Reviews by baldessariclan

We've used this type of waterer for several years now. Our first one rusted out in a couple seasons, I think mainly due to the fact that we never bothered to clean it out very well. With our second one, I usually scrub out the bottom every couple months, and has held up about 3 years now without rusting.

I like the 2 gallon capacity -- doesn't need to be refilled as often as the other plastic 1 gallon waterer we use in the summers. It is easy to carry full of water by using the internal handle (i.e. the one in the "tank", with the top off). When I get out to the coop after refilling, I put top on there and then hang it back up.

To hang by the outside handle (i.e. the one on the top), it needs to be modified in some way to keep it from sliding to one side or the other and spilling all the water out. We did this by lashing the handle with some thick cord, leaving a gap in the middle for the hanging hook. It now hangs securely from the middle of that outer handle, with no room for the hook to slide off to either side.

We have experimented with several different types of heated waterers for winter usage, and this one has been about the most popular with us, so far. We've used it for 3 winters now, and is still working fine. Red plastic base has sun-faded a bit, but not cracked or deteriorated functionally yet. We only use it in winter, though -- have found it easier switch back to a couple smaller 1 gallon unheated waterers for use during the summer.

I especially like the built in thermostatic switch -- you just plug it in and forget about it. It will only turn on / apply heat when necessary (i.e. whenever outside temps fall below freezing) -- automatically remains off when warmer out.

We place ours on top of a short stack of square paving bricks, with a dense foam pad placed at top of bricks for waterer base to sit on (i.e. to help insulate base from heat conduction into the cold rock below). As others have noted, the brick base needs to be fairly level to avoid spillage issues. I would NOT recommend hanging this one from the plastic handle if fairly full of water -- it will be too heavy.

When fairly full of water, it can be somewhat weighty and awkward to carry. In this case, recommend only partially filling the font before carrying -- makes it easier, especially for smaller and/or younger folk. I find it easiest to fill the font with the base off, screw the base back on while upside-down, and then carry entire assembly still upside-down back to the coop before flipping back over and placing on the brick base. Once again, if too tricky / awkward for some, try it with less water to see if that helps.