Igloo Cooler Waterer - Discuss!

[Turnip Farm]

I'm following this too. I'm in Sacramento, CA and we get hot summers. I currently have a 5 gal bucket with something similar. And have black pipe insulation over the hose that connects to the PVC with the nipples in it in the coop. I would like an igloo cooler though.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I'm following this too. I'm in Sacramento, CA and we get hot summers. I currently have a 5 gal bucket with something similar. And have black pipe insulation over the hose that connects to the PVC with the nipples in it in the coop. I would like an igloo cooler though.

When it occurred to me (when I was browsing Lowes), I actually felt stupid for not having thought of it before - last summer was a nightmare keeping water cool. No reason it shouldn't work very well - just gotta get the fittings right...

 

[lpyrbby]

After one summer with it already, I don't ever want to NOT use one. Just the fact that it'll hold 5 gallons so I don't have to be in constant worry of them running out of water during the day is worth it enough for me. We're actually probably gonna put the regular ol' brew bucket out in the chick pen tomorrow because I'm absolutely tired of taking quart waterers out there to them, and them kicking up shavings into them. We may actually build the second cooler tomorrow, since husband saw me eyeballing the Britetap waterer

The other neat thing about using the 5 gallon cooler with the plastic tubing down to the PVC is that you can get other hose barbs to split the main line off to other areas. When we added new chickens, we built an introduction pen for the new birds to have right next to the main coop. We split the line with the hose barb to feed into both places. In the new coop, we'll do similar and possibly even split it 3 ways so we can add one in the brooder area that's going in the coop.

 

[Kev]

I have a mess load of screw-in vertical nipples, but haven't used them yet. I really like the cup version and have only had any leaking during the colder days we had when the water froze enough to make the PVC swell a little, which pushed one of the connection points loose in the PVC itself. I've been toying with the idea of heat tape during the winter, in hopes that maybe it'll be enough to keep them functioning.

REAL happy you use and like those! Either I did not know about those or they weren't out when I ordered the nipples. Those do look like something my birds would adapt to and use well. My suspicion is part of the problem with nipples is the summers here are so hot- 110-120F the chickens weren't 'easily' getting enough water from nipples. Too much work for not enough water or something like that. The final straw for nipples were the chickens piling up around a pail of water placed in there and drinking to the point of choking, despite the buckets with nipples still having water in them.....

It would work best if the coolers were placed outside the pen/coop if course- to keep them clean and for servicing.. but if that is not an option.. any ideas to keep the chickens from jumping up onto the cooler?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Right now I use big round feed pans filled with water on the ground in their paddocks as "back up" and for them to wade in to keep cool. They prefer drinking from that but will drink from both it and the big bell waterer they have. I ordered a couple of these as well as a couple of horizontal nipples, and am going to alternate them. But I'm not going to depend on just those for their water in the heat. I'm going to use a Y fitting to split the output from the cooler between this and one of those larger open float-valve waterers, like this:


Edit to add - I'm putting mine outside the coop and paddock. I'm sure Puppy will find a way out and onto the top of one, though...

 

[lpyrbby]

REAL happy you use and like those! Either I did not know about those or they weren't out when I ordered the nipples. Those do look like something my birds would adapt to and use well. My suspicion is part of the problem with nipples is the summers here are so hot- 110-120F the chickens weren't 'easily' getting enough water from nipples. Too much work for not enough water or something like that. The final straw for nipples were the chickens piling up around a pail of water placed in there and drinking to the point of choking, despite the buckets with nipples still having water in them.....

It would work best if the coolers were placed outside the pen/coop if course- to keep them clean and for servicing.. but if that is not an option.. any ideas to keep the chickens from jumping up onto the cooler?

Maybe some hardware cloth fashioned into a cone shape? I keep mine outside of the coop for filling and cleaning purposes so I haven't considered out to keep them off of it

Right now I use big round feed pans filled with water on the ground in their paddocks as "back up" and for them to wade in to keep cool. They prefer drinking from that but will drink from both it and the big bell waterer they have. I ordered a couple of these as well as a couple of horizontal nipples, and am going to alternate them. But I'm not going to depend on just those for their water in the heat. I'm going to use a Y fitting to split the output from the cooler between this and one of those larger open float-valve waterers, like this:


Edit to add - I'm putting mine outside the coop and paddock. I'm sure Puppy will find a way out and onto the top of one, though...

Good notes on the back up waterers in the heat. I hadn't considered that at all last year and suppose I'm lucky mine trudged through. We did have a mister going on the really hot days so they probably got more from that too.

Since I'm pretty much doubling the amount of birds I have this year, I'll try the feed pan idea for extra water. I feed fermented so I'm looking at either getting a goat trough for that or going cheap and making one from a section of gutter, which will free up the ones I'm already using.

 

[Turnip Farm]

I have a dog watering bowl, the kind with thick walls that has gel inside so you can freeze it. I put that on a large Terra cotta flowerpot so it nestles in, and fill it with water and electrolytes from the fridge. They cannot perch on the edge, too big and slippery, so the water stays clean. Theven pot keeps it up so they can't kick stuff into it. That's my water supplement in the summer. They love it. I have my bucket in the shade with an insulated wrap, gamma seal lid for easy opening, and when it gets really hot I put frozen bottles of water in there to keep the water cooler.

 

[lpyrbby]

Build photos!

Wrap the threads with teflon tape.




This is where you put the grommet type washer on.


Make sure to use the food safe petroleum gel to lube inside the grommet and around the outside of the fitting shown here.


One of the previously pictured gaskets weren't used, so skip the one that was filed on the inner hole. It makes it too thick to connect the pieces inside the cooler. Tighten the pipes together with a wrench.


Tada! (Yes, the inside got cleaned out before use

)


We set it up outside the chick pen today. No more fussing over quart sized waterers!

 

[Bluechick2u]

Subscribing

 

[Turnip Farm]

So it looks like no need for the fiber gasket from Napa?! Good news! The store was sold out of Igloo coolers, I've seen the Rubbermaid ones with screw on lids but don't know if wall molding and hole size are identical so I'll keep looking for Igloo. I've wanted a cooler for water for a couple years but didn't have it figured out yet. Thanks for all the pics and info!