The MiniSweeper™ is an ice preventer that automatically turns on when the water temperature drops below 41 F. It discharges water until temperature of the water trough is above 41 F thereby preventing ice formation. No electricity or adjustment is required as the operation is completely mechanical.

The graph below shows real-time waste water data from two cattle watering alleys at a feedlot near Amarillo , Texas. The waste water volume collected by the sumps (shown at right) is measured for each alley.

The blue line shows the outside temperature.

Water flow for ice prevention in the H-alley is controlled by petcocks while that in I-alley is controlled by MiniSweepers™.

Measuring the discharged waste water is a more effective way of evaluating ice preventor performance than measuring water input to the tanks. The effect of water consumed by the livestock is in that case not a factor and it directly measures the amount of water wasted.

Each alley has 13 Superior™ waterers.

The detail of each data point can be seen by hovering the mouse over that portion of the graph.