Farm Innovators1.5 Gallon 60 Watt Outdoor Electric Powered Heated Pet Water Bowl with Thermostatic Control and Anti Chew Cord Protector, Blue

I bought this four months ago, and at first it did a good job when temperatures got below freezing. A few days ago we noticed that the water was freezing in it. Nothing appeared to be wrong until we turned the bowl over and discovered the electric element had burned a large hole clear through the bottom of the pan. This is not only an item that creates a fire hazard--it also creates a risk of electric shock for outdoor animals. The item is warranted for one year, but the warranty is for replacement with a similar item only, and frankly I wouldn't subject my animals to that kind of danger. The warranty also only applies if you pay shipping back to the company, and the cost of doing that would be counterproductive. This is a great idea, but a really dangerous product. Other purchasers have mentioned the same issue, so this appears to be a widespread problem in spite of the glowing reviews.

After reading many bad reviews on most of the heated poultry fountains and looking at the prices, I decided to try one of these for my 2 ducks. I took it outside, plugged it in, filled it and within 2 seconds, a duck was swimming in it. Within 5 seconds, the water was soiled. Well, they're ducks, I guess that is to be expected. I went to the local home improvement store and bought one of these:  Orbit 53210 Sprinkler System 7-Inch Circular Valve Box  and just set it in the center of the bowl. No hardware required. (See picture added to customer picture section) This leaves enough space that they can soak their entire head in the water and clean their nares. The valve box doesn't displace much water so the bowl still holds a over a gallon of water. I live in Montana, the bowl is kept outside (not in a coop) and so far it has gotten down to -7 F overnight and the water was still liquid we'll see what happens when it gets COLD. When I put my finger in the water, it feels like it is in the high 30s, low 40s. The outside temperature has also been up to the mid 50s since I have had this plugged in and I don't notice any excessive heating or evaporation. Will have to wait until summer for it to get much warmer than that.Pros:Keeps the water liquid down to at least -7 F.Huge bowl.Seems well made - cord is pretty heavy duty.Inexpensive.Cons:Is not a self-cleaning jet tub for waterfowlUpdate: 12/8 Have gotten temps down to a sustained -20 degrees. That is about as cold as I would normally expect for Helena (lower temps are possible, but not common). This bowl is awesome. Ice forms around the rim when the water level is low (ducks are sloppy drinkers) but the body of water stays liquid and when it is refilled the ice buildup melts.Update: 2/6/2014 Last night it dropped to -28F. When I went out this morning it was still -25. and the bowl was still full of water not ice. I didn't think 60W would be able to handle this but it does.Thought: I have this bowl out in the open where it is exposed to wind, but since I have the valve box sitting in it, half the surface area is very protected. The instructions say to keep it out of the wind. For those reviewers that have had their water freeze above 0F, maybe wind is a factor. With the surface water constantly being exposed to new cold air, that 60W might not be enough even at higher temperatures. I would try putting it in a location where there was less wind exposure.Warning: Since I bought this item, it has nearly doubled in price on Amazon. One of my pros was "Inexpensive". This is no longer true (but perhaps it will be true again). A very large retail chain has the same one in their pet section for about what I originally paid for it. (One Jackson - not nearly two).

I bought two of these bowls and used them on successive winters. At first each was fine. After a short while - perhaps 4-6 weeks - they both stopped working. I could see having a problem with one unit but when they both have the very same problem, I would say there is an inherent design flaw. Currently, I am looking for a different brand. I would recommend that folks steer clear of this bowl. It will last but a few weeks i.e. waste your money. It is NOT a good product and this comment coming from one who is, overall, very easy to please. I usually give 5 star ratings to the products which I buy. The two-stars was generous, in this case

Got this so that the outdoor (read stray) cats can at least have a steady supply of drinking water in the winter. It got way too annoying dumping the frozen water and putting fresh in everyday, now I just make sure it stays filled. Thus bowl has seen several nasty snowstorms thus far, and temps dipping into the low-teens, still didn't freeze. One time it did run empty though, and the next day I found a cat sleeping in it... so it doubles as a pet bed as well. Though, as a bed I would only rate it 3-stars.*Update - 1/26/2011: Just got through a week of very cold weather, with temps as low as -15 degrees. Happy to say, that to my genuine surprise, the water in the bowl never froze. I'm quite amazed actually.

Worked for one season then failed. I opened it up and discovered that the over temp sensor (see photo) had failed and no longer conducts power to the heater coil. I had it placed on a concrete pad to keep it out of the dirt and water and had a low temp switch in the power cord to only apply power when the ambient temperature was near or below freezing. I suspect moisture rather than heat damaged the thermal switch.

This is no good. Does not keep water from freezing. I bought one from this company 3 years ago and it has always worked great but it was insulated by a base piece surrounding it. This is not like that and cost twice as much. Also packaging of anything in this country is atrocious. The wire encased cord was bent under the bowl and taped that way and bowl will not set level and cord in this cold will not lay down. If you can get the smaller one that is not in stock yet, that I recommend highly. The old one even not heating anymore kept water from freezing better than just a bowl next to it in the last week after it quit. It was also much smaller wattage.

I live in the Calgary area and bought this for chickens as they still need water access when they go outside (their choice to be inside or out).....it was as cold as -12, maybe -15 Celsius and the water froze an inch deep from the top of the bowl. So will most certainly not be up for Alberta winter. Threw it out after I tried breaking the ice and the plastic bowl shattered. (Hence why I knew exactly how thick the ice was at that temperature.)

This bowl was used plugged in 2 months last winter and 4 months this winter and literately melted the bottom out as shown in the pictures . Actually burned a hot spot into my porch . My one year guaranty has just past . Will contact Farm Innovators about this \\\\\\\\\\\\not good

I love this heated water bowl, and the water does not freeze, even when the weather hits -48 Celsius.I would definitely buy a few more if there were smaller sizes available; I put out wet food for stray and feral cats, and had to buy a few smaller bowls, with lower wattage.Cats, squirrels, and even the odd raccoon, they all LOVE this heated water bowl.Come out with a few in smaller sizes and I will definitely buy them.I would recommend this bowl to anyone

use for watering the birds and as has been -35° C/F last couple of weeks and has performed very well. seems the birds like slopping water over the sides and eventually shorts out the heater in the base so these were perfect to mount in a wooden box I made that slightly raises the base above ground level and keeps water away from the actual bowl so spillage doesn't get near heat element

Worked for about two weeks and, well. Then it didn’t. Trying to contact the company with no luck. To bad.