Stock Tank Heater? was:need some help

[bies08]

So I farm part time and I want to used solar power to winterize my cattle with, which means I need atleast 2 stock tank heaters. The stock tank heaters pull 1500 watts a piece. I have running water there but no electricity so I can plug them in. I would assume id need a ac/dc converter but what would I need as far as solar panels and batteries to keep it heated all night? They only turn on when the temperature gets below 32 degrees. Sometimes it gets in single digits at nights but during the day its usually 25 or 30 degrees on the coldest days of the year. Any ideas?

[Naptown]

Extension cords? You don't even want to think about how much Solar would cost to run that.

[Wy_White_Wolf]

There are some ideas posted at Built it Solar but I can't get the site to pull them up right now.

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm#Animals

forget about PV and the tank heaters. It would be cheaper to to set a gas power genny and let it run 24hours a day to power the heaters.

Growing up I remember grandpa burying the tanks for insulation and floating tires in th tanks. They still froze but the tires would melt the ice around them so the pieces left were easy to remove.

WWW

[TnAndy]

You can run an underground feed a LONG dang way for what it would cost in solar to run 1500w heaters.

[Sunking]

Sometimes it gets in single digits at nights but during the day its usually 25 or 30 degrees on the coldest days of the year. Any ideas?

I can do this turn-key for about $200,000. Best offer you are going to get.