Question for those with nipple watering systems

[jeb251]

your welcome and good luck

 

[bubba542985]

Not an answer to your question about freezing because i live in South Louisiana. I do have a tip for you though when i built my nipple water i put my nipples into the solid pvc pipe but i used a flexible line to connect the bucket to the pipe instead of hooking it into the solid pipe then i just hang the bucket on a shelf bracket........This makes cleaning the bucket a breeze....... you can get a water tight nipple made for flexible electrical conduit in the electrical department at lowes once i drilled the hole in the bottom of the bucket i just put that conecter on there no need for calk or anything it is water tight. then i just used a hose clamp to hook a piece of hose to that then run it down to the rigid pvc line. good luck you will love the poop free watrer.

 

[patandchickens]

Be real careful with heat tape, if you use it at *all* (which IMHO it should be avoided unless absolutely inescapable). It is a fairly consistant producer of barn/house fires, even if installed correctly, which relatively few people seem to bother to do. At the very least, READ the mfr's instructions carefully to see WHETHER you can use it on pvc or just on metal pipes; how much of what kind of insulation it is ok to cover it with; how far to space the wraps around the pipe; etc etc. Then FOLLOW those directions.

Or, better yet, find a workaround that doesn't require it and lets you avoid that particular hazard.

JMHO,

Pat

 

[Tomhusker]

Heat tape is perfectly safe if installed correctly. Millions of homes use it to prevent freeze ups every year. They key is to follow installation instructions.

 

[razmond]

For what it's worth.... Uncle Neil here in BYC seems to be a pro. I bet he'd have some ideas... I know he has the supplies. I have his info on my page... https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=54839-watererers

maybe this helps?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I don't know about "perfectly safe". Maybe in the sense of "when undamaged and installed according to instructions and used according to instructions and nothing bad has yet happened to it". But in the broader sense, it accounts for a considerable number of fires (especially in barn type environments where it is real REAL hard to ensure that nothing bad ever happens to it) even when it was installed correctly. To me, that is a bad thing and argues that one should avoid it when possible.

If heat tape is 'perfectly safe' then it is certainly a different and lower category of 'perfectly safe' than, say, yer basic 60w lightbulb.

I mean, obviously if you NEED it to keep your house's water pipes working in January, then use it; but I don't think it's smart to use heat tape in situations where other solutions, less apt to cause fires, are easily at hand.

Just sayin',

Pat