Hi! I built this waterer this weekend & it didn't seem to be heating the water which remained cold (it was inside the house). I had never used heat cable so called the manufacturer (Frost King model HC06, 6' cable) to see if it came on at a certain temp so I didn't have to take it all apart. We insulated ours between the buckets & had to cut the outside bucket up the side so it would go around the inside bucket with the cable & thin layer of insulation. We used heat tape to secure it all together.

The manufacturer confirmed it came on at 38 & turned off at 45. He did tell me, however, that they cannot support the indication of how the cable is being used because it can overheat. I know he has a liability given it's "off label" use but I'm wondering if you've heard of anyone having any cases of overheating that would indicate not to use this? I spent a LOT of time building this with my fiance & now that it's done, I'm a bit frustrated with his statement. Thanks!

Amy --- I'm sorry you're frustrated! We've had our heat tape waterers going for two winters now, and the only problem we had was when the power went out for several days, the water froze solid and the heat tape wasn't enough to thaw it out. (The easy solution was to dump the ice, put in fresh water, and then keep going with the heat tape waterer.)

I know many of our other customers have had good luck with the heat tape waterers over the last couple of winters too, but I can't definitively say there would be no hazard from breaking the manufacturer's rules. I suspect the worst that would happen, though, would be that the heat tape might melt through the bucket if it gets too hot and the water could drain out. To hedge your bets, you might consider plugging it into a GFCI so a breaker will flip if there's any problem. Good luck!