Ive had chickens for about a year now, during that time I decided a waterer using nipples would be ideal, however I really wanted to wait until I had my new coop up.
I had on hand two 10 gallon water coolers that I already converted the outlet to a half inch male pex with a ball valve(it was going to be a mash tun and sparger). The 10 gallon coolers would fit in my new coop OK, but Its way to bulky to use in my existing coop (its on of those 10 hen coops that come in panels and you put it together at home). Today I was at one of the big box stores and found a plastic 2 gallon container with a valve on the bottom like an igloo cooler, a screw on lid and a sturdy handle. It would fit in my existing coop perfectly or on the outside and I could run the plumbing through the wire cage. I took some pics so you see what I was talking about and maybe spark an idea for your own coop.
Heres the system I already built using a 10 gallon Igloo cooler.I bought the bulkhead conversion kit here http://www.midwestsupplies.com/kewler-kitz-basic-conversion-brass-no-barb.html
I used PEX plumbing because thats what I had. You can use PVC or vniyl tubing.
This is the container I found today, it was $7 including lemonade drink mix.
First I removed the valve at the bottom of the container. I was able to unscrew the nut inside with just finger strength, no tools neccessary. The top pic is what the valve looked like on the inside. The bottom pic are the parts that have been removed. The yellow sharpie is representing the container wall.
This is the bulkhead conversion kit. It costs upward of $30. I think the parts can be sourced form any plumbing supply store. The ball valve has a nipple that would be simple to make if you had the tools on hand. I dont and the nipple came with the conversion kit noted above. The bottom pic is just for reference.
The top picture is showing the order of the parts that go on the outside of the container. This container is uninsulated and the walls are pretty thin. The existing hole in the container was a little small but I easily screw the ball valve and nipple into it. The middle picture shows what it would look like on the inside. The part that is grey and cylindrical is female on both ends. You could screw a host of things into it like a filter. Ill leave it blank for now. The bottom picture shows the whole mess finger tight. I put some water in it and it leak a bit. Ill tighten it a bit more if I notice a leak. The outside end of the ball valve is also threaded female. There is a 5/16 (i think) barb threaded into it now. That was for vinyl tubing that would have been used originally with my sparge tank. Ill change it to 1/2 PEX when I complete the build.
This is what it will be similar to in the end. I used 1/2 pex on the plumbing to the arms for the nipples. I used 3/4 PEX for the nipple arms themselves. I used push in style nipples and I tried 1/2 pex with them and it just wouldnt work. I think the circumference of the 1/2 was just too tight for the bushing and I think it would have leaked, on top of that I had to use WAY to much force to push them in, 3/4 worked so much better, and it doesnt leak. Again I used PEX because thats what I had on hand. There is some freeze burst protection built into PEX that is nice. I dont think Ill have to worry about it. Besides its a chicken coop. I used a "sharkbite" double female connector on the drop in case i need to adjust for height or to add a tee for some additional runs if i need to. I also may install small qaurter turn ball valves on the end of the runs for cleanout and/or expansion of the system. I think ten gallon will provide plenty of pressure for long runs. As for the two gallon container, there wont be much of a run at all with it, im not worried about pressure.
Let me know what you think or if you foresee problems with it.
I had on hand two 10 gallon water coolers that I already converted the outlet to a half inch male pex with a ball valve(it was going to be a mash tun and sparger). The 10 gallon coolers would fit in my new coop OK, but Its way to bulky to use in my existing coop (its on of those 10 hen coops that come in panels and you put it together at home). Today I was at one of the big box stores and found a plastic 2 gallon container with a valve on the bottom like an igloo cooler, a screw on lid and a sturdy handle. It would fit in my existing coop perfectly or on the outside and I could run the plumbing through the wire cage. I took some pics so you see what I was talking about and maybe spark an idea for your own coop.
Heres the system I already built using a 10 gallon Igloo cooler.I bought the bulkhead conversion kit here http://www.midwestsupplies.com/kewler-kitz-basic-conversion-brass-no-barb.html
I used PEX plumbing because thats what I had. You can use PVC or vniyl tubing.
This is the container I found today, it was $7 including lemonade drink mix.
First I removed the valve at the bottom of the container. I was able to unscrew the nut inside with just finger strength, no tools neccessary. The top pic is what the valve looked like on the inside. The bottom pic are the parts that have been removed. The yellow sharpie is representing the container wall.
This is the bulkhead conversion kit. It costs upward of $30. I think the parts can be sourced form any plumbing supply store. The ball valve has a nipple that would be simple to make if you had the tools on hand. I dont and the nipple came with the conversion kit noted above. The bottom pic is just for reference.
The top picture is showing the order of the parts that go on the outside of the container. This container is uninsulated and the walls are pretty thin. The existing hole in the container was a little small but I easily screw the ball valve and nipple into it. The middle picture shows what it would look like on the inside. The part that is grey and cylindrical is female on both ends. You could screw a host of things into it like a filter. Ill leave it blank for now. The bottom picture shows the whole mess finger tight. I put some water in it and it leak a bit. Ill tighten it a bit more if I notice a leak. The outside end of the ball valve is also threaded female. There is a 5/16 (i think) barb threaded into it now. That was for vinyl tubing that would have been used originally with my sparge tank. Ill change it to 1/2 PEX when I complete the build.
This is what it will be similar to in the end. I used 1/2 pex on the plumbing to the arms for the nipples. I used 3/4 PEX for the nipple arms themselves. I used push in style nipples and I tried 1/2 pex with them and it just wouldnt work. I think the circumference of the 1/2 was just too tight for the bushing and I think it would have leaked, on top of that I had to use WAY to much force to push them in, 3/4 worked so much better, and it doesnt leak. Again I used PEX because thats what I had on hand. There is some freeze burst protection built into PEX that is nice. I dont think Ill have to worry about it. Besides its a chicken coop. I used a "sharkbite" double female connector on the drop in case i need to adjust for height or to add a tee for some additional runs if i need to. I also may install small qaurter turn ball valves on the end of the runs for cleanout and/or expansion of the system. I think ten gallon will provide plenty of pressure for long runs. As for the two gallon container, there wont be much of a run at all with it, im not worried about pressure.
Let me know what you think or if you foresee problems with it.
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