Lubing Drinker Cup - Yellow Upgrade Float Fitted

Fitted and ready to screw in

This is the same genuine German-made Lubing drinker cup used on every Dine-A-Chook cup drinker, with one job already done for you. We fit the yellow Dine-A-Chook upgrade float in Townsville before your order is packed, so the cup arrives ready to install and holds the higher water level from the very first fill.

Prefer to do it yourself? The standard cup with a yellow float comes with the same upgrade float loose in the bag. This listing simply saves you the job.

What the upgrade float does

Both floats refill the cup automatically. The difference is where they shut off: the original Lubing float closes the valve at a modest level, while the Dine-A-Chook upgrade float lets the cup fill a little higher first, so there is always more water in sight. Look closely and the only physical difference is a slightly thicker square pad where the float presses the valve.

The original Lubing float is still in the bag, so nothing is taken away: you can change back any time. With pliers, gently grasp the pin at the side of the cup and draw it halfway out; the float drops free. Hold the other float in place and push the pin home.

How the cup works

A float sits in the cup. As your birds drink and the level drops, the float drops with it and opens a small stainless valve that lets water in from the drinker. As the cup fills, the float rises and shuts the valve again. Nothing for the birds to press or peck, and nothing to learn. The cup holds only a little water at a time, so there is nothing for a hen to stand in, scratch litter into or foul the way she would an open dish.

Float colours

Yellow, pink and blue upgrade floats are the same design and work identically, so colour is your preference only. Pink and blue stand out against the red cup, which makes a water check a glance from the coop door. Floats swap between any of our cups, and you can mix colours on one drinker. This cup also comes fitted with a pink upgrade float or a blue upgrade float.

What it fits, and where to mount it

The cup screws into a standard 1/8” BSPF thread, so it fits every upright Dine-A-Chook drinker, every drum drinker outlet and every automatic drinker frame, as well as our drum drinker fittings. Seat an O-ring on the thread first, then screw the cup in firmly by hand: snug, not forced.

Mount it higher than feels natural. Chickens find water by smell rather than by looking down into it, so the cup can sit right up at the smallest bird’s eye height. A cup mounted low catches every bit of litter and dust the flock scratches up, and that is the most common reason a cup fouls quickly.

Low pressure only

Lubing cups are made for low-pressure, gravity-fed systems. The water surface must sit no more than 35 cm above the cup; any higher and the valve cannot hold it back, and the cup overflows. That is a setup issue, not a fault. Mains or tank pressure needs a header tank to bring it down first.

A cup that drips or overflows is nearly always telling you one of four things: head pressure over 35 cm, an airlock in the reservoir (loosen the lid and listen for the hiss), grit on the valve seat, or that it is due for a clean. A weep at the thread is usually a flattened or nicked O-ring.

Looking after it

Rinse the cups when you refill. Every fortnight, or monthly at the least, strip the cup down (cup, float, pin and the two-part valve) and wash everything in warm soapy water. Never boiling water and never the dishwasher. Rain and tank water carry more sediment, so clean more often on those supplies.

Building your own drinker? Keep to the 35 cm rule and the cups will do their job. We are glad to share what we know, but we cannot fault-find a system we did not design or supply. Bought a complete Dine-A-Chook drinker? Then you have our full support: contact us and tell us what you have checked.

Specifications

12-month warranty on Lubing cups. Colour loss and fading, rodent damage, and cups used outside a low-pressure system or not installed as directed are not covered. Full terms on our warranty page. Delivery is a flat $22.95 NZ-wide, any size order.

Pairs well with