Rain Barrel Waterer System

[Newtochicks21]

Hi - I am looking at creating a type of watering system like the one in the photo I attached. I am curious if anyone has experience with one and if the water in the summer gets hot. I am worried it could get as hot as the water in my garden hose when I first turn it on after a very hot day. Also, do you have issues with it freezing in the winter? Thank you.

 

[Weeg]

Following. I'm interested in a nipple system, but freezing is a concern. I love the rain barrel idea! In the good old Pacific Northwest you get plenty of rain to catch.

 

[Eggstatic ChickyDoo]

Hi - I am looking at creating a type of watering system like the one in the photo I attached. I am curious if anyone has experience with one and if the water in the summer gets hot. I am worried it could get as hot as the water in my garden hose when I first turn it on after a very hot day. Also, do you have issues with it freezing in the winter? Thank you.

Where, generally, are you? My set up is a little different, I have a rain barrel outside the run connected to another barrel with cups in the run. I'm in northern Virginia (Mid-Atlantic USA) and my tubing freezes up in the winter. I buried part of it, that helps. I also used flexible tubing, so it doesn't crack like PVC would.
IME, open topped containers don't heat up as much due to evaporation, but mine is in the shade as well.

 

[Eagle343]

following

 

[Acre4Me]

Keep in mind a rain barrel gets runoff. Sounds good, but wild birds poop on the roofs, which then washes into the barrel. With the highly pathogenic bird flu (HPAI) going around, it is a possible vector of infection.

Heat: yes, if in the sun, it will heat up like the hose water. Always best to shade any water bc the birds will drink cooler water better.

Freezing: yes, it will freeze if left exposed. I’ve read that some people use heat tape to help in these kinds of systems.

 

[Eagle343]

Keep in mind a rain barrel gets runoff. Sounds good, but wild birds poop on the roofs, which then washes into the barrel. With the highly pathogenic bird flu (HPAI) going around, it is a possible vector of infection.

Heat: yes, if in the sun, it will heat up like the hose water. Always best to shade any water bc the birds will drink cooler water better.

Freezing: yes, it will freeze if left exposed. I’ve read that some people use heat tape to help in these kinds of systems.

Do you think a first flush system would help in this matter? I suppose in my thoughts to reduce or solids making it into the system, for the pathogen side of things, could something like a water proof UV light help clean the water? Not knowledgeable on the subject, just some questions I would like to throw out into the wind.

 

[Newtochicks21]

Thanks for everyone's replies so far. I too was wondering about somehow filtering the water.

We are located in the Northeast in Pennsylvania so we will have issues with both the water getting hot and freezing.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

That's... DUMB.

I use rainwater catches to provide water for my animals. The roofs which catch the rainwater are well away from trees, to reduce leaf matter and the like. The drain pipe has a mechanical filter to further reduce same. Water is stored in a 250+ gallon food grade tote, painted with layer upon layer upon layer of white paint - both to deal with my temps here in FL (91 today), and to prevent UV penetration to keep algae down. The lage volume keeps the water (for me) from ever freezing, while working as a large thermal mass to even out temp swings. If I'm 70 at night, and 90 during the day, that ton of water I have in storage stays at a nice 80 degrees.

In persistant sub freezing temps, one must either use a heater, or a small pump in a closed loop system (so none of the water freezes till ALL of the water freezes - which takes "a while")

and yes, the system should ABSOLUTELY be made with a cleanout/flush at the end of the run. Some bleach on occasion, and periodic flush outs.

Whomever made the thing pictured seems to have used a pressure reducing fitting for a garden drip water irrigation system (completely unneeded, a gravity fed barrel - even one the size of mine - has almost negligible PSI), a length of garden irrigation hose, a plastic elbow guaranteed to split in the first freeze, and a piece of PVC which might suvive the first freeze (only because the plastic elbow fails first) which eventually gets plugged with dirt for lack of a proper clean out.

and yes, there is a non-Zero but entirely negligible chance of HPAI transmission, if droppings on the roof arent hot enough, long enough, before being washed into the storage container, diluted to some infinitisimal amount, then potentially consumed by the birds. I've not done the math, but suspect its close to the chances of my raised coop being struck by lightning, with consequence to alkl the birds inside.

apologies for tone, the sun took it out of me today, and my back hurts. I'm not a good human in the best of times, and today is not the best of times.

 

[Newtochicks21]

If anyone has any photos of the system they have set up, I would appreciate seeing them. The photo I attached to my original post is just one a took off of google to show the possible type of system I would like to create for my chickens.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Here's a partial view of the smaller of my two (smaller roof - each 1" of ranfall - which is the average around here per week - equates to 90 gallons of water)

This is before the gutter system was hooked up, and the "automatic dog watering bowl" has been moved to now hinge on the wall of the goat house to make it easier to clean out.

The hose which supplies it comes off one side of the PVC T-fitting, the other side supplies a series of threaded T fittings into which poultry cups are screwed - so when one springs a leak, its an easy fix.

Not seen, the third side has another poultry cup, then a hose barb which I will sometimes use to fill a shallow bowl for the ducks or for other reasons. The end of the pipe has a threaded plug - unscrew it and the whole system flushes thru. OR I could extend the piping from there by screwing in an extension.

NOTE HOWEVER this is NOT freezeproof. PVC doesn't freeze well, and PEX, which does, can't take UV light. When I'm expecting protracted freezing temps, I throw the valve on the tank itself, unscrew the threaded plug att he end, and let the system flush out.