How to Make a Self-Watering Dog or Cat Dispenser
There are many self-watering dog and cat drink dispensers on the market, but why buy one when you can make your own? All you need is some wood, PVC pipe and a little bit of time, and you can fashion your own out of spare items in a short amount of time. Let’s look at this project and see how it’s a fun and practical way to develop your “MacGyver” skills.
Required Items
Plywood for the base
Piece of 2×4 for the stand
1 4” PVC coupling
4 screws
1 Two liter soda bottle
These items are just here for instructional purposes, and you can use whatever material you like in order to make a customized dispenser. You can also scale up or down as necessary based on the size and number of pets that will be drinking from this unit.
Preparing the Base and Stand
The first step is to fashion the base so that it is more accessible and safe for your pets while also making it less messy. Take the PVC coupling and place it near one of the corners of the plywood. Set it back just enough so the coupling does not hang over the edge. Draw a semi circle around this area and then cut off the section. This will provide a rounded edge that will make the unit more user-friendly later. Repeat the process for the corner on the opposite side as well. This should give you two rounded edges on the outer side of the base. Sand down all of the edges to make sure that any slivers are removed.
The next step is to prepare the 2×4 by sanding down the surface and rounding the edges. Rounding the edges will make the wood safer for you as well as the pets. Another benefit to sanding and rounding is that it will give the unit a more “professional” appearance, even if this isn’t exactly what you are hoping to accomplish.
Next, place the 2×4 vertically atop the base in the center of the rear edge. Situate the 2×4 so that it is flush with the edge or just slightly recessed. Trace out the shape of the wood with your pencil onto the underside of the base that corresponds with where the 2×4 will be placed. Drill two holes, each about an inch apart in the center of the traced outline. Let the holes penetrate through the underside of the base. Finally, center and hold the 2×4 vertically above the holes in the base. Have someone hold it in place or use clamps as you attach two screws to anchor the 2×4 into the base.
Preparing the PVC
The next step is to invert the PVC coupling so that the wide end is facing up. Place it on a flat surface and mark two dots about an inch apart somewhere along the perimeter. Next, make two vertical cuts through these dots that go from top to bottom with a hacksaw. This will remove a section of the coupling and allow it to flex after you insert the soda bottle later. Sand down the edges in order to give them a smooth finish.
Next, drill two holes in the side of the coupling opposite where you just made the cuts. Attach the coupling to the stand by placing two screws about two inches apart vertically. Position the coupling so the top is at or just a couple of inches below the top of the stand.
All you need to do now is cut the bottom half of the bottle off, fill with water and unscrew the cap. However, this doesn’t make it self-watering. There are a couple of options that you can do to make it more of a stand-alone unit. First, you can allow the bottle to rest along the back edge of the drink bowl. This will cause water to exit the bottle as the water level in the bowl decreases. However, you will have to re-position the coupling in order to bring the bottle down. You may also need to account for additional space between the stand, bottle and bowl as well.
One other solution is to take some aquarium tubing and use that to feed the bowl. Drill a hole in the center of the bottle cap, feed one end of the tubing through and let the other end rest in the bowl. Seal with some epoxy and you’re good to go.
In any case, this simple project can help you to create a drink station that can keep your pets hydrated so you can focus on other things. Try it for yourself and feel free to improvise as needed.
