Heated nipple waterer

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Happy
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Heated nipple waterer

Post by Happy » Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:45 pm

I just got the Premier catalogue today and like the looks of this heated waterer.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=w ... Vr6ch4pphM

The one that I have works well but it's a pain to refill. You have to remove the base to fill and the base doesn't lock on so when I flip it back upright it can come apart and of course that means water everywhere. I like this covered design. Anybody know anything about this one? It's sure not cheap but for the number of times this winter that I have cursed lugging water, spilled water all over the deck or in the coop or down my clothes right before leaving for work...well I'm about willing to spring for it if I knew this would actually work in our climate.
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WLLady
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Re: Heated nipple waterer

Post by WLLady » Fri Jan 05, 2018 7:39 am

i had issues with the metal parts of the actual water release mechanism freezing solid in the winter. so i quit using the nipple waterers altogether.
when they freeze they either will not work, or won't stop working and then i would end up with wet pens because it would empty the entire system throught the leak.....and last thing we all need is wet birds in the middle of winter.

have to admit the best watering system i have found is either a heated base under the regular water (and risk the screw off lid freezing) or heated dog dishes. i have heated dog dishes in my pens now, and i fill them to the top once a day, and they do for the entire 24 hours, and if i were to get snowed out (gasp!) for a day they will do the birds 48 hours-i have between 5 and 8 birds per pen....
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Re: Heated nipple waterer

Post by Killerbunny » Fri Jan 05, 2018 8:52 am

I use those too Kathy and at the moment I'm swearing that I didn't buy a couple extra at the OPB show! The ones the supplier there has at the perfect size and they were a good price. With the weather I didn't get the pens combined like I wanted to.
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WLLady
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Re: Heated nipple waterer

Post by WLLady » Fri Jan 05, 2018 12:01 pm

i'm cheap. i stalked amazon.ca until they came on at an awesome price in the spring (overstock sale i guess). then buy the thermostats from digikey for when they burn out. i'll replace a thermostat twice and if it fails again then cut off the cord and use as a summer water dish until it cracks or breaks or whatever. so every few years i have to replace a bunch.....but if you stalk amazon or the sales i can get the 1 gallon (4 liter) ones by the box load and it works out to about 25$ per dish....regular 45 each at the hardware store on sale, 65$ when they aren't.....if i can find a good bulk supplier of heat tape i might start just repairing them all the way, i find the heat tape tends to give out after a couple years.
but mine are definitely high use, if i removed them from the pens in the spring they'd last a lot longer, right now i just unplug them and use them all year round, which means the mice nest inside the bottoms sometimes.....lol
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Happy
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Re: Heated nipple waterer

Post by Happy » Fri Jan 05, 2018 8:59 pm

WLLady wrote:
Fri Jan 05, 2018 7:39 am
i had issues with the metal parts of the actual water release mechanism freezing solid in the winter. so i quit using the nipple waterers altogether.
when they freeze they either will not work, or won't stop working and then i would end up with wet pens because it would empty the entire system throught the leak.....and last thing we all need is wet birds in the middle of winter.

have to admit the best watering system i have found is either a heated base under the regular water (and risk the screw off lid freezing) or heated dog dishes. i have heated dog dishes in my pens now, and i fill them to the top once a day, and they do for the entire 24 hours, and if i were to get snowed out (gasp!) for a day they will do the birds 48 hours-i have between 5 and 8 birds per pen....
Thanks for the info @WLLady
Did you have a heated nipple waterer and if so from where? I'm not willing to give up on it yet lol.
Question with your heated dog dish-im not sure why I think this but I envision a bird landing in a dish and getting a soaker. It's the main reason I haven't tried them. Maybe because I have bantams and they are big flyers in the coop. Has it ever been a problem?
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WLLady
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Re: Heated nipple waterer

Post by WLLady » Sat Jan 06, 2018 8:54 am

Oh birds arent too bright are they....I have had them walk through the waterers and i have one girl that insists on roosting on the dish....she gets ice in her tail but never gets wet too far somehow. My waterer system was heated with an aquarium heater and circulated with a pump and the metal pins would freeze the ball bearings inside and leak even when the water was still liquid. It worked great to -8c. After that i would have to thaw the pins with a lighter and it was a mess....so i would use tubs of hot water below -8 and then refill the system in spring.
I have lf....banties i would definitely get a smaller dish so they didnt swim. Worst my guys can get is a wet leg to the knee walking through....
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Re: Heated nipple waterer

Post by poultry_admin » Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:42 am

@Happy
The water system was a bunch of 3in pvc piping running through the pens on a downward slope. From lowest point a return line up to the tank again entering from the bottom. The whole system is filled with water. Water circulation is done by a pond pump (high flow, low head). Drain at the bottom to clean it in the summer. We had a shed setup with 9 pens (3x3) on either side of the shed. Water system ran through all 18 pens.
As Kathy said, summer was great because there was only one tank to fill (not 18!).
Winter to about minus 8 was ok for the aquarium heater (it warms water up warmer than a de-icer). But then we needed to add insulation to the pipe to keep it flowing. Our birds LOVE any insulation. It gives them something to play with.
And then there is not enough flow through the nipples to the front to keep it thawed. Only way was to make water warmer to conduct it through the nipple to the front. Can't rely on more flow through the nipple, because all birds sleep at night when the temps are coldest.
When it froze it was a mess. Now you have a full water system that's gravity fed draining through a nipple into one chicken pen..... A pump that runs dry and an aquarium heater that is plugged in without water around it.

Improvements we needed:
an extra vent on the very top to get the air out of the line.
a limit switch turning all electrical stuff off when the water is too low to limit fire risk.
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water line system.JPG
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Re: Heated nipple waterer

Post by Shnookie » Sat Jan 06, 2018 10:59 am

I use the heated water dishes. I use small green ones and the large blue ones. They work pretty well most of the winter - some ice on top when it's -4o or less - and are easy to clean. My building is not insulated. The biggest thing I don't like is that they charge the same for both sizes, unless you can find a sale.

I use the regular waterers for young chickens in the summer, and plastic "crockery" pet dishes for the bigger birds. The EOs have big combs and have trouble drinking from the regular waterers. The open dishes may get spilled or dirty, but I find them easier to clean than the jug waterers.
I set all my water dishes up on a couple of cement pavers to get them off the ground.
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