Where is the water going?

[Bear Foot Farm]

. Just don't know where.

Based on what you've said, the only place it COULD be leaking is the bottom of the pan.

Take it out of the coop and put a gallon or two of water in it , and set it on a table, on a couple of bricks, so you can see the bottom, and watch for a leak.

If you find it, you can seal it with JB Weld​

 

[OldGuy43]

I just had an idea. Put food coloring in the water. Might make it easier to tell where it's leaking.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I just read the reviews for this waterer.

wouldn't buy another oneDate:August 19, 2010The poultry waterers you used to sell, the one with the octagon shape were so much better. This waterer leaks no matter how tight you crank down the top. It is a pure waste of money. I only use this one out in the yard for the few stragglers that escape and might need water since it is unreliable.

don't waste your moneyDate:August 17, 2010I wish I had seen reviews on this product before I spent the money. The design is faulty, it doesn't stop when the trough is full, so as soon as you set it up you lose all the water. I couldn't get the lid on tight enough to stop this from happening. The water also comes out so fast that it splashes over the rim. I even tried lubricating the oring, made no difference except its easier to get the lid off.

Central TexasMillside fountain junkDate:June 24, 2010I bought one of these and had problems. The lid had to be screwed on so tight to keep it from leaking from the port that I had to 'use a pry-bar to get it off. I sent an email to the manufacturer in Canada. They were nice enough to send me another one. This one leaks all over my coop floor. Now I have 2 useless fountains. Anyone want to buy one cheap?
The lid is supposed to create a vacuum so that when the small cap is removed from the feeder port it doesn't overfill. Poor design.​

 

[OldGuy43]

Quote:
If I had to guess I'd have to say that it isn't really a water leak, but an air leak at the top. Try this; Get a bit of silicone grease (not spray, grease) and smear it on the the area where you close the top. That may seal it.

Well, I may have been right after all. You could still try my silicone grease idea, or maybe even Teflon pipe tape. Could work.

 

[gale65]

The top closes fine. It's good and tight. Otherwise the water would keep coming out the little hole until it overflowed and it doesn't do that. Good idea about the food coloring though-I'll try that when I get around to testing it. The new waterer is fine so far.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Those bad reviews are all "operator error"

If you lubricate the O ring with some vegetable oil or Vaseline it will seal easily

 

[kuntrychick]

That looks very similar to mine, but I'll have to check what brand mine is tomorrow.

I don't change the water daily. I do usually go pour out what's in the tray each day, swish it around a little bit, & let it refill with fresh water.

I take the bottom off about once a week or so (sometimes I do it less often) & clean & scrub the whole thing with Dawn, rinse it real good. Then, I soak it in bleach water to disinfect it. Then, I rinse it real good, put it back together, put the little screw on cap down on the little port hole to prevent it from leaking while I fill it, fill it up, put the lid on real good to prevent it from leaking when I remove the little cap. Then, I set it down on like 3 of those concrete patio squares, take the little screw-on lid off the port & put it back where it goes & water comes out the port & only fills up maybe the level of the hole. (I always know I didn't put the lid on tight if the water fills all the way up).

The reason I'm saying all this that you probably already know is because when I first got the waterer, I couldn't figure out how to keep from wasting water with it flowing out the tray/trough...trying to hurry up so I could hurry up & put the lid on to keep it from leaking. Then, I figured out that's what the little screw-on cap was for....LOL.

. If that ain't bad enough, I have also forgotten to remove the little screw-on lid from the port, therefore, the chickens couldn't get any water!

. Luckily, I only made that mistake once & it was only for a few minutes....learned my lesson from that!

Anyway, what about taking the tray off the old one & using the new tray (if it fits) & see if it still leaks. Then, you will know it's the tray. But it sounds like it may have some sort of small crack in the tray that could probably be sealed & fixed.