Automatic chicken waterer problems I am trying to build a 5 gallon bucket style chicken waterer.
My bucket has an o-ring airtight lid with pour spout and cap.
I have drilled a 1/2 inch hole about an inch up from the bottom.
The bucket sits in a 4 inch tall catch pan.
When I put my finger on the hole and fill the bucket, then put the cap on tight, remove my finger exposing the hole, the water flows to the desired height in the pan of 1 inch then it stays at that level and stops flowing. Perfect.
So I thought I could put a valve in place of my finger and do the same thing, WRONG.
I bought a turn valve, drilled a 1 inch hole in the bucket, and installed the valve. With the valve open, only drops of water comes out. The valve tube is about 3/8 inch.
What is the problem please? Is the valve size to small? I'm at a loss, please help.
 A: These types of waterers don’t work by letting water out as much as by allowing air in. The airtight lid serves to reduce the pressure sufficiently to prevent water flow out. So the only way for water to come out is for air to come in. That is why when the hole (without the valve) is exposed to the air the basin can fill, but as soon as the hole is covered by water the basin stops filling.
Now, consider airflow with your valve. You probably have the valve mounted almost horizontally. With surface tension an air bubble forms but cannot float up. You want the air bubble to go horizontally, but there is no force to make that happen. So instead the air bubble just sits at the entrance instead of detaching and floating up. Even if you mounted the valve vertically it may be difficult for water to flow down past the air bubble so it can float up.
By the way, this type of waterer is simple and works well, but always gets dirty. The birds poop in it, dirt gets in, and algae grows. I have had much better results with chicken nipples. I have also, this year, gone to automatic waterers with a float valve mounted in a cut-open PVC tube. I will post some photos tomorrow
