Chicken Nipple watering system - what size pipe to use?

[Desert Brooder]

I thought I would update my photo of my chicken waterer. my husband finished it this weekend. Now it fills automatically. The hose is connected to a valve and there in a float inside the bucket which keeps it full We may have to figure something out for winter but it doesn't freeze that often in southern Az

 

[sonjaohull]

I am trying to to put together a chicken nipple watering system. I bought 2" schedule 40 pipe so that I could put a drain on it. But @#€¥•! I can't get the the nipples to thread! Worked all morning and finally decided to quit drilling holes look for help. He threads on these nipples are so tiny, I don't know if they could've thread into anything? Is there one with larger threads?

 

[chad-o]

Try an 1/8 inch pipe threader.

 

[WVDoug]

I just made a watering system from 2" pvc. I drilled the holes a little too small, but by disassembling the nipples and pressing on them as I use a wrench to turn them they threaded in fine. My nipples came with clear soft plastic washers to seal against the pipe and they do not leak.
I would think a smaller diameter pipe would make it harder to get a good seal because of the sharper radius of the outside of the pipe.

Right now it only holds about 9 cups (enough for a day or more for my 18 10 and 11 week olds), but I will be attaching it to a 55 gal barrel for when I have to travel for a week or so once or twice a year. (I'm also building a large capacity feeder from 4" HDPE pipe, with several wye fittings to add capacity).

 

[sonjaohull]

I finally got mine done using 2" schedule 40 PVC pipe. Hooked it up, turned it on and it did fine for a little while! Just went to check and I blew out a nipple! Lol No, really, one of the nipples blew completely out of the pipe! In the morning I'll be back out there. I have it plumbed to my water at the barn so the pressure is a little too high and I'm hoping to be able to adjust it with the cut off valve I plumbed in. Wish me luck!
It's only taken a year to get this far!

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I finally got mine done using 2" schedule 40 PVC pipe. Hooked it up, turned it on and it did fine for a little while! Just went to check and I blew out a nipple! Lol No, really, one of the nipples blew completely out of the pipe! In the morning I'll be back out there. I have it plumbed to my water at the barn so the pressure is a little too high and I'm hoping to be able to adjust it with the cut off valve I plumbed in. Wish me luck!
It's only taken a year to get this far!

They aren't made to run at high pressure. A standard valve won't reduce the pressure either. When there is no flow the pressure will equalize to same pressure on both sides of the valve. You have to have a pressure regulator. Desert Brooder's photo above shows a system gravity fed from a bucket that refills via a float valve. That is an effective pressure regulator, the pressure being governed by the height of the water in the bucket... We have commercial watering lines with built in regulators. The pressure is usually adjusted to 6" - 8" of water column pressure, the equivalent of about about one quarter psi (.25 PSI).

 

[ladycat]

I thought I would update my photo of my chicken waterer. my husband finished it this weekend. Now it fills automatically. The hose is connected to a valve and there in a float inside the bucket which keeps it full

We may have to figure something out for winter but it doesn't freeze that often in southern Az

What kind of valve is that- the metal thing in the bucket? Where do you get one?

 

[ladycat]

I found these at Amazon, is one of these like the one in the bucket?

http://www.amazon.com/Industries-109-813-2-Inch-Float-Valves/dp/B000BQO41O

http://www.amazon.com/Industries-109-814-4-Inch-Float-Valves/dp/B000BQUH92

http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Manufacturing-Series-Outlet-Pressure/dp/B008OMGG5E

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I found these at Amazon, is one of these like the one in the bucket?

http://www.amazon.com/Industries-109-813-2-Inch-Float-Valves/dp/B000BQO41O

http://www.amazon.com/Industries-109-814-4-Inch-Float-Valves/dp/B000BQUH92

http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Manufacturing-Series-Outlet-Pressure/dp/B008OMGG5E

Any of those will work, but they are a bit large in diameter for your needs. A 1/4" one would be sufficient. Like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Dial-Heavy-Du...d=1401140151&sr=1-8&keywords=1/4"+float+valve

These are common parts in the south for evaporative coolers.

 

[ladycat]

Any of those will work, but they are a bit large in diameter for your needs. A 1/4" one would be sufficient. Like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Dial-Heavy-Du...d=1401140151&sr=1-8&keywords=1/4"+float+valve

These are common parts in the south for evaporative coolers.

So the one in the bucket does have a plastic float? That's what caught my attention, it didn't look like it had a plastic float. I was trying to figure out how it worked without a float.