Recent content by mcantrell71

yeah, I really wanted to just go passive solar, but I just cannot figure out how to keep the structure intact (goats, pigs, cows)

well, most of that info was in post #1.

I am not resistant to anything. I do believe that you must be magnifying the perceived benefit of this "roof" quite dramatically. Besides, if you have worked with livestock (particularly goats), you soon learn that they will destroy anything they have the opportunity to do so.

pretty sure propylene glycol is harmless, and there would be no leak points inside a tank. I am trying to avoid electricity. My most expensive electric bill last year was January--even higher than running the air conditioner in July. All because of livestock water

Let me try another approach. If i use a 1500w tank heater element to keep 100 gallons from freezing, and it is effective, how much heat transfer piping/flow is needed to achieve the equivalent of that 1500w?

If they use geothermal ground loops to temper housing in the thousands of square ft., Im sure keeping a 100 gallons of water from freezing is relatively easy.

Possibly, but they both DO FREEZE. Even tightly covered with a lid, I would assume they would freeze at 0 F

Despite you discouragement, I will just build the system and see what performance i can achieve. Cheers

I am still confused. When you say "roof", are you implying that it can be any height above the water surface (vs. a lid covering the tank)? A tank full of water in the barn (with a full roof overhead) freezes just as quickly as one outside.

I understand your perspective here....which is why i have done exactly that up until this point. I have about half of the materials to construct the system on hand already, and I will be trenching new water lines to various locations on my 160 acres. Burying pipe is WAY cheaper than burying...

Thank you for the explanation. What I don't know how to do is run the calculations. I know it is not simple

I'm not sure I follow this. The solar panel is a PV panel to power the circulation pump for the ground loop. The trough has to remain open for animals to drink.

Greetings from Kansas, USA. I am a jack of all trades kind of guy, driven by problem solving. Currently developing my farm/ranch for self-sufficiency and income replacement. Tons of ideas and projects, just need time to work on them all. Matto0)

Looking to build a suitable closed loop water (probably glycol mix) circulation system to prevent livestock water troughs from freezing. I assume that I need to calculate how much heat loss is predicted from the water tank in ambient air (varies, but assume worst case), then what length of heat...