Nipple Waterer

[uknotku]

With the Kansas wind blowing at 35mph for the last two weeks, I'm officially switching to a nipple waterer. I'm tired of all the water being blown away. I've got the nipples ordered, but have one quick question. Do you need a valve at the top of the bucket for air flow? I would think that you do, or you'd run the risk of vacuum lock, but it seems like the all of the ones that I have seen are sealed pretty tight.

 

[SueT]

P

With the Kansas wind blowing at 35mph for the last two weeks, I'm officially switching to a nipple waterer. I'm tired of all the water being blown away. I've got the nipples ordered, but have one quick question. Do you need a valve at the top of the bucket for air flow? I would think that you do, or you'd run the risk of vacuum lock, but it seems like the all of the ones that I have seen are sealed pretty tight.

Yes you need a hole(s) in top. You can get packets of just the nipples and make your own out of whatever size bucket, bottles, you want. I used small water bottles for my brooder, 3 gallon buckets for the run..

 

[techbsmith]

I used these - they are horizontal instead of vertical so you can set the bucket down flat on the ground to hose out/clean. I bought a 5 gallon bucket and an easy off lid at Lowes, then drilled 6 holes and screwed in 6 of the nipples.

I have several of these and my chickens love them. I didn't put a vent hole in the bucket and no issues at all, there's not enough water coming out at a time to cause a vacuum.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4SU4O8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[techbsmith]

7BAB56A2-2276-4300-B106-795D01710CA4

• techbsmith
• Apr 14, 2018

4E14E8EF-8233-4A7B-A3D1-0AF5AC408CA8

• techbsmith
• Apr 14, 2018

 

[uknotku]

Those are the ones I bought and am planning on the same set up. Thanks!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Regardless of the type of nipple or drinker cup, you need air to enter or there will be a vacuum lock.
Pickle buckets are food grade and you can get them free wherever they sell a lot of sandwiches. Think pubs or other restaurants. You'd be surprised at how many they throw away.
You can also get food grade buckets from bakeries.
HDPE buckets are the most stable and is identified by the #2 recycling symbol.
PETE, LDPE, and polypropylene are acceptable for food storage too. Their recycle numbers are 1, 4 and 5.
I used to not worry about it till I leaned more about garden hoses. I keep the hoses pressurized all the time and learned about how many toxins leach into the water. So it may not be bad to use a regular hose for watering gardens or livestock. But if they are pressurized all the time. There is a lot more leaching while the water sits in there around the clock. If fresh water is flowing through, it isn't as bad.
But I still replaced all my hoses with drinking water safe hoses.

 

[techbsmith]

I've never had a problem with a vacuum and I don't put holes in my buckets. When the nope is pressed sure goes in as the water comes out.

Here's a close up photo .. I typically dump, wash out, and refill every other day when it's cool and daily when it's warm.