Auto Waterer without nipples from rain barrel (or other source)

[SKnoxMN]

The idea was to collect water and run it to the water dish. Here's the concept. I have built one and found a flaw, so it is being corrected in my redesign.



Water flows in the inlet tube on the side, fills the PVC main tube about 1/3 full before the water finds its way out the lower tube where the lower eyelet hangs to the water bowl.

The bowl fills with water, gets heavier, pulls the spring down, rubber washer closes off the lower tube.

Chickens and evaporation make the water "go away" and the bowl is lightened, so the tension of the spring between the eyelets (upper and lower) lifts the rubber washer from the lower tube allowing water to flow back into the bowl once again.

I am currently running my proto-type of this device from my water collector to a cut down ice cream bucket for the chickens to drink from.

-SKnoxMN

 

[SKnoxMN]

Feel free to comment. Pros or Cons or other ideas and things I might be missing....

 

[breakout]

Feel free to comment. Pros or Cons or other ideas and things I might be missing....

Looks like fun! Do you think the spring will hold its strength or will it get stretched out? Maybe you'll need to have another way to adjust the height to compensate. From what I've read you will probably want to filter the water before the barrel and it shouldn't be off of an asphalt roof. Be sure to do some pix when you get it built

Alternate method -- use an internal vacuum to cut off the water rather than the spring -- see other posts on waterers by myself and others.

 

[SKnoxMN]

Here's the pictures internal and put together.


I suspect it will retain its tension for a long while being the "Closed" position doesn't get pulled on a lot. Closed is resting on the lower tube.



Anyway, here's just about what the device looks like put together.

 

[Elise Ilona]

So.... does it work?

If so, when are you taking orders?

 

[SKnoxMN]

Yeah, I forgot to add in here that it is up and running currently for that last 2 days. So it works fine, kind of what I expected. But I am always learning and rethinking things. In this case, I am now considering re-building one with a wedge shaped plug being I have a slightly stronger spring now.

I don't think I'll be taking orders, but I do have enough spare parts now to build one if anyone really needs to supply water from a barrel.

Steven

 

[breakout]

Yeah, I forgot to add in here that it is up and running currently for that last 2 days. So it works fine, kind of what I expected. But I am always learning and rethinking things. In this case, I am now considering re-building one with a wedge shaped plug being I have a slightly stronger spring now.

I don't think I'll be taking orders, but I do have enough spare parts now to build one if anyone really needs to supply water from a barrel.

Steven

Well if you're not going into business maybe people would like to see this one based on the same approach
http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/automatic-game-bird-fount.html

Of course for some of us it's always more fun to make your own

 

[SKnoxMN]

I like that one. Much smaller than mine. I just figured since people had been asking about how to water them from a rain collector I'd throw an idea out there. and I agree, some of us would much rather come up with our own. Providing we don't take too long to get all of these little projects completed.