Mirafount 3354-S - unheated waterer

Miraco rates it for 200 head beef or 90 head dairy. It holds 70 gallons and refills as animals drink.

No. The 3354-S is energy free. Two to three inches of urethane insulation, extra insulation above the valve and the roll away ball closures hold the heat that the water and the ground below frost supply. Energy free units depend on animals drinking often enough to keep water moving. If your group is small, or you water through long cold stretches, the E-Fount 3354-SE is the same body with heat built in.

Miraco builds a sloped bottom into these units, which is a MiraFount exclusive. Sediment works toward the drain instead of settling in the corners, so pulling the drain plug empties and rinses it quickly. The dome comes off for the valve and the float, so nothing inside is buried.

Set the unit on a level pad with the water line coming up inside the base, bolt it down, hook up the supply and set the float. The instruction manual is on this page, so you can plan the pad and the line before the unit arrives.

The dome comes off and the valve and float are right there. Nothing is buried, so a float adjustment or a valve change is a short job, and every part inside is listed on the MiraFount 3354-S parts breakdown.

Four 9.5 inch openings with 10.75 inch ball closures, convertible. Miraco roll away ball closures cover each opening. An animal pushes the ball down to drink and it rolls back into place afterward, so there is nothing in the animal's face while it drinks and the water is never left open to the cold air.

The 3354-S is a freight item at a shipping weight of 152 pounds. Complete the freight quote form and we will price the delivery for you. This item is available for pick-up in Grinnell, Iowa.

The water level. These units have a small anti airlock hole drilled in them, and the level has to sit below that hole. If the water comes up to the hole or above it, the valve may leak continuously. Adjust the float down until the level rests below the hole before you replace anything. There are photos of the hole further up this page, one from inside the trough and one from outside.

It is a small drilled hole in the wall of the unit. Look for it from inside the trough, and you can also see it from outside next to a mounting screw. It exists to stop an air lock from forming. The only thing you have to do with it is keep the water level under it.

No, and not in the dead of winter either. There should always be a gap between the ball and the top of the opening. That gap lets water wash off the ball instead of pooling on top and freezing into a lid, and it lets the ball move, which is what keeps ice from setting up. A ball jammed tight has neither.

Check the closure gap before you add heat. If the balls were sitting tight against the top, water pooled on them and froze, and that is a setup problem rather than a heat problem. Set the gap first, then judge whether you still need heat.

It depends on your climate. An energy free waterer stays open because animals keep drinking and pulling warmer water up from the supply line. Sheep and goats drink in smaller amounts and less often than cattle, so less water moves through the trough. In mild climates, such as the Carolinas and further south, that is usually enough and these units work well. In harsh winter country, where temperatures sit below freezing for days at a time, it is not enough, and that is not a herd size problem. A hundred head of sheep still will not do it.

Plan on running electric to the waterer, or use a unit built for sheep and goats such as the LilSpring 2700 with heat. Deciding that at the start is a lot easier than trenching power out to a waterer in February.

Check the unit through the day until the weather breaks, so you catch the water before it starts to ice over. You can also replicate drinking by hand: scoop water out of the trough with a small bucket into a larger 5 gallon bucket. Removing water is what draws warmer water in from the supply line and refreshes the trough, which is the job the animals are not doing on their own.