waterer

[the simple life]

Has anyone else had problems with the big tin waterers?
I have a 5 gallon waterer and it constantly leaks. I have had it completely level and up on cement blocks and it still pours out. This morning I went out to the hen house and the shavings were soaked again, around a 2-3 foot radius. I just cleaned the coop again yesterday and put in fresh shavings and now I have to pull all the wet shavings out again. I don't know if this is a manufacturer problem or an operator problem.:| I believe it is sealed correctly, you just twist the cover back onto the base. Anyone else experience this?

 

[americana-chick]

i do not use tin wateres i use plastic because they seem to last longer

 

[ZooMummzy]

I use an automatic waterer because I'm lazy

 

[Jacky'sMamma]

Quote:
Me too! The Auta Wata!

 

[Dawn419]

I've got one of the galvanized ones that leaks constantly, even though we finally got it leveled.

My solution: I add less water to it, add water every day and added another plastic gallon waterer for the gang.

We used an old Harley tire (recycled from the dump), filled it with play sand and it was level and worked great...until the chickens decided to start eating the sand from underneath...

Dawn

 

[nmred]

I used to use a galvanized metal waterer and it worked fine--until I added vinegar to the water!! The vinegar ate through the galvanization and it started rusting really bad,

so I got rid of it and started using plastic.

Anyway....it sounds like your cover must have an air leak in it. To work properly, a waterer must have an airtight seal. Otherwise the air just rushes in and lets the water come out. Try checking the seams to see if you can find one. You may not be able to see it, though, as it doesn't have to be very large to cause a problem. If you can find a way to stand/prop it upside-down (ours had a pointed "roof" to keep the chickens off it) you could fill it with water, wait for a bit, and see if it leaks. If you can find a hole, patch it with JB Weld or silican caulking (the JB Weld would probably last longer). If you can't find one you could try doing the entire seam(s), both up the side and around the top. That would still be cheaper than buying a whole new waterer. Good luck! Hope you can make it work.

 

[the simple life]

Thanks so much for the advice. I appreciate it. Its so frustrating to have to keep cleaning up all the wet shavings every day.It could have a leak, even though its new. I don't think these things are made real well, especially design wise.