FROZEN WATER

[Northchickenmomma]

I live off grid where Temps drop to -20 Celsius or more. The tricks with rubber black bowl, a ball in water etc.. don't work half the time. Has anyone tried a solar pond aerators? Or anything else that truly works. The brands you like or to stay away from would be great!

 

[cavemanrich]

Since you are off grid, electric heaters are off the list. Solar power gets challenging. Yes it is possible, but costly.
Give this idea a try.
Source a few stone boulders, Picture below shows approximate size to look for.

Keep a few near a source of heat inside home. Drop a boulder into bowl of water at intervals you see fit. (change out,,,swap with fresh warm ones)
Stone holds a considerable amount of heat for as long as it can.
If you cant find any boulders,,, then make your own from concrete cement. Cement needs to be well cured before using. (at least one week)
Place less than ideally cured cement stones into phasic bags, and into water to transfer warmth.
Once cement is well cured,,, no need for plastic bag.


WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[HenHangout]

A solar pond aerator may work. I don't have one but I do have a solar powered wireless irrigation system I got for cheap sitting around unused. I just set it outside in a 5 gallon bucket of water. I was hoping to have it cycle the water every hour, but upon setup its limited to '6 plans' for some reason so I set it to cycle water for 30 minutes every 4 hours.

I think anything that disrupts the water surface may work. As a test I put brine and rocks into a 1 liter bottle and threw together a makeshift 'wind catcher' to make it move around as much as possible.

It looks pretty pathetic but I was in a rush since I have guests arriving soon. I'll let you know how it goes

 

[saysfaa]

I thought the hot stone method would work to extend the time until the water freezes. And it will, at least theoretically, but not as well as the water it displaces or as well as a bottle of very hot water because water has a heat index that is so much higher. In either case, it is easier to insulate the waterer. Of course, you could do both at the same time.

The only practical method I know of is geothermal. That is how pond aerators work in ponds. They pull up the water warmed by the heat of the earth at the bottom of the pond.

If the "pond" is too shallow for that because it is a stock tank or chicken waterer then the aerator won't keep the average temperature from dropping more slowly. It will keep the surface liquid longer by making the water cool more evenly instead of in from the sides as much as it otherwise would. That might be all you need if you change out the water with warmer water periodically.

You don't need a deep "pond" to use geothermal. You can use a dry hole that is deeper than your frost line. When I get enough internet connection, I'll edit to add a link to the post that talks about that way.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...life-experiences-works.1647649/#post-28245414

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...keep-water-thawed.835422/page-3#post-28216341

I didn't look very carefully now but I think the two threads above share the same video.