Your idea will work when temperatures hover near freezing but I doubt that it would work in really cold weather where it stayed well below frezzing for days. Even flowing rivers freeze over.
I use a Geo Therm waterer and it uses ground heat plus has a thermostatic valve that adds water to the bowl when the temperaturein the bowl hits 32°F. The ground heat keeps the supply line warm and the valve keeps the bowl from freezing over. if you have enough animals and they use it enough, there is hardly any refil going on. You install it with a a small drain field under it and that"s where the over flow goes. We got down to -20°F and it never froze over. It cost about $400, about the same as most of the heated super insulated heaters. I have not noticed an increase in our electrical bills from the additional water being pumped since we installed it two years ago and this was our worst winter since we"ve been here. I know there is an incremental cost for this but it"s relatively small compared to a resistance heater and the installation cost for the ground heat tubing and drain rock add to the installed cost(~ +$225). The resistance heated waterers around here cost about a dollar a day to run @ $0.06 per kw-hr. Assuming you resisitance heat for 4 months at ~$30 per month, the pay back on the extra installation cost is just under two seasons of use relative to a resistance heated waterer. Of couse if you live in a colder climate and have higher electrical cost, your payback would be quicker.
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