My new watering system!

[mhhousley]

Finally! I found it wasn't almost worth keeping chickens considering the constant attention needed to give them clean fresh water... with some research and a little of luck I came up with this system, any comments or questions are welcome! I'm considering building and selling these. One of my nipples are leaking a bit around where it is screwed in because I didn't drill a straight hole. But even with that small drip (which helps the chickens realize where water is) the 5 gallons in the bucket has lasted 3 chickens and 4 ducks over a week so far. Note the top where I can insert a water hose and refill without opening the lid. I put on a cap, drilled holes in it, and put a little piece of scrap window screen in to keep bugs and spiders out but let air in so to create a vacuum.

I'm building another drain pipe and I'm going to daisy change these together. Thats the neat thing you can hook up as many as you want as long as they sit lower than the reservoir.

Oh yeah, one last little thing, I used a splitter for future expansion and in the meantime makes a handy place to rinse off your hands or other equipment without having to turn on a water hose.

 

[jmtcmkb]

wow thats really awesome! Nice work

 

[mhhousley]

Quote:
Thanks, I appreciate it. I got the idea from Aqua Miser from their ebook I bought. After I know how to do this though, I found nipples really cheap and I could throw these together fairly easily. I'm not really happy about the piece that comes out of the bucket. I felt like I should have been able to have a shorter configuration but I took what I knew would work and it turned out the way it is... there may be easier ways. Anyone else know the best way to attach a spout to a bucket?

edit: I'd like to note that I didn't have to use any silicone where the spout is connected to the bucket. I first tried using just some rubber o-rings on the inside and outside with a locking washer but that didn't work. So then I bought a PVC piece that screwed on on the inside and added a water hose gasket as well. It works like a charm. Before with just the orings if the spout was pulled in any direction it would cause it to start leaking.

All that string I will do later to make look better. None of the string is required but made it look better. The lower string thats connected to the supply outlet just helps brace it fromt he weight of the water hose and when I need to reposition the bucket. Just keeps from straining the connection. I had to tie a string to the fill pipe as well to keep it from sagging forward and then while I was at it I decided to tie a string to the cap so it wouldn't get lost during re-filling.

 

[ninabeast]

I did something similar...

 

[mhhousley]

Cool, I like that. but what is that you used to water the chickens from the hose? Can you provide a link or more details on it?

Also you should try doing what I did for filling the bucket. It keeps you from having to open it and getting crap in it. I got my lid on really nice and tight and shouldn't ever have to take it off except for occasional cleaning throughout the year.

Oh yeah, one more question, how did you attach the hose to your bucket?


Quote:

 

[CarolJ]

I'm glad you posted this. I have the very same Lowe's bucket, a package of nipples and a bunch of PVC pipe and joints. As soon as our new chicken house is delivered this weekend, I'm going to get a similar system set up. It really helps to see the photos of yours. It looks great.

 

[jeb251]

I did something similar but on a much larger scale, including a rain water capture system and freese proofing for our cold winters up here.
here is a link with pics
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=375826&p=1

 

[chfite]

I used an old plastic bucket similar to yours. I used a PVC connector that is threaded for a hose. I drilled a hole in the side of the bucket a couple of inches from the bottom, so any trash can settle and not block the opening. I put the connector through the hole, applied Teflon tape, and screwed a hose bib( faucet, spigot, silcock) in place. I applied a liberal dose of marine epoxy (probably any would work) to seal the PVC to the inside of the bucket. The hose bib holds the PVC in place until the epoxy cures.

Since the hose bib is mounted right on the face of the bucket, there is little stress on the connection.

Mine hangs from the bail on the bucket. Since mine is an old paint bucket, there is an access cap in the top which unscrews. Using it keeps from having to remove the entire lid of the bucket in order to add water.

I ran a hose from the hose bib to the PVC pipe in which I have installed watering nipples. Nice system that requires filling weekly or so.

 

[OneTenthAcreAndAChicken]

I did something similar. I used a decommissioned homebrew bottling bucket because it already had a hole drilled in the side, just above the bottom where any sediment would collect. It has a snug fitting lid with a small hole in the top to prevent a vacuum. I have a hose nearby so it's easy to clean and fill once a week. I think you can see it in this pic -

 

[Kassaundra]

How are you guys keeping the water from freezing in all those pipes and hoses?