Chicken waterer mod

thingiverse

I was having trouble with my chicken waterers because they all eventually cracked where the threads of the watering nipple pulled against the thin wall of the bucket. So I designed this contoured plate that goes on the inside of the bucket so that the nipple threads engage the plate rather than the bucket. Instead of using the recommended 11/32 holes, I drilled the bucket with slightly larger 7/16 holes so that the nipple threads won't engage the bucket, just the plate. The plate evenly compresses against the bucket wall with a gasket. This needs to be used with a new bucket - it doesn't repair cracks, but it will prevent the new bucket from cracking.