DuraMate Automatic Waterer

If hauling buckets to the stall has gotten old, this float-controlled waterer changes the chore. It hooks to a standard 3/4 inch garden hose and keeps a 4-gallon tub full, so your horses have fresh water whenever they want it, as long as the weather stays above freezing.

The float valve does the watching. When the water drops, the float opens the valve and fills the tub back up, so you aren't checking the level or topping it off between feedings. The molded polyethylene body takes barn knocks, and the included metal brackets let you hang it over a fence or on the wall.

Highlights

• Float valve keeps the tub full
• Hooks to a standard 3/4 inch garden hose
• 4-gallon tub for thirsty horses
• Impact-resistant polyethylene body
• Mounts over a fence or on a wall with included brackets
• Runs on 20 to 50 psi water pressure

Why an automatic waterer earns its place in the barn

Buckets get carried, spilled and kicked over, and they need refilling several times a day in a busy barn. An automatic waterer moves that job to the hose. Once it's set, the tub refills on its own, which frees your time for feeding, turnout and the rest of the chores.

The above-freezing window is where this style does its best work. Spring, summer and fall are when a hose-fed tub earns its keep, and it saves you a trip with a bucket to the spigot every time the heat comes on.

It works best where a hose reaches easily and the tub stays out of the way of horses that paw or play with water. Put it along a stall wall or on a paddock fence, where the brackets can hold it steady. In a turnout group, a tub that stays full means the herd doesn't line up at one bucket.

At a glance

How to use it

Set it up before the next hot stretch:

1. Pick a spot your garden hose reaches without kinking.
2. Mount the brackets over a fence or on a wall. Mounting hardware isn't included, so have bolts or screws ready.
3. Connect your garden hose to the female attachment on the waterer's 30-inch hose.
4. Turn on the water and check that the float shuts off when the tub is full.
5. When you clean the aisle, drain the tub and rinse out any grit near the float.

Good to know

• Have bolts or screws in hand before you start, since the brackets come without hardware.
• Set the tub where every horse can drink without being crowded out.
• Before a hard freeze, drain the waterer and bring it in, since it's built for above-freezing weather.
• Check the float during routine cleaning so the tub keeps filling the way it should.

About Miller Manufacturing

DuraMate is a Little Giant product from Miller Manufacturing. Miller Manufacturing started as a family-owned business in 1941 and now makes more than 1,000 farm, ranch and pet products. Little Giant, Double-Tuf and Pet Lodge are among its brands.

Set it up before the next hot stretch and let the float handle the bucket duty.