Whether we like it or not, winter is coming. That means cold wind, ice, snow and freezing temperatures. Before all of this appears at our door step, prepare your waterer for winter.
We are often asked how to test the heaters in our automatic waterers when the weather is still warm. While we have detailed cold weather preparation pages listed throughout our website, I would like to answer this specific question.
The begining step is quite simple really. Make sure the power source to the unit is on if you are testing an all metal or combination steel and poly unit. Once you have established that the power source is on, pour ice into the trough causing the water temperature to decrease which will indicate to the thermostat that it needs to start working. If working, the heaters will turn on and begin warming the water.
If you have an all poly unit, before replacing the immersion heater into the unit for winter, plug the heater into an outlet and drop it in a pale or bucket of ice water and check to ensure it becomes hot to the touch.
In either cases, if the heaters do not become hot, now is the time to replace them. For smaller units, you will find heating components online at http://www.ritchieequine.com otherwise, please feel free to contact us for assistance.
For detailed information on how to prepare your Ritchie Waterer for the winter, please follow this link.
[...] You can read more on how to test your heaters for winter here. Should you find that you need a replacement heater, please feel free to contact your local dealer [...]