We received the nicest email and wanted to share it with you.

“I am not sure who to contact but I wanted to tell someone in your company how absolutely thrilled I am with your Ecofount 1. I just recently purchased this model from a local dealer after much research into automatic waterers. You see, about 8 years ago I purchased a Nelson Water product and from day one I had nothing but trouble. I have replaced the inside of the unit several times and from day one my horses refused to drink from it. It took weeks to get them close enough to attempt to take a drink. I would come home from work to find the unit had not shut off and water flowed for hours and flooded the pasture or during the summer would find the water was not working and my horses had been without water for hours in the heat and were dehydrated. Plus it was very expensive to heat during the winter months. The Nelson people were not anxious to offer suggestions and insisted they never had anyone with the problems I had over all the years. Most of the time they refused to even take my calls.

I had gone to a Clinton Anderson Clinic at his farm when he was in Belle Center, OH and I noticed your waterers everywhere. My horse was in a stall with one of your units and drank out of it very willingly. That was my first look at your products. I watch his TV show every week and see your commercials and was very impressed. When I had finally had enough with the Nelson water product I started looking thru the market for a replacement that might work for me. I always came back to your website and I decided to talk to several of your people at Trade Shows and on the phone before I was convinced to give you guys a try. I called customer service and told the person I talked to the issues I had with the Nelson and my situation with living in Michigan with the cold winters and hot summers. She suggested the ecofount1 and although afraid of purchasing another type of unit would only mean more problems and frustrations, I took a chance. Since the water line was already in and the cement pad was already there, we only had to make a few modifications. I was so thrilled when immediately after letting my horses in where the unit was they came right up to it and took a nice long drink from it. My horse actually loves to stand over the unit and play with the thermal cap. They are drinking much more water now than they ever did with the Nelson or the buckets I had to leave out in the pasture because the Nelson unit would always fail. One of the horses loves to scrap his teeth on the top of the unit and it only has a few marks on it and has held up extremely well to his abuse. I still worry and check it daily from habit and have not had one issue with your unit. I am so very happy that my horses now have access to fresh water all the time they are in there pasture.

I wonder now why it took so long for me to decide to try a different company. Your products are wonderful and your people are friendly and very helpful. I am telling my story to everyone I know. Thank you for all the care you put into making this product. ” ~Diana

This is an old Ritchie Waterer that they are using for their cattle.

Ritchie has been a long time supporter of Quakerdale, a not for profit organization that provide a safe environment for hope and healing to children and also doubles as a family setting learning environment called the Promise Academy which produces NCAA level basketball players.  For years, Quakerdale has had an equine program and most recently have started a sustainable agriculture program.  This program that not only will supply food for the students and staff but teach new skills and responsibilities to the kids and possibly offer them job skills.

I was incredibly excited to visit the facility based just south of Eldora, Iowa.  To have to opportunity to see the evolution of their new program was an something I couldn’t pass up.  I arrived for my tour and was greeted by Lalaina, a super sweet, incredibly focused young lady that I have had the pleasure of knowing for well over a year.  She was kind enough to take time out of her day to show me around their 600 acre farm.  We started in the garden where they had herbs and flowers in raised beds.  Of course it is September and this is their first year so things were looking as if they had the fall.  You know that time where you just allow things to go since you know it is the end of the season and the plants don’t look as lush and beautiful as they do at the beginning of the growing season.  A little further off was where they had pole beans, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos and maybe some other veggies that I failed to note.  This area will also grow with time.

At this point, they moved me on to what will one day be an outdoor and indoor Aquaponics area. Aquaponics is a combination of fish raising and Hydroponics.  The system filters water filled with the fish biproducts through a pump which enters one side of a bed full of pea rock.  This pea rock is where the seeds are planted which of course  eventually grows, using the fertilizer of the fish as nutrients.  This system will allow the facility to provide fresh produce and as the fish mature, fresh fish to the students cutting down on on Quakerdale’s food costs.

One of the tables located in the indoor Aquaponics area

Quakerdale also has cattle that they are currently trying to breed.  Eventually this will provide their meat.  As you can see these two have an old Ritchie that keeps plugging away to provide them with fresh water.

Quakerdale has 6 locations a second of which is just south of Marshalltown, Iowa.  This location is the place that the Quakerdale Equine Therapy program takes place.  Quakerdale’s Equine Therapy program is a  preventive and educational service where humans, horses, and hearts are reigned together to bring emotional, mental, spiritual, physical and social growth. Of course this location also has several Ritchie that hydrate the horses.  I will visit this location this fall to highlight their program.

I am looking forward to seeing how this project progresses and evolves.  Quakerdale operates on donations. If you would like to learn more about their organization, please follow the links below.

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/quakerdaleofiowa

Web - http://www.quakerdale.org

http://www.quakerdaleathletics.com

http://www.twitter.com/Quakerdale

The Cattle that Quakerdale is raising.

This information was put together by our distributor Ferguson Enterprises of Wisconsin, a state very familiar with extreme winters.  For optimum performance Ferguson provided tips that have worked for their cold weather climate.

• All waterlines should be buried one foot below your regional average frost line.  If installing beneath a driveway or well traveled path, this should be extended further down and protected with rigid insulation directly on top of the waterline as frost will be pushed deeper during the winter months from the travel above.
• Waterlines should be 160 psi HDPE or greater at a minimum of 3/4 inch for a unti with a 1/2 inch valve.
• Waterlines for units with 3/4 inch valves should be no smaller than 1 inch also of 160 psi or greater HDPE
• Stainless steel hose clamps and galvanized fitting are recommended at all waterline connections other than the final rubber hose length which utilizes plastic barbed fittings.
• PEX works well for the final run up the thermal tubes as it is durable in the event of a frozen condition and can be purchased in straight lengths.
• A ball valve should be installed a teach waterer for stopping the flow of water and servicing purposes.
• After installation of water lines is complete the water should be turned on and allowed to run for at least a minute to make sure all foreign material in the line can be blown out prior to hooking the waterline up to the valve.

Thank you Jeremy at Ferguson Enterprises 800-950-4882 for providing this very helpful information.

This morning, we were greeted with an incredible email from a person who was assisting with the tornado cleanup efforts in Oklahoma. During the month of May, the Camulet, OK area suffered a direct hit and many lost everything. While our hearts go out to all of those who have faced such devastating loss, this incredible story of how the Ritchies handled the massive tornado had to be shared.

 ”I have recently come from Calumet, OK , Where tornadoes wiped the family property completely out. I saw some of the most devastating images I have ever witnessed. Most importantly the family is well and untouched,Thank the good Lord. The farm was a complete loss, close to 100 head of sheep are missing or dead, and there house was leveled. Needless to say it was traumatic and devastating. Why am I telling you this, I am wanting to let you know that Clay had three barns, the barns have Ritchie waters with warmers, and in all thedestruction, the waters were the only things that made it. I think it is a true testament to your product. (even the lids remained ona few of the waters). I started taking pictures of the sights and I realized there were little yellow spots all over the farm. I just want you to know that your product is amazing and strong enough to with stand an EF5 tornado… manyother products did not and might be found in the next county or state. We all go through tough situations, but we have to find the humor in it somewhere, so thanks for making us smile when we looked out there across that farm and saw the might little yellow water that held tight for dear life. We have many on our own farm also and love them, hope seeing these pictures makes Ritchie smile the way we all did. Thank you for a great product you can stand behind, and be proud of.

 Sincerely, Staci of Texas”

Recently we received a question asking why a depost accumulates in stainless steel troughs where the heaters are located.  Below is a detailed answer provided by our engineer Rob.

If there is a deposit of a hard, off-white, chalky material in the bottom of your watering fountain trough right above where the heat element is mounted then you have limescale build-up. Limescale is mainly caused by the precipitation of calcium carbonate which is the dissolved salts responsible for hard water. Chalk, limestone, marble and travertine deposits are prevalent in many areas and are composed of calcium carbonate crystals. CaCO3. When rainwater falls on these deposits on the ground they are slowly dissolved because rainwater is slightly acidic. The combination of H20 which is water and CO2 which is carbon dioxide forms a weak acid called carbonic acid. The CO2 will remain dissolved in the water and so the calcium carbonate will stay in solution in an ionic state as Ca+ and CO3- ions as long as the water remains cool. However, if the water is heated, the CO2 immediately comes out of solution and so the pH (acidity) of the water is reduced. This causes the calcium and carbonate ions to recombine into their original form as chalk or limescale. Because the heating element is where this release of the CO2 happens, this is where the limescale is most likely to precipitate. The simple answer is not to have hard water but instead use soft water or softened water. If you’re unlucky enough to live in an area of hard water then you will need to treat your water if you wish to remove the limescale problem.

So the next question would be “Why not remove the heating elements from direct contact with the calcium carbonate rich water to prevent the build-up?”  The simple answer is because of the heating efficiencies. The transfer of heat from the heating element to the water with direct contact will give you the greatest efficiency and any air space will give you considerably less. With air space between the heater and the water trough you are essentially heating the air and then the air is heating the trough and the water. Your potential heating efficiency will be reduced greatly and you could see your electric bill go up as much as 200%. While it is true that the build-up of limescale will reduce the efficiency it will not reduce it as much as putting air space between the heating element and the water trough. 

For more information about Ritchie automatic waterers please visit http://www.ritchiefount.com or our online store http://www.ritchieequine.com.