Help with DIY waterer

Date sort Score sort
Arky Guy

Arky Guy

Hatching
Feb 15, 2016
3
0
7
Hello All,
I recently finished my brooder, and decided to build a gravity waterer to minimize opening up the top. As you can see in the pictures, it is a 5 gallon bucket connected to a ball valve that feeds a hose and 1/2" pvc pipe, which I put into a 3" pvc pipe. The opening in the 1/2" pvc sits on the bottom of the 3" pipe. I thought I had it working, but after a couple of hours it starts to seep out of the holes I cut for the chicks to stick their heads in. With that being said, is there a flaw in my design, or am I missing the concept of a gravity waterer? The only thing I can come up with is maybe my bucket is not completely sealed. Hopefully someone smarter than me can steer me in the right direction. Thanks for any help!

 
I don't think your bucket is sealing completely. We have one where the bucket sits in a pan. If the top isn't sealed all the way it overflows. I can't tell on my phone but does the lid have a smaller opening? Try pushing it in and maybe twisting it a bit.
 
Someone smarter then me will know the science, but I think if your bucket is not air tight then it will overflow. I have a 5 gallon water jug/cooler in my house. One year it started leaking. I thought the cooler was bad, turns out the bottle had a hairline crack in it, which allowed air in so the water was constantly seeping out. I used one of those 5 gallon jugs and added two cup waterers to it. When I first sealed the lid on tight the waterers would not work correctly. I popped the lid off and they worked fine.
 
It has a smaller hole that has a plug and a screw on cap. I also think it must not be sealed. The lid has a gasket, but I may caulk it too. Would rather do that than waste another bucket.
 
I would check the smaller screw on cap and plug first. We have found it is easier to refill ours through the smaller cap with the water house than fight the main lid.
wink.png
If you won't use the smaller cap you might be able to purchase just the lid from a farm supply that doesn't have that or seal it off somehow.
 

Similar threads

B
Igloo 5 gal + PVC + Nipples
Replies
5
Views
923
Battledad
B
Melko
    • Like
Showing off my new large waterer I built, also looking for advice on large feeders.
Replies
5
Views
822
lnsling
L
D
Nipples
Replies
9
Views
965
DaveMK
D
SamIamNam786
DIY Bucket feeder spills, help!
Replies
6
Views
767
SamIamNam786
SamIamNam786
gtaus
    • Like
    • Love
    • Informative
Overstock Sale on 5-gallon Bucket Feeder Kit at Amazon, reduced 50% to $6.49!
6 7 8
Replies
72
Views
6K
gtaus
gtaus

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom