Pressure Regulator / Pressure Reducing Valve for nipple waterer

[maxslug]

Hi All,

I am put together a nipple waterer system this weekend and attempted to use a 10psi water pressure regulator (http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;;pg109662_109687.html). I made a pretty effective chicken shower, but this definitely won't work for drinking!
I don't know much about plumbing, but turns out regulators only work when the water is flowing, so as the pipes sit there the pressure creeps back up to the main house level (50+psi). I added an anti-siphon valve in there too.


Sooooo, now I'm looking for a "Pressure reducing valve" that can go from the normal house level to very low PSI (1-5?) for the nipple waterer.

So far the only thing I've found is this http://www.cutlersupply.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_60_63&products_id=492 / http://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Reducing-Poultry-Watering-Systems/dp/B0025XV1Y4. The price is ok for these sorts of things, but I'm curious what the valve is actually used for and where it comes from.

For now i'll be hooking up a bucket like everyone else

Thanks,
-m

 

[Mac in Wisco]

You need a regulator that can be adjusted down to almost zero. The one from Cutler is set to 5 PSI. The other may work, but it's not clear from the description.

These are the regulators that I am familiar with as the ones in our layer barn are very similar. They have a rubber diaphragm that operates a small valve inside. Water pressure is regulated by turning a knob on the bottom that applies spring pressure to the diaphragm to adjust it.

http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplie...01&langId=-1&division=FarmTek&productId=17616

It only takes a fraction of a PSI for poultry nipples. 1 PSI is equal to 27.7 inches of water. We run our watering lines from 4" to 8" of water column pressure, lower in the winter and higher in the summer.

 

[maxslug]

Quote:
Thanks Mac! I couldn't find the actual pressure needed for these. I think it's going to be very hard to find a cheap pressure reducing valve that goes from 50psi down to 0.15 -> 0.30 psi correctly. The $10 regulator was at the top of my budget as is. I'll go for the bucket.

-m

 

[sixshooter60]

Depending on how many chickens you have there is several ways to make the nipples work ok.. you can get a plastic barrel and plumb the nipple line to it and let it gravity feed the nipples and it works good you just have to fill the barrel every so often depending on how many chickens are using it . if you just have a few you can put the nipples in the bottom of a bucket and hang it and it works too..maybe this will help.. i have a regulator that is adjustable from 0 to 50 psi. the nipples work best at 1 to 3 psi on mine..

 

[NicoleRM]

Quote:
You can also add a cheap float valve attached to a full-pressure water line in the barrel to keep it full. That's what I'm planning on doing once I get all my coops built. I've done a similar thing in the past for watering rodents and it works great.

 

[maxslug]

thanks guys

Quote:
sixshooter, do you have a picture or a link too the regulator you used? I was going to do the float valve + bucket idea to begin with, but when i went to the hardware store and priced out all the fittings and the toilet float valve (couldn't find a generic one) it was going to be more than the cheap regulator I got. it doesn't help that i live in a very expensive big city

-m

 

[maxslug]

So I bit the bullet and got that "4090" regulator. You can find it forsale by a zillion game bird producers across the country. Google '4090 "pressure reducing valve"'
It looks like everyone is reselling it from the same chinese manufacturer and using the same catalog.

I'll let you know if I have any issues with it.

-m

 

[sixshooter60]

Quote:
sixshooter, do you have a picture or a link too the regulator you used? I was going to do the float valve + bucket idea to begin with, but when i went to the hardware store and priced out all the fittings and the toilet float valve (couldn't find a generic one) it was going to be more than the cheap regulator I got. it doesn't help that i live in a very expensive big city

-m

No i dont have a picture of it sorry .. i bought it at a plumbing store its an all brass vaive . it has a t-handle that you screw to adjust the pressure it has a pressure gauge to see what the pressure is. it has 1/4 " fittings so had to plumb it for 1/2" pvc i have one it the pig barn using hog nipples as they work on low pressure also.. it works good on the chicken nipples to. i put the nipples on a 1/2" pvc pipe and ran it down the wall on brackets with allthread so the whole line can be raised or lowered as need be... hope this helps

 

[maxslug]

Thanks 6shooter, that sounds neat. I wonder if using smaller ID piping reduces the pressure or not.

I got the regulator today, so I might get a chance to install it this weekend.

-m

 

[BellevueOmlet]

If you use chicken waterer cups, you don't need the regulator like you do with plain nipples

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