Heated Water Buckets

JoAnn

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:( Be careful with the heated 5 gallon horse water buckets! I had them...used them faithfully 1 1/2 seasons. Last winter I had one start on fire! Nearly lost my little barn and 2 horses. My husband saved the day! he saw the flickering light in the barn and realized quickly that it was a fire. He had just been down there and filled the buckets, then turned them on. He grabed a fire extinguser from the garage and was able to put it out. Only the cord, bucket and wall on which it was hung and the mat below were damaged. In just a few minutes all would have been lost!
I had the fire inspector invetigate. He determined that these buckets are a problem because they hang in the stall and we clean them daily, each time we are lifting them and flexing the cord at the base of the bucket to dump the remaining water and debris into the wheelbarrow. The constant flexing of the cord will cause an eventual break in the wires inside the rubber coating and that will eventually lead to a short AND a potential fire.
I have pictures of the burnt bucket if anyone would like to see the damage, sent me a request message.
I am currently on the hunt for a safer solution to having reasonably warm water in the stalls for the show horses!
 

ksalvagno

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Bird bath water heaters work good in 5 gallon buckets. I use them in my 5 gallon buckets for alpacas. I have had 3 of mine for at least 8 years now.
 

ducks4you

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Never used them. NOW, I have a new reason to just use rubber buckets. The ice breaks up easier in those, anyway.
 

freemotion

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I am in Zone 4-5 and have successfully used a home-made insulated bucket in my run-in shed all winter. I used a muck bucket with a five-gallon pail suspended in it, and the resulting space was filled with foam packing peanuts and "Great Stuff" spray insulation. I cut a piece of plywood to fit the top of the muck bucket, and cut a hole in it to suspend the pail. It works great. It rarely froze, even in below-zero weather, especially if I filled it with warm water.

I bleach it out and use it as a cooler in the summer, too! It holds ice all day at an outdoor party at temps close to 100.
 

dianneS

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Wow, good to know. I only use my heated bucket outside and only on the very coldest nights of the year inside the barn. I would have never thought of them starting a fire!
 
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