Thoughts on Nelson waterers or other brand

[wgc517]

Looking for some advice.

I want to install an automatic waterer in my field. The only real brand I am familar with is Nelson, the unit plus heater will cost about $700. It is the serie 760 24" high. I am ok with the price if it is the best one out there vaule wise, ease of use, etc. I live in Pa if that helps.

Anyone want to share some of their experiences. We plan on installing ourselves unless you can recommend a brand that can offer installation.

thanks

[karenkarenn]

Hello
I Live in a cold dry climate. I tried to install the Nelson watering system with the heater and it didnt do to well. It froze many times.
Karen

[martha c. green]

I have used tha Nelson H2'oers for years and they always need to be worked on for one thing or another. I am having them all taken out ( anyone want them???) There is a H2'oer called VARNAN that looks like the real deal. Some of the farms in Ky are useing them and the feed back is good. htt://www.varnwaterers.com Good Luck

[cng]

Nelson waterers are a PITA. If you already have a stock tank use this:

$ 35.75 #8713 1” McDONALD Float Valve has a brass valve body that houses 18713 a rubber ball. The float arm is made of cast iron and is 19” long with a hole in the end for mounting your flat tank float.

https://www.hardwareworld.com/A-Y-Mcdonald-b10KBHE.aspx

[majxmom]

Gee, I'm glad I never bought the Nelson like I wanted, after reading this feedback. I saw one in use at Longmeadow Rescue Ranch in MO, and it looked nice. The Ritchie waterer also looks intriguing. It's nice that you can pull out the plug and the whole thing empties quick for cleaning. Also you can put one waterer between two paddocks with some models.

I've always wanted to get a float-filler for my tanks, but the cheapie that I bought was wrenched off by a horse's mouth within a few hours. cng, do you think the McDonald will stand up to a horse pulling on it?

[da hossman]

After numerous problems I replaced 30+ Nelsons on a big KY farm I ran in the 1990's with MiraFonts - never had a problem. Installed them on my new farm 4 years ago - had one freeze up this past winter when we had 10 straight days below freezing and there were no horses in that field - hairdryer plugged into cigarette lighter thawed it without breaking pvc.

I installed the MiraFonts without electricity - 8 ft of 24 " corrugated plastic pipe set vertically with the waterer on top - waterline runs into corrugated pipe and then goes up into the waterer itself.

[pokeyman]

We have them and live in New England and they have never frozen up and it gets cold here. We LOVE them and have had them almost 10 years!! The only maintenance we have done is to replace filters (our problem from digging new well).

But, THE largest cost is in setting them up correctly. You have to dig a really, really deep water line and set everything up correctly or you will be screwed later on. I have talked to people that tried to save money by not digging the recommended depth not insulating the pipes or not having a licensed electrician WITH experience with Nelsons setting them up and they have run into problems.

But, if you do it right at the beginning than you should have no problems. I can't recommend them enough.....

[Blue feather]

I also live im PA. I have had good luck with Ritchie waterers. They are less expensive than the Nelson waterers and I installed them myself. I have never had a problem with freezing. They are simple to install and easy to clean.

[Jean]

We live in the frozen north Canada and Ritchie all the way. Will stay thawed through blizzards and -40 weather as long as the power stays on!