JasonE

I don't think it really matters. My barrel did have a lid but the function wouldn't be affected if you didn't have a lid. I just wanted to keep bugs and dirt out as best I could so I made sure I got a barrel that had a lid. but you could easily use one without.

Hi! Thanks for the comment! I, too, live where it gets cold enough to freeze in the winter but my plan was to have the pigs processed each year before encountering that problem so I didn't design the waterer for cold weather. However, this past winter the animals weren't ready so we went into winter which meant I had to re-rig some things. I ended up disconnecting the hoses and attaching the nipple things directly to the barrel and moved the barrel onto the ground atop a couple pallets. I tied the barrel to the fence so it didn't get taken on a tour of the pen. I filled it by hand from a frost-free faucet and I also put a submersible heater into the barrel itself to keep it from freezing. It didn't work the best (it gets REAL cold where I live) but I was generally able to keep the...

Hi! Thanks for the comment! I, too, live where it gets cold enough to freeze in the winter but my plan was to have the pigs processed each year before encountering that problem so I didn't design the waterer for cold weather. However, this past winter the animals weren't ready so we went into winter which meant I had to re-rig some things. I ended up disconnecting the hoses and attaching the nipple things directly to the barrel and moved the barrel onto the ground atop a couple pallets. I tied the barrel to the fence so it didn't get taken on a tour of the pen. I filled it by hand from a frost-free faucet and I also put a submersible heater into the barrel itself to keep it from freezing. It didn't work the best (it gets REAL cold where I live) but I was generally able to keep the nipples from freezing (the pigs helped too by biting them) and the tank heater kept the water in the tank from becoming a block of ice.I hope this is helpful!

Nice 'ible! Clear and easy to follow! Good work!

Incredible project! Well done and well documented! You've got my vote for sure!