I milked as fast as I could so I could go assess what the problem was. I began thinking, "Maybe a pipe burst?" or "Maybe the cows hit the valve with their heads, causing the water to continuously flow?" The water covered the south pasture, flowing south then west, saturating the grass. From the looks of things, it must have been flowing wide-open all night long.
I turned off the water valve to stop the flow. As I walked up to the water trough, it became evident what the problem was. The water valve was firmly in place. As you can see, the level of the water in the trough was beneath the valve. This told me all I needed to know. I know what my problem is.
And there you have it. Look at the bottom of the water trough. The trough has sprung leaks, and this has flooded the pasture and made a huge muddy mess.
I'm drawing my line in the sand. No more Rubbermaid water troughs for us. This is the second one I've purchased and both of them sprang leaks in roughly the same place. Rubbermaid is a fine company, and we've used other consumer products that they've manufactured with no issue. But I will definitely stay away from their water troughs. I've thrown $89 twice at an inferior product and won't do it again.
For the time being, I'll go back to using some mineral tubs as water troughs. I will try to rig it up so that it has the water valve attached. What I've learned in the past is that when the cows drink it down, they'll push the empty tub with their heads and break it.
If I get tired of using these temporary tubs as water troughs and want a more permanent solution, I'll opt for the oval galvanized water troughs.
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