Vertical (gravity) vs. horizontal (spring loaded) watering nipples

[pdirt]

Ok, I've got some bottles and the nipples ready. What size hole do I drill? I know that's been answered but I don't want to read 250+ posts to find the answer.

I've drilled a number of plastics with the horizontal nipples and have always used 3/8" hole. It's seemed to work for me, no leaks. Because the threads are tapered, @aart is correct, don't screw in the nipple too tight. Just snug, not tight-tight. Fill it with water and check for leaks. If it leaks, you may want to either tighten or loosen it one turn to see if that makes a difference. I've never used teflon tape nor silicone sealant.

So this week was a great experiment with my new horizontal nipple waterer and freezing. The nipples themselves don't freeze because they don't hold water like the vertical ones do, but if all the water in the bucket freezes, all the way down to the nipples, they obviously don't operate. For me that temp was 15ºF on Wednesday morning. This morning it got down to 20ºF and the nipples were still working.

I'm considering investing in a stock tank de-icer to put in the bucket since I have power in the barn, but for the few days it gets below 20ºF I'm not sure it's worth it. We'll see how this Winter goes. It sure beats carrying warm water down to the coop every morning like last year!

For pretty cheap, you can get a submersible pump to circulate the water in the bucket. The moving water will help reduce the water freezing. I think someone had posted ones from Amazon that were about $8-$9. I'm not sure how cold this would work to in a 5 gal bucket, but I'm curious to try it (it get's to -10F or so here occasionally). Most people on BYC I've seen who are using a pump are also using a heater, together, which just seems overkill to me for a bucket setup. I would think keeping the water moving down to 15F might be enough, without heat, to keep your water flowing. Anyone having a more definitive answer?

Also keep in mind that a larger container will hold more heat in the water (whether you heat it or not), which will take longer to freeze. A 1-gallon bucket will freeze faster than a 5-gal one.

If you do use a de-icer, I've been very happy with this 250W (non-aluminum) one: http://amzn.com/B002QXN1H8. I have also used a submersible aquarium heater and will keep it as a back-up, but the de-icer doesn't overheat the water like the aquarium heater does. It's also designed for outdoor use, whereas the aquarium one isn't.

Edit: Here is one pump like the one's I saw referenced before: http://amzn.com/B00EWENKXO
I'm sure there is a formula somewhere where you could figure how many Gallons Per Hour (GPH) you would need pumped to keep a certain amount of water from freezing at a certain temperature. I'm not the math whiz I once was...perhaps someone would want to tackle this?

 

[aart]

I'm finding that the metal parts of the HN's freeze even before there's any skim ice in the water in the jug......
.....pump might help, I've got a bunch of pumps but not sure I'm up to rigging one up as I've got a new dog to integrate-forgot how much work that is.

 

[TheGeekySheep]

Do you have thermometers inside and outside your barn?

Nope, just going by feel. I have a long walk to the barn and when I go inside it doesn't feel any warmer, just less windy. I'm going to be boarding up the coop portion of the barn soon (it's just chicken wire walls right now and so much dust gets everywhere) and then it would probably be good to get a thermometer/hygrometer to put in there.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: I looked at those when I was getting mine but I had 2 questions about them.

One was if you could use it in plastic. The bird bath ones stated that they are safe in plastic which I assume means they don't get so hot they melt it.

Another question is size of the unit itself. I think it was too big to put in a bucket - mine is a 3 gallon.

I definitely agree that if you can find a deicer that is made for the purpose and it isn't putting heavy metals or chemicals into the water that would be the best option for an electric appliance being used for the purpose it was designed!

Do you know what they are made from? And if it states that it's safe for plastic?

ETA: The other thing that concerned me was that these are being used in 100 gallon stock tanks so I assumed that even if it fit in my bucket, it would be way too much heat even for a 5 gallon pail. Since the bird bath deicers are heating a pretty small amount of water out in the open, I guessed that they could handle a bucket size without being overkill. I wonder if there are any that are designed for bird bath size that don't have aluminum.

 

[iwiw60]

I'm using a 250-watt mini stock tank heater (aka a birdbath heater) and have had absolutely no problems with them. True, they're spendy, but the cost far outweighs the lugging of water out to the coop/run multiple times each day! I got mine on walmart.com :

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Allied-Precision-BDT250-Cast-Alum-Bird-Deicer-250W/40712896

 

[Leahs Mom]

I also use a bb heater but I don't want to continue using it because they are made of aluminum which has the potential to cause metal poisoning over time.

I was trying to find one that isn't aluminum with no luck so far. Maybe I should invent one Wish I had a way to do that and get it into manufacture.

 

[pdirt]

Quote: I looked at those when I was getting mine but I had 2 questions about them.

One was if you could use it in plastic. The bird bath ones stated that they are safe in plastic which I assume means they don't get so hot they melt it.

Another question is size of the unit itself. I think it was too big to put in a bucket - mine is a 3 gallon.

I definitely agree that if you can find a deicer that is made for the purpose and it isn't putting heavy metals or chemicals into the water that would be the best option for an electric appliance being used for the purpose it was designed!

Do you know what they are made from? And if it states that it's safe for plastic?

ETA: The other thing that concerned me was that these are being used in 100 gallon stock tanks so I assumed that even if it fit in my bucket, it would be way too much heat even for a 5 gallon pail. Since the bird bath deicers are heating a pretty small amount of water out in the open, I guessed that they could handle a bucket size without being overkill. I wonder if there are any that are designed for bird bath size that don't have aluminum.

They are safe in plastic. The heating element is caged in a plastic frame. They don't get that hot...not nearly as hot as the aquarium heater does. They have nearly an identical product called "bucket heater" or some such name. They are not that big...the Amazon dimensions are wrong...I estimate about 8" diameter and about 5" high (including the plastic cage). I remove the floater ring so it sinks to the bottom. I do imagine that should the heating element come in direct contact with plastic (without any water), it might melt it. It reminds me of the heating element in the bottom of a dishwasher. Those elements heat up the water and dry the dishes when done...if anything plastic falls onto them during the cycle, they get melted during the drying cycle. But I can't see how that would happen with this device because of the protective cage...the only thing in the bucket is water and the de-icer and the cord is stiff enough that it would never bend back onto anything and it would be next to impossible for the cord to get melted. They designed these well. I always had to fidget with the aquarium heater to make sure the cord was safe. I feel much safer with this de-icer. They are a de-icer, not a water heater. The water stays tepid. They probably get as hot as the heating element inside your bird bath heater, if you were to take the aluminum casing off. Most of the de-icers I looked at were cased in aluminum, which I am also not a fan of.

Here is the nearly identical bucket heater: http://amzn.com/B002QXN1EQ It's the same wattage, same price and same dimensions from what I can tell.

Here's a post with a pic of it in my 5 gallon bucket. Also, I originally used this in a 3-gallon bucket, same diameter as the 5 gallon, only shorter.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...et-critiques-recommendations/10#post_14351534

 

[iwiw60]

I also use a bb heater but I don't want to continue using it because they are made of aluminum which has the potential to cause metal poisoning over time.

I was trying to find one that isn't aluminum with no luck so far. Maybe I should invent one Wish I had a way to do that and get it into manufacture.

Where is your information on "...because they are made of aluminum which has the potential to cause metal poisoning over time" ?????????

 

[iwiw60]

For those of you with 5-gallon water buckets I just spotted this one on walmart.com :

http://www.walmart.com/ip/19868984?...2-optcr&e_id=082ce49778c675cfd67768067b2dcaf5

 

[WestNashChick]

I have a 5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples. I just installed the Wild birds unlimited" brand bird bath de-icer. It works perfectly, floats in the water, and is incased to prevent melting the plastic.