“No Freeze” Livestock Waterer
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Faced with the rising costs of electricity, Saskatchewan livestock farmer David Flundra decided he needed to do something different with his cattle waterers. He sat down with his son Dustin and their engineer friend Lowy Gunnewiek to design an energy-free water bowl system that could handle the most extreme cold.
“We did some brainstorming about the features we liked or didn’t like in other waterers and came up with our own,” says Flundra.
They produced two sizes, the SB-2, a double column 120-gal. system built to handle about 100 cows, and the SB-3, a triple column 192-gal. unit sized for 200 plus cows. The waterers also work for pigs, bison, elk and goats.
The black poly columns measure 8 ft. in length and are buried in the ground to a depth of just under 7 ft. leaving approximately 20 in. sticking up out of the ground. Water enters through a brass fitting 6 1/2-ft. underground and rises through a tube in the central column to a valve and ball float assembly near the top. A separate tube runs between the columns to equalize the water level. The water supply valve can be opened or closed from the top with a simple T-shaped tool.
“The water entering at the bottom is always warmer from the ground heat,” Flundra says. “As animals drink, it equalizes in all columns. It’s constantly self-circulating as it changes position throughout.”
The columns are fully insulated with pre-cut molded dense foam insulation. In the upper 2 to 3 ft., the insulation value is increased to R50 to protect it from the more extreme elements.
“You’ll sometimes get a small amount of ice buildup in the drinking bowls as opposed to the center column with the valve and float assembly because it’s encased with insulation and a lid to contain heat.”
Flundra says the waterers can be installed anywhere a water line can be trenched. He recommends using 1 1/4-in. pipe but size calculations for long distances can be made depending on pump capacity. A 1 1/2-hp. variable speed pump in his own farm’s water source easily handles numerous waterers while pumping through 5 miles of buried water pipe.
The units are built at Flundra’s home ranch in Maple Creek and can be shipped anywhere throughout North America. A South Dakota distributor handles much of the U.S. market.
The SB-2 sells for $2,100 and the SB-3 for $2,500 (CAD), plus S&H.
. “We have inventory, so we never have to tell anyone to wait,” says Flundra. “Plus, I’m easy to reach on the phone so if you’ve got an issue, you’ll be talking to the guy who built and designed them, not a recorded message. On top of that, if I can’t take care of the problem over the phone, I’ll come to you and fix the issue.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, David Flundra, Stock Boss, P.O. Box 477, Maple Creek, Sask., Canada S0N 1N0 (ph 833-662-2449; cattle.creek@xplornet.com; www.stockboss.ca).
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“No Freeze” Livestock Waterer LIVESTOCK Feeding Equipment Faced with the rising costs of electricity Saskatchewan livestock farmer David Flundra decided he needed to do something different with his cattle waterers He sat down with his son Dustin and their engineer friend Lowy Gunnewiek to design an energy-free water bowl system that could handle the most extreme cold “We did some brainstorming about the features we liked or didn’t like in other waterers and came up with our own ” says Flundra They produced two sizes the SB-2 a double column 120-gal system built to handle about 100 cows and the SB-3 a triple column 192-gal unit sized for 200 plus cows The waterers also work for pigs bison elk and goats The black poly columns measure 8 ft in length and are buried in the ground to a depth of just under 7 ft leaving approximately 20 in sticking up out of the ground Water enters through a brass fitting 6 1/2-ft underground and rises through a tube in the central column to a valve and ball float assembly near the top A separate tube runs between the columns to equalize the water level The water supply valve can be opened or closed from the top with a simple T-shaped tool “The water entering at the bottom is always warmer from the ground heat ” Flundra says “As animals drink it equalizes in all columns It’s constantly self-circulating as it changes position throughout ” The columns are fully insulated with pre-cut molded dense foam insulation In the upper 2 to 3 ft the insulation value is increased to R50 to protect it from the more extreme elements “You’ll sometimes get a small amount of ice buildup in the drinking bowls as opposed to the center column with the valve and float assembly because it’s encased with insulation and a lid to contain heat ” Flundra says the waterers can be installed anywhere a water line can be trenched He recommends using 1 1/4-in pipe but size calculations for long distances can be made depending on pump capacity A 1 1/2-hp variable speed pump in his own farm’s water source easily handles numerous waterers while pumping through 5 miles of buried water pipe The units are built at Flundra’s home ranch in Maple Creek and can be shipped anywhere throughout North America A South Dakota distributor handles much of the U S market The SB-2 sells for $2 100 and the SB-3 for $2 500 CAD plus S&H “We have inventory so we never have to tell anyone to wait ” says Flundra “Plus I’m easy to reach on the phone so if you’ve got an issue you’ll be talking to the guy who built and designed them not a recorded message On top of that if I can’t take care of the problem over the phone I’ll come to you and fix the issue ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup David Flundra Stock Boss P O Box 477 Maple Creek Sask Canada S0N 1N0 ph 833-662-2449; cattle creek@xplornet com; www stockboss ca
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