I found THESE.
I only ordered one, so I could see the quality in person, and so I could try it out. UPS was on the road very late tonight - with snow and ice and now rain, I am impressed that they kept delivering! - and the bucket insulator arrived.
It is very nice - excellent quality, aesthetically pleasing, and I will try it out tomorrow and see if the Big Bay gives it his stamp of approval. Then, if it works, I will order a couple more!
I'll have to figure something else out for the donkeys and Salina, who drink from big HorseTech buckets on the ground.
And the water troughs, although I discovered that filling them to the brim before sunset and removing every chip of ice in the a.m. and on through the day help immensely.
It looks like a good idea and it might work. Let us know what you think of it after a really cold freezing night.
ReplyDeleteWill do - if it doesn't work, it has already been tested and pre-approved as a cat cozy. :)
ReplyDeleteWe're too cold here - we have to use heaters for the troughs and heated buckets in the barn, and they work well for us. Glad you found an alternative to try.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kate. I won't be able to test this in sub-zero temps, but apparently the company making the cozy did do that.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like they have been working on a design for the bigger water troughs as well - I'm interested to see those when they finish.
There are a number of solar designs out there, and a home-made version where you build a box around the trough and then use stall waste as insulation in the space between the box and trough. That plus partially covering the top seems to work, according to the reports I read.
I'm aiming to get our barn off the grid completely so am always looking for alternatives!
It will be interesting to see if Keil Bey leaves it on the bucket. Knowing how curious he can be, I can see him investigating already.
ReplyDeleteI confess I have not even put it on yet - very busy week/weekend - but will do so tomorrow. If Keil perceives it as something for his Kingliness, he probably won't mess with it. :) If he thinks it's something I'm trying to foist onto him... maybe.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your report on this.
ReplyDeleteStill haven't gotten it out there and put onto the bucket! I had my writing group here this weekend, so it's been a bit crazy with the foxhunting prep, then trying to get into writing mode (which I totally did) and now I have two sick teens needing some attention. But tomorrow will be the day, I think.
ReplyDelete