Frozen nipples finally working

[HiyokoInNippon]

That is such a misleading topic when you mind is not... exactly on chickens. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had tried doing double buckets with foam insulator? One large bucket, one slightly smaller bucket inside (so there is an inch or so of space between) then running small PVC pipes out to the outer bucket to feed nipples then filling the gap with foam insulation (the liquid epoxyesque type that you inject then it expands into foam)? I imagine, especially if you fill it with warm water, it would stay unfrozen until you next needed to fill it... unless I am over engineering the issue? Could also work in summer with ice too.... add ice for the chickens to have a cool water source..

 

[pdirt]

Quote:
Hey there Blooie - Have you had any further freezing issues with your horizontal nipples? Care to give us an update? Someone over here posted no freezing issues like you had at -4F and -15F. I had no problems -9F last winter. I'm just curious if we can all learn from your scenario so we can avoid it. Hope all is well and Happy New Year!

 

[Blooie]

No, we really haven't solved the problem at all. We had 20 below the other night, so we sort of expected it, but it was still disappointing. They seem to be fine down to about 15 degrees. Anything lower than that and we're up against it. We've tried an aquarium heater secured inside, hoping it would keep the water slightly warmer than the tank heater. But no matter what we do, once the temps hit sub-zero like they have this week, we are back to frozen nipples on the waterer.

So right now we are carrying water out a couple of times a day, which is irritating as all get out when the water inside the bucket isn't frozen. I think we need to consider several other possiblities but need to wait until the next warm snap in order to be able to work on it. One of the other folks hear on the forum said that the nipples might be located too far down on the bucket - up a little higher and they'd be in contact with more warmer water rather than the cold bricks. In some ways that makes sense, but then I think, "But it's the water left in the cups from drinking that's causing the problem, and those cups will contain water no matter where they are located on the bucket. The other idea was to use a different bucket, one with a lip on the bottom, and set it down on top of a heated dog waterer. That idea has merit. I just flat refuse to put a heat lamp out there - I'd rather haul water in the freezing cold than risk a coop fire. I'll run over and check out that link you provided. Thanks!

 

[Cluckies]

Is it freezing during the day? or just overnight? I haven't found a waterer that won't freeze over night yet so I bring them in. I just did the aquarium heater with a heat pump mentioned in this thread in a 2 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples (I already had the 2 gallon one ready from the summer). So far they haven't froze during the day, I haven't left it out there over night though. I may have to try it and see how it goes.

 

[Indoroowet]

I have a *two stage* watering system.
The water inside the cooler (outside the coop) is warm to the touch (heated by an aquarium heater).
Inside the coop area, I have a 2 gallon bucket sitting on a heated base.
The two containers are connected.

I have horizontal nipples, and they are frozen as soon as the temps are in the single digits.

My *solution* ...
I have one of those *tube type* space heaters (propane driven)
Each morning I point it at the area where the 2 gallon bucket is
for about an hour or so, and it warms up the entire area and thaws out the nipples.
They seem to stay unfrozen until about 17:00 hours.

I am now trying to figure out if I heat up the main supply higher,
so maybe the water in the 2 gallon bucket will be warmer from now on.

 

[Blooie]

Is it freezing during the day? or just overnight? I haven't found a waterer that won't freeze over night yet so I bring them in. I just did the aquarium heater with a heat pump mentioned in this thread in a 2 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples (I already had the 2 gallon one ready from the summer). So far they haven't froze during the day, I haven't left it out there over night though. I may have to try it and see how it goes.

It's freezing during the day, too. Ken went out and thawed them with the heat gun again, but two hours later they were frozen again. I know we're doing something wrong - maybe the theory about the nipples being too far down on the bucket has more merit than I originally gave it.

 

[pdirt]

 
Is it freezing during the day?  or just overnight?  I haven't found a waterer that won't freeze over night yet so I bring them in. I just did the aquarium heater with a heat pump mentioned in this thread in a 2 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples (I already had the 2 gallon one ready from the summer). So far they haven't froze during the day, I haven't left it out there over night though. I may have to try it and see how it goes.

It's freezing during the day, too.  Ken went out and thawed them with the heat gun again, but two hours later they were frozen again.  I know we're doing something wrong - maybe the theory about the nipples being too far down on the bucket has more merit than I originally gave it.

Thanks for the update. AFAIK, you're the first person I've seen post having used the horizontal nipples below -15F. How far up from the bottom of the bucket are your horizontal nipples? I think mine are 1.5". From your photos it looks like yours are about the same height.

My hunches are:

1. You're correct about them being good until -15F but below that they freeze up.
Or
2. There is some manner in which your chickens are using the nipples that leaves the tiny bit of water in the depressed "cup". If this is the case, perhaps raising or lowering the bucket might help. I know this is the case using vertical nipples...to high or low and the chickens make a mess of the water.

 

[aart]

@Blooie I would suggest that you insulate the vessel(bucket).
I used some reflective bubble wrap around my vessel and 2" thick piece of foam wrapped in plastic feed bag material underneath it.
Just from looking at the power used data(Kill-A-Wat) it's definitely made a difference.
Haven't had enough cold to truly assess this set up tho, it's like spring here compared to the temps you're seeing.

 

[Blooie]

@Blooie I would suggest that you insulate the vessel(bucket).
I used some reflective bubble wrap around my vessel and 2" thick piece of foam wrapped in plastic feed bag material underneath it.
Just from looking at the power used data(Kill-A-Wat) it's definitely made a difference.
Haven't had enough cold to truly assess this set up tho, it's like spring here compared to the temps you're seeing.

We can sure do that, Aart, but not sure how that would keep residual water in the nipple cups from freezing. The water in the bucket is staying thawed - it's just those pesky nipples that freeze.

 

[aart]

Ohhhh, well that stinks....not sure there's an easy solution for that.

Jut read another story about an AQ heater frozen in the water in vessel, glowing and still trying to heat.