Introduction: Fill Four Containers at Once
I dislike buying new bottles of spring water in the store so wanted to devise a way to fill the empty bottles with refill water I get from the grocery store. I call it "the container-filling udder", but it's really not a romantic name. How about "the four-container filler"? ;) You can use the system for beverages other than water. Iced tea, lemonade and carbonated beverages (as long as you don't mind the fizz dissipating) are other good candidates for this system.
Step 1: Drill Four Holes and Epoxy in the Spouts
I drilled four holes in the bottom of a flat-bottomed container. The red circles you see are plastic cake decorating nozzles I had from a project I did long ago. After drilling the holes, I put a small ring of the two-part epoxy around the hole and pushed down on the cake decorating nozzles until they were firmly set.
Step 2: Epoxy Under the Spouts
Mix up more of the two-part epoxy and dab it around the spouts on the bottom of your container to ensure they don't move. The epoxy doesn't really come into contact with your beverage, so use as much as you need to prevent leaks.
Step 3: Prepare Your Containers
Place a shallow pan under the containers you want to fill. Although this system is quite precise, there have been times where I have forgotten to watch the level of the beverage and have overflowed a container. The containers need to be spaced to fit under the spouts.
Step 4: Fill Your Containers
Place your udder over the container, making sure that each spout is in the container you want to fill. It may seem somewhat unsteady when you pour your beverage, so as a precaution, hold the udder as you fill. Occasionally, due to the slope of the countertop or the height of the containers, one will fill faster than the others. Be sure not to overfill the udder, or you'll have a spill on your hands. The shallow pan under your containers should catch it, but it would be disappointing to waste your beverage.
Enjoy the ease with which you can fill four containers at once!
Enjoy the ease with which you can fill four containers at once!