Any luck with "servicing" horizontal nipples?

[paneubert]

I ordered 10 horizontal nipples from Amazon hoping to have plenty of extra for replacement of broken ones in the future, etc... but discovered that about 1/3 leak as soon as they are first "activated". Not from the threads, but from the actual nipple/metal/spring/O ring part. And surprisingly they held water fine until the first time I hit them.

Luckily I only wanted to use about 5, so I had plenty of replacements. But I am wondering if anyone has had any success with adding a little petroleum jelly or otherwise modifying the O ring so they don't leak? I hate to just toss these ones since it seems like it should be fixable. My main concern is that I think petroleum jelly has been known to degrade rubber? I feel like I have read horror stories of people using it to lube O-rings in various applications and it ending badly for them.

 

[rjohns39]

I ordered 10 horizontal nipples from Amazon hoping to have plenty of extra for replacement of broken ones in the future, etc... but discovered that about 1/3 leak as soon as they are first "activated". Not from the threads, but from the actual nipple/metal/spring/O ring part. And surprisingly they held water fine until the first time I hit them.

Luckily I only wanted to use about 5, so I had plenty of replacements. But I am wondering if anyone has had any success with adding a little petroleum jelly or otherwise modifying the O ring so they don't leak? I hate to just toss these ones since it seems like it should be fixable. My main concern is that I think petroleum jelly has been known to degrade rubber? I feel like I have read horror stories of people using it to lube O-rings in various applications and it ending badly for them.

Can you give me a link to what you have?

 

[paneubert]

Can you give me a link to what you have?

Apparently they are now out of stock, but this was the specific Amazon listing.

Link: http://a.co/gIndpUg

They seem to be the standard horizontal nipple that is sold by many people. But there is always the chance they are some cheap knock-off and that is both why they leak, and why they are out of stock....who knows.

 

[rjohns39]

Apparently they are now out of stock, but this was the specific Amazon listing.

Link: http://a.co/gIndpUg

They seem to be the standard horizontal nipple that is sold by many people. But there is always the chance they are some cheap knock-off and that is both why they leak, and why they are out of stock....who knows.

Try stretching your spring. I use vertical and they work great until the birds figure out how to keep them open. Finally moved to this one and though its not problem free, its a lot better than anything else I've tried. https://www.qcsupply.com/422209-game-bird-drinker-activator-kit.html Biggest issue is adjusting the regulator when gravity fed.

 

[paneubert]

Stretching the spring....did not even think of that. I will give it a shot. I suppose the only potential downside if if it makes the nipple hard enough to press that they cant activate it.

 

[blackdog043]

They must have been a cheap knock off. Your the first person that I know of, that has had a problem with horizontal nipples leaking. I've been using them for about 5 months and they still work great. These are the ones I purchased.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4SU4O8/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[TalkALittle]

Vegetable glycerin, beeswax, and coconut oil are all food-safe lubricant alternatives that won't degrade rubber.