I have a small backyard flock (3 or 4 hens). I wanted to create something standard (non-proprietary) that
uses the least amount of plastic but is larger than a quart jar, because I have to change that quite frequently.
I found a CAD design for 3D printers for a chicken waterer that uses a wide mouth jar (which can accomodate a half-gallon jar, moving in the right direction). I asked that designer to create one that could accommodate a gallon-sized jar with 110-400 threads. He generously did it! His
open-source designs are here.
As I was test printing a prototype, I printed only the "collar" portion of the design that attaches to the jar rather than the whole integrated collar/tray.
Eureka! The collar by itself is thick and sturdy enough to hold an inverted glass jar without the plastic tray, and I just set it on a terra cotta planter tray.
Less plastic, water touches mostly safer materials (clay and glass!) And
you can use off the shelf parts (i.e. a standard mason jar or gallon jar, plus planter tray).
Some usability concerns:
- Jar only sits on the tray through its own weight, so if you have ornery chickens, they could knock it over and cause a mess.
- Weight of a gallon of water in a glass jar plus a clay saucer is around 12 lbs. which requires some muscle, and can be tricky to hold and invert (a minimal amount will spill). The Half gallon is probably around 6-7 lbs.
Perhaps I will add tabs to the collar to make it more sturdy.
Thoughts/feedback on the design? Would you use this setup?
