H2O Animal Hydration Aqua Buddy 2-Quart Homelife Series Automatic Waterer

This arrived quickly & in good condition. It is plastic, lightweight & plain. Only about an inch of water stays in the bowl, which is disconcerting, but it refills automatically, so it works perfectly for our 5 dog house. Amazon has several outdoor automatic pet water bowls, I could not decide on any one in particular, so I just ordered this one, knowing I might have to return it, considering the reviews regarding leaks. First, I wanted to install it INDOORS, we live in the desert & it would only collect sand outside - I was unable to locate a similar item designed for indoor use. So, before it even arrived, I knew I would need additional parts.After it arrived, I went to True Value & told them what I wanted to do - connect the bowl to the ice maker water line running to the refrigerator, by running tubing through the kitchen cabinets, & I took the bowl with me to make certain the connectors fit properly. Well, I followed the associate around the store, while he picked up the parts I needed. Then back at home we pulled out appliances & started drilling holes in cabinets & then connecting parts. At the end of the installation all that was needed was some Teflon plumbers tape to secure a connection. In the end, I *believe* we used a tee off the ice maker connector hose, connecting to 1/4" tubing which ran through the cabinets, then at the bowl, a 3/4" hose thread swivel to 1/4" compression adaptor, 3/4" Male Garden Hose x 3/4" Male Pipe Thread Adapter, to the bowl.So you know what you might be getting into, just pay attention to the comments on the previous reviews from Kevin 5/16/13, 06jeep 3/22/14 & Peter 4/2/13.We have had no trouble with water pressure, the float valve, or the bowl overflowing. The dogs adjusted to the new bowl perfectly.I believe the peace of mind of knowing the dogs always have fresh water, & not having to constantly refill bowls, is worth the extra $10 & a little time, to get it working the way I want.So, I'll give it 4 stars, considering that the bowl may not connect directly to your garden hose as it appears in the picture, because of the pipe threading vs hose threading. I also really wish it were solid stainless steel.If you have a problem, I recommend that you head to your local small hardware store for help. I have never gotten good advice from the big box stores, but the True Value employees at my store, go above & beyond to help you.If I have any problems, I will update my review.

Overall: Excellent. Massively impressed with an easy-to-adjust water level control. One almost major flaw though. The female hose connector no the dish does not turn. To connect or disconnect from the hose, you have to rotate the entire unit around the hose end or put a 'female to female' adapter on that does rotate. The good news is that this is easily fixed by using a common garden hose quick disconnect. However, another issue is that residual pressure in the hose makes removing the quick disconnect difficult after the water is turned off. I have had to construct a PVC connection with both a shut-off and a relief valve to make it easy to use. I can shut off the water then crack the relief to drop the line pressure and then fairly easily remove the quick disconnect. To be fair, this would not be a problem if the water dish sat someplace where I didn't mind just dumping out the water or if you used a hose and could move it off the patio. Bought this to replace a 'Mr. Dew Drop' that had served many years before rust got the innards. This isn't quite as good, but it works well.

I am now on my third one of these waterers. I go through about one each year but this does not mean the product is bad. I use them to water a dozen chickens that I raise and they are a little rough on the unit -- they love to stand in the waterer and also peck at it a lot -- that's what chickens do. Also, I live in the Phoenix area with temperatures in the 100 degree range for months on end. This takes a toll on the plastic unit and it usually starts to leak or crack after about a year's use even though it is in the shade. I've tried metal versions and they are not as good as the water here is very hard and corrodes the units much quicker than the heat and chickens destroy the plastic waterer. I do wish the unit was a bit heavier or had some way of being attached to the ground as it sometimes gets knocked over causing small floods. I think this might be a problem if it is being used for dogs. It definitely has to be used outdoors, and the instructions do state that, to prevent occasional flooding. I also wish the hose attachment was able to swivel as this would make attaching the hose much easier. These are minor complaints. It is very easy to clean and is a good value for the price.

I got this yesterday based on its better reviews than some others. Some of its bad reviews were related to the bowl leaking at the hose connection. I now know why that is. It should thread right on to the male 3/4 inch hose threads, (which are slightly more coarse than a 3/4 inch pipe thread.) However, the female threads are 3/4 inch PIPE threads and therefore, too fine to properly grip the common hose threads. Any Ace Hardware, or ohers, will sell you the pieces you need to correct this issue, (about $5.00-$6.00). This is the only issue I've had so far, once I got it properly threaded, with the right pieces, there was no more leaking at the connection. The manufacturer really needs to correct this issue and send the product out with the right part. I used to work in a hardware store, so I'm familiar with this kind of stuff, others who may not be, will simply say it leaks, and and send it back.