What are you watering? Feeder cattle tend to drink throughout the day and night making it much easier to keep a waterer open and flowing well. Cows tend to drink in groups, they will all come to water at the same time once or twice a day and the waterer has to remain open with no fresh and warmer water coming into it, making it much more difficult to keep it open.
We used to have "Cowboy" brand tank heaters. They were cast iron and we could burn wood or coal in them. Heat them up good and watch the draft and they would keep an 8' tank open for 30 hours in the coldest of weather. When we could no longer get grates for them we tried the 55 gal barrel thing but they wouldn't last through a winter without burning out.
I put in some Mirafount energy free waterers. Installed them per instructions and installed them in fencelines where feeders and cows could both drink from them. If it was going to be bitter cold for more than a few days, I put a piece of straw in the drain plug so it would drip a bit to keep water flowing. When the weather got warmer, lows in 0 to 10 and highs in 20's, I removed the straw. It has been 20 years since I did this and they are still working good.
Word of caution, don't use the cheaper waterers, they will freeze up.