Wash Rack Designs

[MOClubbyGuy]

I am about to build my washrack and I was curious to see pictures and get descriptions of your set ups including tie rail, pipes, etc. Pictures would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[skeeter20]

We just built a new show barn and we have 2 washracks. One in the cooler/heated room and one outside the cooler. One has a 8ft. gate bolted out from the wall 1 1/2 inches. Works great for any size calf. The other we have two pipes on the wall. The lower pipe for the smaller calves and the upper pipe for fats. Wish I used a gate in both areas for the multiple tie points at different elevations. Sorry, no pics.

 

[Ohio1]

We just built a new show barn and we have 2 washracks. One in the cooler/heated room and one outside the cooler. One has a 8ft. gate bolted out from the wall 1 1/2 inches. Works great for any size calf. The other we have two pipes on the wall. The lower pipe for the smaller calves and the upper pipe for fats. Wish I used a gate in both areas for the multiple tie points at different elevations. Sorry, no pics.

Sounds very nice! Could you post pics of you cool/heat room. I'm wanting to build one but need design ideas

 

[MOClubbyGuy]

Me too

 

[herfluvr]

We have an indoor wash bay that has an overhead hose holder so the hose is not on the floor when we wash.  It looks like the one in a self serve car wash.  Our drain runs to septic so we don't get all the hair into the tank we have a drain recessed with a stainless steel basket out that catches all the debris so it doen't go down the drain.  It just lifts out to clean.  Our drain opening in the concrete is 12x24 with the basket down in it and a grate over the top.  Put the drain to front of the wash bay so you don't stand in water.  We do have hot water water heater also but if you want one of those you need a heated area to hold the HWHeater.  Make sure the concrete has enough rough to it so it is not slick

 

[skeeter20]

Ill try to remember to take some pics for you guys. Its a 20ft x 30ft freezer room out of a grocery store. We have 2 pens inside, each being 10 x 12ft with sliding gates. cattle like NOT being tied up all summer. In the summer am when getting cattle in, all we have to do is open all doors and gates, and they know which pen is thiers. Just like dairy cows. They run in and Chill so to speak. at the other end of the cooler is the wash/ clip area. we do have a 40 gallon electric water heater that we wired a on/off switch. so in the winter when you know you are going to wash you turn on the water heater.  To heat the room all winter, 24/7 when there is any chance of cold temps, we use a 20 dollar electric heater from farm and fleet. Keeps it around 50 deg.      Everyone tells us.....must be nice!  Yes it is>>>>>at the cost of our other barn burning to the ground. Let me tell you first hand, that sucks.

 

[tcf]

I agree, please post pics!!

 

[jnjarr]

River Road made a panel and modified one of their alley frames for my wash rack.  Took the alley frame and anchored it to the concrete, works perfect.
Our drain runs into a sump, where I have a strainer cap over a drain pipe that runs out and connects to a field tile.

 

[jnjarr]

Here is the alley frame we bolted to the floor.

 

[Ohio1]

River Road made a panel and modified one of their alley frames for my wash rack.  Took the alley frame and anchored it to the concrete, works perfect.
Our drain runs into a sump, where I have a strainer cap over a drain pipe that runs out and connects to a field tile.

Love the setup!

 

[MOClubbyGuy]

Jnjarr,

where did you locate your drain at? also have you ever had any problem with it plugging up?

 

[CAB]

Go and ck out the drain system at your local car wash. It's not that hard to see how that type of drain system works to catch all of the sediment. You won't have near the sediment that they will have to deal with. It is very easy to build one similar. I would rather put a couple of stub pieces of pipe into the concrete floor that another pipe will slide into so that you can remove them if you want. Make sure that the floor is not too smooth.

 

[jnjarr]

If you look hard in the first pic you can see the drain, it's grey so it's hard to see, but is positioned at the back of where the calves would stand.  The drain is a plastic tray about 3' long that was put in when we poured the floor.  It runs into a sump, which is a 24" culvert, that my shop drain also runs into, and I also have a field tile that runs into this common sump to drain everything.  I put a 4" perforated cap over the tile line to prevent the hair, manure, beet pulp, hay and everything else that ends up in the sump from plugging the tile line.  Every couple of weeks we clean out the sump, as solids will start to accumulate in the bottom, not anyone's favorite job, but it just takes a few minutes and we have not had any problems with plugging.  Occasionally we will have some hair plug the perforated cap, but a quick swipe with a shovel and that is taken care of.

 

[Carlson Cattle]

i am going to make one 25 feet wide. But how deep should it be? Thanks