2010-06-21

The Auto Filling Bucket Waterer

With a few parts from the nice people at http://www.avianaquamiser.com and some modifications we now have an auto filling bucket waterer to keep our hens happy. It was about $60 in parts and only a few minutes of labor to assemble. It's a short and simple parts list:

  • 5 gallon Bucket with Lid
  • Avian Aqua Miser 3 pack kit
  • Toilet Fill Valve Assembly
  • 7/8" to 1/2" Toilet Supply line
  • 1/2" brass nipple
  • 1/2" to 3/4" hose swivel adapter
  • teflon tape and silicone glue
Make sure to snip the edges of the lid, at the perimeter markers. You'll want it to be an easy off lid and you don't want an airtight seal. If it sealed airtight, the pressure would block the flow of water from the fill valve.
Drill a 1" hole in the bottom of the bucket for the toilet fill valve. Use the rubber grommet and plastic nut to seal and hold the valve in place. The supply line, nipple and swivel adapter will need teflon tape at all the brass on brass junctions. Drill holes for the Avian Aqua Miser watering nipples, thread them in and seal lightly with silicone glue. Once the silicone has cured, hang your new auto filling bucket waterer in your hutch and attach a garden hose. Adjust the height of the water level with the fill valve. We're going to keep the level around 2-3 gallons so it's always super fresh.




These projects save us time and allows that to be directed into more and better gardening.We love our funny farm.
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2 comments:

  1. vastgeneJul 12, 2010 12:05 PM
    A great idea! I will be constructing one of these soon.

    One issue may arise, however. The fill valve is 'contiguous' with the house drinking water supply, yes? Meaning, that there is a chance that now and then, pressure in the line or hose reaching the bucket could force the water contents of the bucket back INTO the house drinking water system.

    The use of an 'anti-flowback valve' at the garden hose adapter should fix that issue. Such valves, made of brass and costing under $10, can be found at Home Depot, etc. They allow water to flow only one-way, from the supply to the point of use (in this case the toilet fill valve).

    I believe these valves are called 'anti-siphon valves' as well. They are designed to screw directly onto garden hose fittings. They can operate in any position, unlike the 'hanging flap valve' design, also available.

    I use these valves on all of my outdoor hose bibs (faucets), so that I will never again get a mouthfull of 'hose water' from my kitchen sink!

    Thanks for a great site. Your works are very inspiring to me!

    ==GP==
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  2. GWDeveloperApr 13, 2011 06:29 PM
    Wow, I had never seen any comments on the site. Firefox was blocking them. What a long delay. The fill valve is on a separate hose-bib that is dedicated to the chicken pen. It is plumbed off of the irrigation system. Here in Round Rock, city code requires all irrigation to have a backflow preventer of sorts -in this case it is a double-check assembly. Our hosing code also requires all house mounted hose-bibs to have hose anti-siphons pinned in place. I'm a licensed irrigator in Texas so they make me know these codes.
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