[Mrs Snoodles]

 . We are reliant on IBC's located next to the pig paddocks.  The water within the IBC's should be fine, unless we get a shockingly cold prolonged spell.  The turning tap mechanism is a problem for us, it jams when frozen.  We wrapped towels and bubblewrap etc around them last year, which sort of worked but I don't think would stand up to a long spell of cold weather.

We are considering pre filling some IBCs located in barns as a back up which would probably do but I just wondered what everyone else does?   

[mwncigirl]

Thanks for posting this, sorry I don't have a solution   but we use IBC's as well so looking forward to some suggestions.

[ballingall]

What are IBC's?


Beth

[bloomer]

the big white plastic cubes that you can get to store water in!!!

[hughesy]

We use IBC's too. Haven't had a problem so far if ice does form in them it seems to be at the top of the water. As for preparing for winter it's not much different to the summer here in monsoon land aka North Wales.

[MAK]

Our 2 IBC were outside last winter and are now deformed after freezing solid. How cold will it get this year?
I am not going to move them into the barns but will empty them when the temperature drops. I just have to hope that we mains water when it goes below zero degrees.
 Last year  our water meter ( under a barn in a cellar that should not freeze) exploded with the cold - was replaced it but the pipes in the barn remained frozen for 2-3 weeks after. Inside the barn we lost our lemon tree,  a water pump and a pressure washer that had residual water left in them. Amazingly the cider froze in plastic bottles but tastes great.
I carried water from a tap in another barn and melted snow on the stove - some days the animals/birds water froze within just a few minutes.
In short - I do not expect to be able to use the IBCs when it gets very cold but hope that all the insulation I have put around the water meter, pipes and taps means that we have water in the house and near to the pigs and birds.

A 1000 litre block of ice takes a few weeks to defrost !     

[fiestyredhead331]

try smothering the tap mechanism in vaseline, making sure you get it in all the joints etc 

[Fowgill Farm]

We're on mains but hoses & taps do freeze despite lagging, so we end up lugging watering cans & buckets from the house in bad weather anyway. I think a back up IBC in the barn will have some protection and additionally covering it with a tarpaulin or bubble wrap or stack bales round it will hopefully mean your assets stay liquid!
Mandy

[Mrs Snoodles]

Vaseline......!!! That should do it, a very simple solution.  Brilliant...thanks
As for covering the IBC's themselves I'm looking into waterproof insulating materials and seeing if I could knock something together on my sewing machine - a big cover or something.

We are also considering tacking carpets onto the tin sow arcs but are a bit unsure about it. If the carpets get wet, they will surely just hold the cold (?).  Are we best of keeping these as flappy doors and making sure the arks are stuffed with straw.

I guess there is no simple solution unfortunately.  Just hard work.
Chatting to some old pig guys that had an indoor unit, they told me how much trouble they had with an underground piping system.  In cold winters it would freeze and stay solid so there job, for days on end, was just to literally keep hauling buckets of water around in the unit.  Literally all  day.  Water was critical to weigh gain, and at very worst, lack of water kicked off salt poisoning.

[MAK]

Making an insulated jacket for an IBC is a heck of a challenge but i guess it is worth it if it saves you lugging water.
Do you live in the North ?

What about carpet - bubble wrap - wrags/clothes then a waterproof over the tanks?
We will not be overwintering pigs this year. T think last years low temperatures were exceptional ( -20 and dip of -25 that we did for 2-3 weeks) but we can expect cold and snow and I will be moving the duck houses inside the barn as soon as I have finished off the outside door and a fenced area outside for them. How they survived outside in their hutches last year I don't know.

Best of luck with the insulation challenge.

[hughesy]

It would be quite easy to insulate an IBC. A couple of rolls of loft insulation then shrink wrap the whole thing maybe? Or some of the thick polystyrene sheet they use in cavity walls? Straw? Knit it a jumper? And at least if the ground's frozen solid you'll be able to move it easier so you could get it inside a building if you're lucky enough to have one.

[artscott]

We use a very low wattage submersible electric heater in our well for when it gets really cold top make sure we can have a supply of water in the house.  I’m sure you could use one in an IBC either on a float or dropped down to the bottom near the tap fitting.

They are pretty inexpensive to buy and run and only warm the water slightly (not hot).  I think they were originally designed for keeping a patch of domestic koi ponds free from ice in the winter.

With added insulation this should just about keep it free running at least. Loft type insulation is pretty cheep as it’s subsidised.  Go to the nearest bed warehouse and ask if you can have a couple of old plastic bags the mattresses are delivered in, put the insulation in the bags and wrap the whole lot around the tank. Clean, efficient and not too costly plus a little recycling.


Vaseline on the fittings will help but a silicon based grease may work better with plastics and rubbers used in valves.  The valves are not particularly designed for multiple uses so if you have a better valve you can fit in line and just leave the one from the IBC open it will be even better.

[MAK]

Artscroft reply is why this forum is so good. Great suggestions.

[Mrs Snoodles]

alot to think about here.  I hope others find it useful too thanks everyone

[Jaymac76]

I wrap a couple of cheap double bed quilts round my IBC then cover the lot with a tarpaulin so that it is waterproof works great for me.