How did you thread the nipples into the PVC?
As a follow up to this thread I thought I'd post a picture of my water system for others interested. I ran a submersible aquarium heater to the bottom of the tube and it seems to be working just fine this winter. The horizontal nipples have been a great upgrade from the verticals.
This is the heater I purchased and it works just fine, but I'd prefer one that only went to 45-50F.
http://amzn.to/1CmEzxT
Any leakage?
I've read that the HN's are much less likely to freeze up or leak or drip.
My HN's seem to drip, not sure if it's from a leak or the chooks splashing a bit out of the lip.
I too use an aq heater set at the lowest 68F...works good bit also wish I could set it at 40-50F.
I insulated the jug and that helps with power usage.