I'M TRYING TO DECIDE HOW TO BUILD A WATER NIPPLE DRINKING SYSTEM (FOR THE CHICKENS THAT I DO NOT YET HAVE); I'M STILL WORKING ON MY COOP AND ULTIMATELY THE YARD AREA. SOME OF THE FORUM THREADS HAVE PROVIDED SOME GREAT INSIGHT INTO USING THE WATER NIPPLES BUT I STILL HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. WILL A 55 GAL RESERVOIR CAUSE TOO MUCH PRESSURE ON THE IN-LINE NIPPLES? IF YES, THEN WHAT IS THE LARGEST CAPACITY TANK THAT WOULD WORK? I PLAN TO BUILD A STORAGE PLATFORM OUTSIDE THE CHICKEN COOP TO HOLD THE DRUM; THIS WAY I CAN RESUPPLY THE WATER WITHOUT GOING IN AND OUT OF THE COOP. THE DRUMS HAVE THREADED BUNGHOLES AND I WANT TO THREAD A SPIGOT INTO THE BUNGHOLE AND THEN BUILD A PVC SERVICE LINE FROM THE SPIGOT. I WILL INCORPORATE A QUICK DISCONNECT BELOW THE SPIGOT SO THAT THE DRUM COULD BE REPAIRED/REMOVED/REPLACED IF NEEDED. IT WOULD ALSO GIVE ME ACCESS TO THE LINE FOR EASY CLEAN-OUT, ETC. AT THE CONNECTION TO THE SPIGOT I PLAN TO USE A TINY SCREEN (MUCH LIKE THOSE USED IN WASHING MACHINE LINES) TO CATCH ANY SEDIMENT, SAND ETC. FROM THE WELL; THIS WOULD GIVE ADDED PROTECTION TO KEEP THE NIPPLES IN GOOD WORKING ORDER. AM I ON THE RIGHT TRACK HERE, OR DO I NEED TO RETHINK THIS THING? I'M ALSO UNCERTAIN AS TO WHICH NIPPLES I SHOULD USE. I REALLY LIKE THE ONES WITH THE SNAP-ON SADDLE AND TWIST-IN NIPPLE ON PICTURETRAIL. THESE WOULD BE EASIER TO USE FOR CLEANING OUT THE LINE, ETC, BUT THERE MAY BE DISADVANTAGES THAT I'M NOT AWARE OF. I ALSO LIKE THE INSTALLED 1/2" x 1/8" PVC TEE FOR 1/2" PIPE. I'M GUESSING THAT THE NIPPLES COULD BE UNSCREWED FOR LINE CLEANOUT. IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN THE SADDLE-TYPE INSTALLATION REQUIRES 3/4" PVC. AM I MAKING ANY SINCE WITH THIS THING? I'M OPEN TO ANY SUGGESTIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS.
Well, my first suggestion is to turn OFF Caps lock! You've got a lot of questions in there for one post. Your methods sound like they will work. As long as they get water, it doesn't matter how it gets to them, IMO.
If you haven't built yet, why not include a rainwater collection gutter to drain into your drum? Just a thought. That's my dream....
I had fun looking at some of these: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3534142 https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=356144&p=1 https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4344926 https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=301719 https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=311476
Quote:It's understandable, all that time spent around Huey's makes it hard to hear sirgknight-- I think your ideas are pretty reasonable. If you're worried about pressure, you could turn the barrel on its side--I've seen other people here on BYC do that and it seems to work fine. I also think that 3/4" pvc is best throughout. I don't know about taking the nipples out regularly and cleaning them, it may not be necessary; I haven't had mine long enough to know (6 mo). I wondered about cleaning them too and made mine so that the section with the nipples can be removed and cleaned out with a long bottle brush. You can see my set-up on my BYC page.
Gallons do not matter. The nipples offered today either all stainless or the red plastic ones have one limitation in common. They will leak thru with water pressure over 16" of water collumn. (about 0.75 psi) This means that the top of the water supply can not be more than 16" above the nipple. They sell regulators for operating on a hose and such. You can see them in use on my page. I can provide details of my system if you are interisted.
hope the caps didn't offend anyone. sorry. Big letters help me see better. thanks for the great feedback. i do plan to lay the drum on its side because of the spigot. i can run the supply line with very little drop from the bottom of the barrel. all i need is enough room to make a turn from the quick disconnect coupler. the larger the pvc pipe, the easier it will be to make the line. a rain collection system is a great idea, but if i can use a 55 gallon drum, then i should have enough supply to last at least a week, maybe longer. i'll only have 12 to 14 chickens. i'm thinking about having four nipples. this should give the ol' hens plenty of ports to get water. it gets very hot here in the summer time. thanks for the other post sites. i actually saw these during my investigating different threads and that is what lead me to build a nipple line. i wouldn't be cleaning the lines "regularly", but it would be nice to have a line that I could clean if necessary - just trying to think ahead. if i had a completely sealed line with no way to remove the nipples it would be difficult to clean out. when all of the water comes from a well you never know what will be pumped into the house. i have to clean out the washing machine screens about once a year. little pieces of grit, sediment, etc collects on the screen. the same thing can happen to a nipple water line, i guess. anyhway, thank yall for great advice and suggestions. do any of you use the saddle/twist type nipples?
one more question: at the picturetrail website they show a picture of a pvc tee that has the water nipple installed. are these available here on byc?
