Ritchie Fount | Ritchie Equine | Products

Tags » ‘cattle waterer’

Debunking Automatic Waterer Myths

Posted in Articles
August 18th, 2011 by Ruth Peterson

Being in business for 90 years has allowed us to hear and understand what customers and other watering companies are saying about automatic waterers.  Below is a collection of the most popular automatic waterer myths and truths of 2011.

Myth – Electric heated waterers are unsafe and can cause your animal harm.

Truth – Electricity and automatic waterers have been combined much longer than any unheated unit has been on the market.  With modern regulations, each waterer put on the market that is CE, UL, CSA rated must meet a very high standard of safety.  Installing the waterer to the manufactures recommendations, including installing a ground rod under the unit, will help increase the safety of the unit and eliminate the chances of stray voltage carrying over to the unit.  Electric heated waterers have been and continue to be the most popular choice among automatic waterer owners especially in areas that have severe winters.    Thousands of these waterers are sold every year with no incidents.

Myth – Electrically heated units are expensive to run during the winter

Truth – With modern day technology, insulated automatic waterers can run throughout the winter for pennies a day.  They are fully insulated and efficient at the same time giving you the peace of mind that your waterers are open on the coldest days.  The newest combination plastic/steel trough waterers will run in the most severe climates for under $20 for the entire season

Myth – If a large animal, cattle or horse for instance, kicks an automatic waterer that features a float and valve system, the valve will stick causing it to stay open and flood the area around it.

Truth – This is completely false.  The float and valve system is the most popular among automatic waterers.  This system is safely housed inside the automatic waterer protecting it from the impact that kicking and rubbing may cause.  The float and valve system was developed and patented in 1921 which set the standard of waterering from that point on.  This system could not have sustained 90 years of top market performance if it failed each time an animal kicked the unit. 

Myth – Paddle type, energy free automatic waterers do not freeze.

Truth -The design of these units allows water to drain as and after the animals drink. However, if any debris/feed etc gets into the bowl, it will plug the hole where the water drains out.  This will cause it to freeze and/or over run. 

When doing research for an automatic waterer be sure to consider what will work best for you and what has proven to have continued reliability.  Ritchie Industries has been providing reliable and durable automatic waterers for 90 years.  For more information on Ritchie Waterers, please visit http://www.RitchieFount.com.

Tags:
No Comments »

WaterMaster 1200 – Did you know?

Posted in WaterMaster Family
May 13th, 2011 by Ruth Peterson

ritchie watermaster 1200 commonly used for diary and other large herds

Did you know the Ritchie WaterMaster 1200 holds only 60 gallons of water in comparison to the competitors 110 gallons?

The benefits of this to you are:

1.    There is fresher water available for your dairy cattle, the longer water stands in a trough the more apt it is to become stagnant and have higher levels of algae and bacterial growth. With only 60 gallons in the trough at a time, the water turnover is more frequent.  Considering 80-90% of the end product you produce is water, don’t you agree it should be a higher quality of water they are consuming?

2.    Heating water costs money. Should you be required to heat your waterers during the winter months, you will be heating half as much volume of water with our units as you would with our competitors.  Depending on the weather conditions experienced (extreme cold winter) this additional cost can add up quite rapidly. 

3.   Less water also means less water waste. When cleaning the WaterMaster 1200, you will be putting less water into your manure system, reducing waste costs later on (manure handling). 

  • For example, if you have 20 Watermaster 1200’s and you clean them twice a month, you will only be adding 28,800 gallons of water to your manure storage per year.  If you have our competitors unit and clean at the same frequency you will be adding 52,800 gallons per year.  Multiply that by your cost per gallon to transport and spread your manure, you will see the amount of money you can save by purchasing a Ritchie versus the competition.  

4.    Ritchie waterers also have a ten year limited warranty.  Poly products are protected against manufacturer defect for five full years, than prorated for the five years.  That is five years longer than any other manufacturer in the industry.

Jeremy Tritten is the Ritchie Industries Accounts Manager for Ritchie distributor Ferguson Enterprises.  Ferguson Enterprises is the Ritchie Distributor for Wisconsin, W. UP Michigan, and the majority of Illinois.  Jeremy and other Ferguson representives can be reached by calling 800-950-4882, by visiting http://www.ferguson-ritchiefounts.com.  You can also connect with Ferguson Enterprises by visiting their Facebook page.
Tags:
No Comments »
Ritchie Fount | Ritchie Equine