Solway Auto Water Water System Is Installed - But Leaking (Advise?)

[smoknz28]

Installed this system today, but I was VERY frustrated with the many leaks I had to contend with. I wish I would have known ahead of time that teflon tape was a requirement....could have saved me time and heartache.

After having tightened all connections down and installing the system filled with 5-gallons of water....nearly every connection was leaking.....ack!

So, dumped the water and took the system apart and had to teflon tape every threaded connection. Got it all tightened back down again and filled the bucket.

Still have one leak that I cannot get fix...even after teflon taping the threads and having it tightened down about as far as I can without stripping the plastic threads. This leak is where the down tube come out the bottom of the bucket.

I have left the U.S. rep an email on this as well, and awaiting his response. the gentleman I purchased the system from definitely is customer oriented and cares, so I'm sure I'll receive a response soon, but I'm also posting up here to see what you all have found works best to prevent leaks.

I have the Horizontal nipples installed....and will tell you all....I was one who was very skeptical of my flock learning how to drink from these nipples, but gotta tell you...it was a no brainer for them. It only took one bird to figure it out in a matter of 30-seconds...then the other birds watched her and started in...soon, we had nearly the entire flock taking turns on the watering system.

All in all, I'm happy with the system....just gotta get this leak fixed....but, there is water waste. I can't see how you wouldn't have water waste with this system. I was watching my birds drink from the nipples and sure enough...every one of them had water drip from the nipples onto the floor. With the standard water system, that most of us have, I don't have as much waste of water...though there's no cleaning with this Auto Water System. Guess there's a trade off...

Please advise on recommendations in dealing with this water leak from the tube coming out of the bottom of the bucket. Teflon tape didn't resolve the issue....

 

[smoknz28]

Oh, and to be fair to the Solway U.S. Rep....he did respond and said he'd refund my entire purchase amount in the morning.

Wow!

Not what I was expecting, nor what I want. I don't feel I'm 100% dissatisfied. I just have one water leak now to contend with that I need help with. I've asked him for the part numbers of of the leaking components so I can purchase them and build it drip free.

There's no mistaking the statement, "YOUR 100% SATISFACTION IS GUARANTEED!!!!!!!"

Sent him back an email telling him to please not refund my monies...just need help fixing the last leak.

 

[pawtraitart]

Installed this system today, but I was VERY frustrated with the many leaks I had to contend with. I wish I would have known ahead of time that teflon tape was a requirement....could have saved me time and heartache.

After having tightened all connections down and installing the system filled with 5-gallons of water....nearly every connection was leaking.....ack!

So, dumped the water and took the system apart and had to teflon tape every threaded connection. Got it all tightened back down again and filled the bucket.

Still have one leak that I cannot get fix...even after teflon taping the threads and having it tightened down about as far as I can without stripping the plastic threads. This leak is where the down tube come out the bottom of the bucket.

I have left the U.S. rep an email on this as well, and awaiting his response. the gentleman I purchased the system from definitely is customer oriented and cares, so I'm sure I'll receive a response soon, but I'm also posting up here to see what you all have found works best to prevent leaks.

I have the Horizontal nipples installed....and will tell you all....I was one who was very skeptical of my flock learning how to drink from these nipples, but gotta tell you...it was a no brainer for them. It only took one bird to figure it out in a matter of 30-seconds...then the other birds watched her and started in...soon, we had nearly the entire flock taking turns on the watering system.

All in all, I'm happy with the system....just gotta get this leak fixed....but, there is water waste. I can't see how you wouldn't have water waste with this system. I was watching my birds drink from the nipples and sure enough...every one of them had water drip from the nipples onto the floor. With the standard water system, that most of us have, I don't have as much waste of water...though there's no cleaning with this Auto Water System. Guess there's a trade off...

Please advise on recommendations in dealing with this water leak from the tube coming out of the bottom of the bucket. Teflon tape didn't resolve the issue....

Other than the fitting joints leaking......are the nipples leaking? If you are seeing a lot of drops, the bucket might be too high or too low. I know with my system it can make a difference when the birds are just learning but they master it shortly and don't let any drops fall. At the correct height I see only an occasional extra drop of water from the nipples.

 

[chfite]

I have found that some troublesome connections do better with the traditional pipe dope rather than teflon tape.

Chris

 

[smoknz28]

Other than the fitting joints leaking......are the nipples leaking? If you are seeing a lot of drops, the bucket might be too high or too low. I know with my system it can make a difference when the birds are just learning but they master it shortly and don't let any drops fall. At the correct height I see only an occasional extra drop of water from the nipples.

I didn't verify solidly that the nipples aren't leaking, but I believe it's just my chickens being messy drinkers. They may be messy drinkers, but with the standard plastic container water system, I don't see as much water waste on the floor. With the nipples, there is definitely more water waste. I believe the less waste with the standard water system is because after the birds drink from the water their beaks usually are still over the water...so the drips are contained. With the nipples system, there is no catch for the drips from their beaks other than a small lip on the horizontal lip.

It's a trade off though...either deal with more wasted water (more of a mess on the floor) with the nipples and less or no cleaning....or deal with the standard water system and have to clean their water container at least twice a week.

The height of the bucket has nothing to do with the leakage I'm having at the connection.

I have found that some troublesome connections do better with the traditional pipe dope rather than teflon tape.

Chris

I will definitely be looking into the pipe dope. Thanks.

 

[brains]

X2 on pipe dope. Home Depot has in a small yellow tube. Works great, better than Teflon tape

 

[pawtraitart]

I didn't verify solidly that the nipples aren't leaking, but I believe it's just my chickens being messy drinkers. They may be messy drinkers, but with the standard plastic container water system, I don't see as much water waste on the floor. With the nipples, there is definitely more water waste. I believe the less waste with the standard water system is because after the birds drink from the water their beaks usually are still over the water...so the drips are contained. With the nipples system, there is no catch for the drips from their beaks other than a small lip on the horizontal lip.

It's a trade off though...either deal with more wasted water (more of a mess on the floor) with the nipples and less or no cleaning....or deal with the standard water system and have to clean their water container at least twice a week.

The height of the bucket has nothing to do with the leakage I'm having at the connection.


I will definitely be looking into the pipe dope. Thanks.

Interesting problem with the moisture under your drinker. I use the horizontal nipples in all of my pens except for my ducks and the bedding under them stays perfectly dry, even in my quail pens. Just trying to puzzle out your situation.

 

[smoknz28]

Interesting problem with the moisture under your drinker. I use the horizontal nipples in all of my pens except for my ducks and the bedding under them stays perfectly dry, even in my quail pens. Just trying to puzzle out your situation.

Maybe I just have messy drinkers...I'll shoot some video of this happening. May take me a few days though as we are expecting another round of snow....go figure! Ack...

 

[pdirt]

The leaky connection...perhaps it can be tightened from both inside and outside of the bucket at the same time? Or perhaps it might be even too tight? I know I have had plumbing connections that stopped leaking when I loosened them slightly, especially with plastic parts. Are you missing a seal or gasket?

As for needing Teflon tape for the horizontal nipples, that's strange, I didn't need it, on advice of the Solway rep. I hand tightened only.

Right now have both buckets hanging in the run. The first bucket has the vertical nipples and the second one has the horizontal ones. They are drinking from both because the water level is going down. But under the first bucket, the ground is quite wet, from their dripping, whereas under the other one it is quite dry. Not sure why you are having such wet issues, but perhaps it's just in comparison to a traditional waterer.

 

[weschchick]

Just wondering if you resolved your leaking issue? I built my own horizontal waterer using a 5 gal bucket. I was told at Home Depot and Ace Hardware that it would be difficult/impossible to fix the leak on the side of the bucket.