the login password. I love any help you can offer me!
@Anders Santana instablaster :)
Your video was just suggested to me Jan 18 2020. An old passive nonelectric method is to (in warm weather) dig a dry well 4-5 feet deep. The diameter should be about 2 feet less than the diameter of the stock tank. A grate or cattle catcher is placed over the dry well to support the weight of the water. The ground seal should be air tight. Blocking is used the keep the stock tank from moving. That's it. The heat from the earth from five feet down (below the frost line) radiating up to heat the water will greatly extend the time of ice free water. It works here in north Idaho.
Nice Vid!! I’m looking to get involved in ranching soon, so came to this channel just to see your experience and maybe some tips! Thanks Mike, Cannon Brown
Thank you Cannon - Mike
Love your video's
Congrats.
I worked for a gentleman in SD many years ago who went around to construction sights and picked up bunches of scraps 2x4sand trimmed them to length then stood them up around the tank so they where touching then used a banding tool to secure them all together. It worked like an insulated tank. He said it saved a fortune.
Just so you know there is a massive cold air mass leaving AK right now. I believe it is about 800 miles wide. I was just east of Fairbanks last week and saw some brutal cold temps.I hope it misses you.
Happy number 2. Good luck in the future.
Congrats
Live above the Montgomery bar for a couple of year back in 2005 6 working in the patch and for paint brush services. Don't miss the wind
Very interesting experiment.. I like the scientific method.
The wind definitely chilled the water more than a 15F night should..
Do you know the water temp coming from the well?
Not as dramatic as mythbusters, but i always enjoy your videos!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Mike & Erin. With all the wind you get up there, have you considered wind generators during the winter ?
They actually have one. Mike said it well take twenty years,?, to pay for itself.
Years ago I read an article about heating a water tank by placing a 6 ft. pipe under it vertically. Seemed to me that it worked pretty well. All I could find was the following: Folks around here use a heat well. Auger a hole as deep as possible in the ground and place the tank above. The ground will heat the air in the hole and it will rise up to heat the tank. Insulation around the tank helps, just don't insulate the bottom. I'm not sure how cold a climate this will work in by itself, but might be part of the solution.
I was thinking of placing a water carboy next to the rank and covering it with rock wool insulation batts andthen covering it with dirt (so cows don't eat the insulation) OR bury the water carboy underground with an electric heater, the water would stay warm enough not to freeze and pump the water into the feed tank during the day using a simple solar panel for energy and or wind turbine (how often does the wind no blow and sun not shine ?). Water would freeze at night on very cold nights in the exposed feed tank but if the water inlet is above the tank it would put fresh water on top of the ice for cows to drink. Maybe a BLACK feed tank would heat up during the day ??? Anyway I am assume you will deliver water to the insulated water carboy on a regular basis.
interesting experiment, my eye caught the bike helmets in the back seat, in stark contrast to the hardhats in my truck. I also noted the empty room to work in? what's that like? heated workspace in the house, WoW !!!!
At our farm we use to have three stock tanks to fill during the winter and we have switched to three ritche omni founts3 and it was the best thing that we have done on our farm. Before we got the ritche waterers we had to check the stock tanks two times a day and weight 20-30 mins in the cold to fill each tank and hope that you dont accidently overfill them. With three tanks to fill we would some times run the well low on water after running for a hour or more. With the ritche waters we have, they have a 10 gallon trough that is on a float and we only have a 525 watt heater compared to 1500 heaters. They also use ground heat also and if you think about it if they drink water out of the tank it is getting replaced with 50 degree water and with only 10 gallons it is easier to heat then 200 gallons tanks that they replaced.
Mike, was there a difference in the thickness of the ice in the tank with the timer?
Thanks for sharing!
Woops, I asked the same question before I read yours.
Thanks for all of you hard work.Given me tons of ideas.im trying to live off the land and my well went dry.How to keep the water tank. with water from the river frim freezing?I think.ill get a heater for it.Living off grid with a deisal generator