The idioms like „The greedy man pays twice“ and „Buy nice or buy twice“ come from the bitter experience of a wrong shopping choice. The purpose of this article is to highlight the crucial qualities that water troughs should obtain and to help farmers to choose the best livestock drinking trough.
The best livestock drinking trough should combine several features. First of all, it should be versatile – for all types of cattle, sheep, goats, and horses. Moreover, a good water trough should be practical, which means it should be suitable in all places in the barn. Sometimes, obstructions, such as a concrete post, corner, or wall can prevent the water trough from being installed. The best livestock drinking trough should take these obstacles into account and adapt to them. Furthermore, one of the biggest problems with the drinking troughs is to keep them clean. The clean water trough is a basic part of providing adequate daily care for your animals. Consequently, the water trough should be easy to clean and maintain. In addition, the ideal water trough should be equipped with a heating system. In many countries, winter temperatures drop below zero, and farmers are forced to deal with freezing water problems. In such cases, heated water troughs are the best solution. Finally, the drinking trough should be adaptable to all types of surfaces in the barn, such as concrete and grids.
Leading manufacturer of livestock equipment in the Czech Republic FARMTEC a.s. combined all these parameters (and even more) and created a universal water trough for all animal types.
Main features of FARMTEC water troughs:
FARMTEC water troughs are versatile
The troughs are suitable for all kinds of cattle, sheep, goats, and horses.
FARMTEC water troughs adapt to all types of barns
The troughs consist of two separate parts. From the trough foot and the trough body (the last consists of a hot-dip galvanized skeleton and a stainless steel tub with a water surface). The body of the through can be turned to the left or the right side, depending on the walls, posts, and barn construction.
FARMTEC water troughs adjust to all types of the barn floors
The troughs can be stalled as on/in the concrete floor, hence on the grids.
Quick and easy cleaning of FARMTEC water troughs
- The entire inner surfaces of the waterer (walls and bottom) are accessible, smooth, and unobstructed.
- The float chambers are easy to clean – the stainless steel enclosure prevents animals from accessing the float, but the operator is able to open the cover quickly and easily without tools.
- A large drain plug – large dirt after draining is slightly washed off, and the water is quickly drained away.
- It’s possible to select a left or right location for the drainage spout, when cleaning the waterer the drainage water can also be connected directly to the sewer.
FARMTEC water troughs are water saving
- Water savings – the waterers have a volume corresponding to the needs of animals.
- The flow rate of the inlet valve is 0.3 MPa (3 atm) to 50 L / min at water line pressure.
FARMTEC water troughs don’t freeze in winter
- The heated cable is located in the double bottom, as well as at the base of the drinker, at the water inlet.
- The inlet valve cannot freeze, as it is located under the surface of the water that heats up.
- The waterer’s foot and body are insulated with polystyrene and mineral wool insulation.
- While the electricity works, the waterer doesn’t freeze – in operating tests up to – 20 °C.
- Supply voltage 230 V / 50 Hz.
The robust construction of FARMTEC water troughs and long service life
- The waterer’s outer part is hot-dip galvanized, the inner part (where the water is filled), is made of stainless steel.
- The stainless steel waterers are suitable especially for deep beds and for places where the waterer’s foot is permanently in contact with the slurry.
- The waterers are mounted on the concrete, their height should be adapted to the animal category (recommended waterer levels are given in the instruction manual).
- Unlike tilting types of drinkers, FARMTEC drinkers do not wear out the supply cables and hoses due to constant movement, there are no open places. Thus, with proper concrete quality, there is no risk of rodents entering the drinkers, which is a common problem with tipping types.
