Drip system woes

[hagmegsis]

So the drip system I have is terrible. It either drips too much or hardly at all. I got tired of fidgeting with it. The constant leaking, or lack of, was a pain. I decided to try and idea. I poked a small hole in the bottom of a water bottle. I set it on top of my set up and gave it a wait.

It works great. Just the perfect drip. Pop-Tart immediately drank from it. It last all day; and doesn't flood the bottom. I'm making the post so any one else with drip issues can consider it.

 

[MSMorgan]

Sounds like what I do in addition to my Mistking watering schedule. I put the water container on the top of the enclosure and Lucky drinks from it. That way, he has different opportunities to drink from different methods of watering throughout the day.

 

[Carlton]

I hated drippers and stopped using them for the reasons you mentioned. What worked better for me was a modified IV drip setup, most likely because the parts were more carefully designed and manufactured (the valves, tubing, stop, etc). Now I rely on misting and fogging depending on the species.

 

[jtimen]

I hated drippers and stopped using them for the reasons you mentioned. What worked better for me was a modified IV drip setup, most likely because the parts were more carefully designed and manufactured (the valves, tubing, stop, etc). Now I rely on misting and fogging depending on the species.

Hey Carlton. Would you mind going into a little more detail about the IV drip system? I hate the valve on the Little Dripper--there doesn't seem to be a happy medium with water flow, and man, is it a pain to turn that little thing! It always feels like its going to snap. Thanks!

 

[trickedoutbiker]

^^^^ There is a tiny little black piece of hose that comes with the Little Dripper and Big Dripper. Run that little black hose from your Little/Big Dripper to a metal aquarium gang valve. These can be purchased in pet stores, but most pet stores only carry plastic ones. Find an actual METAL one, and the reason for this is because metal doesn't wear down like plastic does. Here is a link to the exact same one that I use: http://www.petsmart.com/fish/air-pu...-gang-valve-zid36-5121969/cat-36-catid-300087 It works good because it has a little lip you can just hang it on the side of your cage with, and put a little piece of tape on the back of it to prevent it from wiggling around.

Anyways... Run another small piece of black hosing from the aquarium gang valve to your cage and this will be where the water comes out. Fill the Dripper container with water. Now, leave the valve that came with the Little/Big Dripper all the way on (all the way open) and then use the aquarium gang valve to adjust the speed of your drip to your liking. The valve knobs on the gang valves are way more precise because of how they work, and are good to fine-tune the speed of the drip. Once you set the drip how fast you want it with the gang valve, LEAVE IT, and don't mess with it anymore. If you want to adjust the speed here and there afterwards to see what your chameleon responds to the best then go ahead, but it's best to adjust it to where you want it and make minor changes only if you have to. This again, is why a METAL gang valve is the best, because IF you have to make any changes, then you won't wear down the valve rod mechanism as fast. Once the gang valve is at the exact speed you want it, never touch it, and use the Little/Big Dripper valve piece to turn the water either all the way on, or all the way off. Never set it to run in the middle. When you have the Little/Big Dripper valve all the way closed, everything is off and no water. When you have the valve all the way open, the water will flow very quickly into the gang valve, which is already preset for how fast you want your drip (because you would have adjusted this by now) and it will continuously regulate the drip

I myself own both the Little Dripper and the Big Dripper. I currently have the Big Dripper on my main cage because it is larger and holds more water, and I use the Little Dripper to place on top of his older, smaller cage when I put him out on the balcony for some sun in his old cage. I know the standard ball valve that comes with the Little/Big Drippers suck. My suggestion easily fixed my problem and I'm sure it will work good for you as well. The reason you cannot keep a steady drip in the Drippers is because as the water drips out, there becomes less water inside of the container. This creates less pressure to push the water down and out of the valve. Even though there is a hole in the lid of the Drippers, it isn't enough to equalize the pressure within the container and pull the water out of the bottom at a steady speed. I even drilled another 10 holes in the Little Dripper lid to see if that would of helped pull more air down to push the water out, and it didn't help. The valves just suck. The solution though, is the gang valve. It works just a bit differently than a ball valve, and works by pushing a small rod down into a hole. Kind of like if you were to poke a hole in a plastic cup with water, and push a pencil into the hole until it is snug and the water flow out of the cup stops. This is why you want a metal gang valve, because the pushing of the rod in and out as you adjust it or turn it off will wear down plastic. Gang valves are typically used to control airflow on air lines leading into aquariums. They aren't meant to be constantly adjusted. But they are pretty precise, at least in my experience with them. You just set the drip speed how fast/slow you want it on the gang valve, and then when you want to turn the dripper on, you use the ball valve knob on the Little/Big Dripper valve. When you want the water to be off, you just adjust the Little/Big Dripper valve to the off position. This fixed my problem and I was able to achieve a steady drip speed, all day, every day, that never changed by more than a half second, if that. It works because you are leaving the original ball valve that came with the Drippers all the way on. This allows maximum water flow out of the container, into the gang valve, which is the valve that regulates your water. And because you set it and never touch it again (that's what I'm recommending you do), then it is always in the same spot, all the time, every time, and regulates water at the same speed every time you turn it on and off using the other ball valve.

Keep in mind though, that if using tap water like I would recommend in a dripper as to not waste R.O. or Distilled water, then over time, there will be a slight mineral buildup begin to form inside of the gang valve. THIS WILL change the rate of your drip just a bit. For me, using this gang valve trick, I was able to achieve a steady drip day in and day out, for almost two months before I really noticed any change in the drip rate. Then I just took the valves and soaked them in vinegar to loosen the mineral deposits, and rinsed them really well before putting it all back together.

I like the Little Dripper and Big Dripper because they have large openings for water to be poured in, allowing me to refill them easily without making a mess while still leaving the drippers on top of the cage. That, and they just look a lot better than a tacky-looking milk jug on top of the cage. My opinion I guess.

Would you mind going into a little more detail about the IV drip system?

When trying to find a solution to the valve problem myself, I came across a good article concerning that IV method. Here is the thread: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/zoo-med-dripper-mod-step-by-step.104226/

That way would work great because as stated before, an IV drip is made with more quality materials because it is intended for hospital use. The only downfall I saw with it is that you have to somehow hang the Dripper above the IV so that way the water can run down into the IV, and down even more into the cage. So it would have to be hung from a ceiling or something up high, and that's what made me look elsewhere for a solution. The gang valve was it. The gang valve has to be slightly lower than your Dripper as well, but this can be easily achieved if the Dripper is sitting on top of the cage and the black tubing runs down into the gang valve which is hanging on the side of your cage, already lower than your Dripper because of its placement. If you get the same gang valve I have, then the tubing from the Dripper will go in the top, and you run another tube out the bottom of the dripper and into your cage. If you don't want a hole in the side of your cage, then find something to elevate the Dripper a bit while it is on top your cage, and rig up the gang valve some way to get the result you want.

Hope something in my giant novel there helps.

 

[jtimen]

^^^^ There is a tiny little black piece of hose that comes with the Little Dripper and Big Dripper. Run that little black hose from your Little/Big Dripper to a metal aquarium gang valve. These can be purchased in pet stores, but most pet stores only carry plastic ones. Find an actual METAL one, and the reason for this is because metal doesn't wear down like plastic does. Here is a link to the exact same one that I use: http://www.petsmart.com/fish/air-pu...-gang-valve-zid36-5121969/cat-36-catid-300087 It works good because it has a little lip you can just hang it on the side of your cage with, and put a little piece of tape on the back of it to prevent it from wiggling around.

Anyways... Run another small piece of black hosing from the aquarium gang valve to your cage and this will be where the water comes out. Fill the Dripper container with water. Now, leave the valve that came with the Little/Big Dripper all the way on (all the way open) and then use the aquarium gang valve to adjust the speed of your drip to your liking. The valve knobs on the gang valves are way more precise because of how they work, and are good to fine-tune the speed of the drip. Once you set the drip how fast you want it with the gang valve, LEAVE IT, and don't mess with it anymore. If you want to adjust the speed here and there afterwards to see what your chameleon responds to the best then go ahead, but it's best to adjust it to where you want it and make minor changes only if you have to. This again, is why a METAL gang valve is the best, because IF you have to make any changes, then you won't wear down the valve rod mechanism as fast. Once the gang valve is at the exact speed you want it, never touch it, and use the Little/Big Dripper valve piece to turn the water either all the way on, or all the way off. Never set it to run in the middle. When you have the Little/Big Dripper valve all the way closed, everything is off and no water. When you have the valve all the way open, the water will flow very quickly into the gang valve, which is already preset for how fast you want your drip (because you would have adjusted this by now) and it will continuously regulate the drip

I myself own both the Little Dripper and the Big Dripper. I currently have the Big Dripper on my main cage because it is larger and holds more water, and I use the Little Dripper to place on top of his older, smaller cage when I put him out on the balcony for some sun in his old cage. I know the standard ball valve that comes with the Little/Big Drippers suck. My suggestion easily fixed my problem and I'm sure it will work good for you as well. The reason you cannot keep a steady drip in the Drippers is because as the water drips out, there becomes less water inside of the container. This creates less pressure to push the water down and out of the valve. Even though there is a hole in the lid of the Drippers, it isn't enough to equalize the pressure within the container and pull the water out of the bottom at a steady speed. I even drilled another 10 holes in the Little Dripper lid to see if that would of helped pull more air down to push the water out, and it didn't help. The valves just suck. The solution though, is the gang valve. It works just a bit differently than a ball valve, and works by pushing a small rod down into a hole. Kind of like if you were to poke a hole in a plastic cup with water, and push a pencil into the hole until it is snug and the water flow out of the cup stops. This is why you want a metal gang valve, because the pushing of the rod in and out as you adjust it or turn it off will wear down plastic. Gang valves are typically used to control airflow on air lines leading into aquariums. They aren't meant to be constantly adjusted. But they are pretty precise, at least in my experience with them. You just set the drip speed how fast/slow you want it on the gang valve, and then when you want to turn the dripper on, you use the ball valve knob on the Little/Big Dripper valve. When you want the water to be off, you just adjust the Little/Big Dripper valve to the off position. This fixed my problem and I was able to achieve a steady drip speed, all day, every day, that never changed by more than a half second, if that. It works because you are leaving the original ball valve that came with the Drippers all the way on. This allows maximum water flow out of the container, into the gang valve, which is the valve that regulates your water. And because you set it and never touch it again (that's what I'm recommending you do), then it is always in the same spot, all the time, every time, and regulates water at the same speed every time you turn it on and off using the other ball valve.

Keep in mind though, that if using tap water like I would recommend in a dripper as to not waste R.O. or Distilled water, then over time, there will be a slight mineral buildup begin to form inside of the gang valve. THIS WILL change the rate of your drip just a bit. For me, using this gang valve trick, I was able to achieve a steady drip day in and day out, for almost two months before I really noticed any change in the drip rate. Then I just took the valves and soaked them in vinegar to loosen the mineral deposits, and rinsed them really well before putting it all back together.

I like the Little Dripper and Big Dripper because they have large openings for water to be poured in, allowing me to refill them easily without making a mess while still leaving the drippers on top of the cage. That, and they just look a lot better than a tacky-looking milk jug on top of the cage. My opinion I guess.



When trying to find a solution to the valve problem myself, I came across a good article concerning that IV method. Here is the thread: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/zoo-med-dripper-mod-step-by-step.104226/

That way would work great because as stated before, an IV drip is made with more quality materials because it is intended for hospital use. The only downfall I saw with it is that you have to somehow hang the Dripper above the IV so that way the water can run down into the IV, and down even more into the cage. So it would have to be hung from a ceiling or something up high, and that's what made me look elsewhere for a solution. The gang valve was it. The gang valve has to be slightly lower than your Dripper as well, but this can be easily achieved if the Dripper is sitting on top of the cage and the black tubing runs down into the gang valve which is hanging on the side of your cage, already lower than your Dripper because of its placement. If you get the same gang valve I have, then the tubing from the Dripper will go in the top, and you run another tube out the bottom of the dripper and into your cage. If you don't want a hole in the side of your cage, then find something to elevate the Dripper a bit while it is on top your cage, and rig up the gang valve some way to get the result you want.

Hope something in my giant novel there helps.

A gang valve, of course! That's a great idea!! Thanks for all the helpful info. I thoroughly enjoyed your novel.

 

[trickedoutbiker]

I thoroughly enjoyed your novel.

Sometimes I just type and type and it turns into a novel but I like to explain things in detail a lot of the time that way it paints a super clear picture of what exactly it is I am trying to say. Good luck and lemme know how it works out for you.

 

[Chamifornia]

Sometimes I just type and type and it turns into a novel but I like to explain things in detail a lot of the time that way it paints a super clear picture of what exactly it is I am trying to say. Good luck and lemme know how it works out for you.

Good advice! I'm sure this will help a lot of people.

 

[Carlton]

Hey Carlton. Would you mind going into a little more detail about the IV drip system? I hate the valve on the Little Dripper--there doesn't seem to be a happy medium with water flow, and man, is it a pain to turn that little thing! It always feels like its going to snap. Thanks!

Guess the info was already given. Back in the dark ages of cham husbandry that IV setup or some perforated hose were our options for extended dripping water sources. When the Little/Big drippers came out I pounced on them but never really liked how unpredictable they were. Then Ecologic Technologies brought out the RainMaker misting systems and I switched to them. I still have my original RainMaker Jr. from 1996 and it still works!