Fountain waterer not dispersing water? Advice please

[Life is Good!]

We use one of these plastic 3 gallon red based waterers.



It's been working fine for 6mo now. Actually got a second one just a month ago - that way one can be cleaned and drying while the other is in use. Work well, right?

For some reason beyond my comprehension, they've stopped re-filling themselves. We have them hung from the rafters (a 5 1/2 foot ceiling height) with chain, connected with an 's' hook between the hook on the waterer and the bottom link on the chain.

It seems like the waterer has too great of suction to refill. The hens will drain it dry (or nearly so), I come along for an egg check, notice it's empty, if I bump it or tip it slightly, the whole thing goes 'glug, glug, glug' and refills. But it won't refill without being tipped?

If I alter the size of the holes (i.e. trim them slightly larger), will that cause the thing to overflow?

If I drill a small hole in the top, will that cause the unit to drain immediately?

Anyone else with this issue? How'd you solve it?

Thank you for your input!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

If I drill a small hole in the top, will that cause the unit to drain immediately?

Do NOT drill any holes in the top.
That will make it worthless

Check the hole at the bottom to make sure it's clear, and if it is, enlarge it a TINY amount , then test for improvement

I once had one that had some excess plastic blocking the hole, but you couldnt see it unless you really looked for it.
I trimmed the inside with a sharp knife, and then it worked fine

For it to refill, the water level has to drop below the TOP of the outlet hole, so the pan may never stay "full" but there will be enough for the birds to drink even when it looks low​

 

[Life is Good!]

Thanks! I suspected if I tinkered with the top (i.e. drilling a small hole), I would remove the vacuum for the unit to work properly.

However, I didn't wish to start messing with it before seeing if others had the same problem.

I recognize that the pan doesn't look 'full' but when it's dry and empty, well, it's dry and empty and NOT filling!

 

[SteveBaz]

sometime hard water leave stuff plugged up was my idea, are you using tap water un-filtered? how about just calling the mfg and asking them if they have reports of your problem and ask for their advice?

Just a thought

Steve

 

[BellevueOmlet]

I had a very similar water that would either never allow water out or would empty itself. I modified it and it made it into a wirthless piece of plastic, which it pretty much was to begin with. So I'm not a fan of hanging waterers.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

If it's getting dry, then the exit hole is too small or is blocked.

These things work on a very simple principle so there are only a couple of things that can keep it from working

 

[Wisher1000]

Maybe try not filling it all the way to the top so that the vacuum is not so strong. Otherwise, checking for blockage or try running a piece of straw into the hole and see if it encourages it to run out as it should.