Cool Dog/Beer Idea

So as some of you know I have recently aquired a large amount of brewing related stuff. Some of it has no real use. A fine example of this was a single spout metal tower that I got that previously dispensed margaritas. While the tower has a use, the plastic faucet and shank that came with it do not. Then one day while eating dinner I had a great idea. This is where my dogs eat/water...



It's the other side of my kitchen sink that comes through into my back room. So here's my cool idea. I'm planning on building one of those raised dog bowl holders, like a shelf with three bowls set into it. I was going to do this anyways. Then I said....

"Hmm...what if I buy one of those ice cube machine water adapters, hook one end into the water line running to my sink, and then the other end into that plastic faucet? Then my dogs would have their very own tap I could fill their water bowl from!"

Here's the faucet and there was my idea. Let me know what you guys think.

That's incredibly geeky and possibly a bit of overkill.

I freaking love it!!

Wow, you must have a lot of free time.

They make auto-filling dog bowls for permanent installation with ice-maker type tubing. I was going to suggest that but I would always worry about it getting stuck open and flooding the house. I like your idea much better... sure its manual but its safe and still makes things easy.

until the dog wacks the tap with his tail and starts the flow. Nice idea but what are you really saving ? Don't you need clean the water bowl every day any way ? My dufuss of a dog drops food into the water boil and plays with it . So its a nice mushy mess after a while.

then the dog is trained to open taps and drinks your beer while you are at work. BAD DOG!

Holy OVerkill but it is in the spirit of HBT so your good to go.

LMAO!!! I know someone who had a Great Dane. They thought they had a water leak until they figured out that the dog was hitting the in-door ice machine all day !

I think it is a great idea.

Edit:

I wonder if there is a way to make the tap handle spring back into closed position so that even if the dog does hit it, it'll just close back up without constant pressure on it.

springer said:

until the dog wacks the tap with his tail and starts the flow. Nice idea but what are you really saving ? Don't you need clean the water bowl every day any way ? My dufuss of a dog drops food into the water boil and plays with it . So its a nice mushy mess after a while.

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I was thinking of using a big heavy tap handle that I have to avoid this from happening...I''m saving a two step walk with a bowl full of water, but I'm making my dog's eating area like 3,000x cooler. And my dogs don't really get much food in their water bowl. I only wash it out like every three days or so.

Won't a heavier tap handle make it EASIER to pour? I mean correct me if I'm wrong... I know my 12' English pub style handles are an easier pour then the 3' plastic crap I replaced....

Still love the idea though Would be more money, and ingenuity, but I'm thinking you could rig a level sensor. I'm thinking something like a ball check valve from a toilet (not literally but the premises used). Water gets near the top of the bowl, water feed gets shut off.

MoRoToRiUm said:

Won't a heavier tap handle make it EASIER to pour? I mean correct me if I'm wrong... I know my 12' English pub style handles are an easier pour then the 3' plastic crap I replaced....

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You're right, I didn't really think that one through. Well, I guess it's tiny black plastic crappy ones until I can get my girlfriends dad to make me a small bone or something.

Thread one of the inserts into a Nylabone!

EDIT: It would look good, but now you'd really had problems with the dogs serving themselves. Maybe we should pass on that idea, but I think I just got an idea for a Golden Retriever Ale.

maybe you can but a hook on the back of the bone, and connect an elastic band from it down to the tap itself so it pulls itself back when you let go of it?