I obtained an old steel
truck rim that would fit the container I bought at Atwoods in Tulsa,
OK…which holds about 40 gallons.
I cut the outside of the
rim (approximately 1 inch wide), drilled holes in the steel circle in
which I bolted three triangulated legs.
I also installed steel
wire in the feet of the pipe legs to keep the legs from squatting under
the weight of 40 gallons of water.
The legs are adjustable
with the nuts that can be seen located between the two pieces of pipe
that are the legs.
I installed four of your
automatic waters in the bottom (sealed with
silicone sealant) of the plastic barrel. I set the
barrel in the ring, filled with water, then installed a stock tank
de-icer (which keeps the water at approximately 62 degrees). During the
recent below zero weather we experienced in the Tulsa area, none of the
nipples froze (with the de-icer operating inside the barrel). My 24
hens adapted within 4 hours and now have clean water 24/7.
| We recommend our 3 pack DIY kit for making a heated waterer for up to 50 chickens. The CD that comes with each kit includes complete instructions to help you build our favorite heated options without any trial and error. The heated waterer we use in our own coop requires two buckets, a three foot length of pipe heating cable ($23), and the contents of our kit. With a layer of chicken-friendly insulation, the waterer is good down into the teens. |
I’ll trade a cat for the waterer.
Unfortunately, we’re full up on cats. Our two spoiled boys wouldn’t like anything to cut back on the attention they receive.
Ahh, i really like this idea. Making the support just seems kinda complicated though. I may give it a shot.
Dylan — You might also like this setup. Harder to heat, though.
the self-feed nipple looks to be a great way to keep the poultry water clean, but has anyone come up with a non-plastic option for the basin? using plastic – especially non food-grade containers is problematic. heating the plastic just serves to leach chemicals into the drinking water. trace elements (BPA, etc.) from the plastic containers can end up in meat or eggs. any helpful ideas about how to avoid this?
I got a 40 gallon stock tank up on blocks and two of your EZ Misers. We covered the trough just with wood because we ran out of time. We put a floating tank de-icer and a heat lamp positioned over the EZ Misers. In Canada our temperatures got down below -38 degrees celcius. I find the EZ Misers do fine during the day when the chickens were frequenting the nipples but at night they freeze up. I make sure they’re thawed in the morning. But repositioning the heat lamp to aim the heat up towards the metal part also works well. But I’ve found the heat lamp on the ground a couple times with singed bedding under it so I prefer to just thaw them in the morning. I’ll improve the tank lid and insulate it with solid insulation. Still perfecting the process but I haven’t had to fill the stock tank for 2 months so definitely liking the work it has saved me in lugging buckets across the sheer ice driveway. Can’t wait for winter to end! 🙂
Chantel — I’d love to see a picture of your setup if you stop back by! Feel free to email info@avianaquamiser.com, and I’ll share it with our other readers. 🙂