My plan for garden watering, let me know any comments or concerns
>rainwater is collected at the house and stored in ibc tanks to be used during dry days
>the garden is approx 15 feet lower in elevation
>static pressure from the filled tanks flows out of pvc sprinkler heads
>the lines are kept underground so I don't have to trip over them
>during prolonged droughts I can use well water to fill the tanks
I guess my biggest concern is are these tanks big enough to generate enough pressure to get enough flow? maybe I could stack a tank on top to double the pressure
If you're going for actual sprinklers I'd add a pump in line to boost the pressure. As is I just see your system soaking or washing out the roots.
It's going to be difficult to keep the water clean enough that it doesn't clog the sprinklers. With low pressure it's more suited for drip, but drip also has the same issue with needing very clean, filtered water.
Maybe add a chain link for filtration?
if you have the gutters and tank thats most of the work
cloggin is not really an issue like guy says
thats why they sell filters seeves that you put at mouth of opening on tank,
once tank is full it has enough pressure for you to water shit, with drip
if you want sprinklers just buy a pressure pump that you use on rvs, it connects to ellectrical and gives you pressure
connecto to the valve and put on sprinklers
they sell solar systems but you need to resesarch them and install them
water rain tanks can be huge and store a ton of water
most cities will even give you money for them
san diego here
they will give you 1 paid for
honelsty a soaker house buried in the grass would proaby work better
you see
they sell batter powered valves
that open and close a few times a day or week
on timer
put on valve runs on battery
put soaker in the grass and you dont really need to waste power beside battery
buy like one of these
you can get them for like 15 dollars but nicer onces with wifi can go for a 100
hook up to soaker hose
bury in lawn
set it to like once a night
then you dont really have to worry abought pressure as long as the tanks are 1 20th full
The size of the tank doesnt really matter for the pressure, only the height difference. You'll also lose pressure if the lines are too small and/or you have many sprinklers.
Normal water pressure from the tap is about 10 meters, and the flow is about 10 liters per minute.
It will work, but you have to get the right sprinkler heads. They need a certain amount of pressure to work. I have popup sprinklers and they only pop up up when the pressure is above 6 meters.
Small electric pumps (12v) are pretty cheap (~10 euro) and easy to use. You can also use a normal pump for groundwater (~100 euro) or a submersible pump (~40 euro)
But you will not double the pressure by adding another tank, this probably does nothing at all (except store more water).
That dog is rather gentle with that goose.
he looks like he's amused at first and then after the 2nd or 3rd time goose resumes its attack he's like, wtf is wrong with this thing
>lose pressure if the lines are too small
It's literally the opposite. You lose pressure if your lines are too big. Pressure is force divided by area. A smaller area gives a bigger pressure.
>you will not double the pressure by adding another tank
This is kinda true. It won't double, but more water is more force pushing down. Raising the water higher will give even more force. But it still won't be enough to be used as a practical sprinkler system without an external pump.
If your lines are too small, you lose pressure due to speed effects. Basically, fast flow = more turbulence and smaller diameters = greater relative surface roughness. This information can be observed in a diagram form via the Moody diagram. Overall, smaller diameters = greater head loss at the same flow rate.
Now, it's true that pressurizing a pipe that's not filled with a liquid is hard, but that shouldn't be relevant as long as you have enough fluid.
No, he is right. Cross sectional area of the pipe doesn't change hydrostatic head. The pressure acting on the pipe is only going to depend on the height of the top of the water. It doesn't matter what the shape of the container is because the hydrostatic pressure of a fluid is only based on height of the fluid column and density of the fluid. Wider or narrower pipes will not affect this.
Narrower pipes have a higher resistance and will create higher dynamic pressure losses. Wider pipes require lower fluid flow velocities for a given flow rate, and the lower velocity through the pipe leads to less friction against the walls of the pipe and therefore less pressure loss over the length of the line. That is why for a low head setup like what OP shows he would want wider pipes.
>are these tanks big enough to generate enough pressure to get enough flow
No.
One more vote here for soaker hose, besides working with gravity its also way better than surface watering because of fewer issues with weeds, less evaporation, less mildew and rot from soaked plant leaves and crowns, and subsurface watering encourages deeper root growth.
For things like herbs and most vegetables you don't even have to turn it off, just size the inlet to limit the pressure let the hoses weep 24/7.
Drip irrigation
there's like no fricking way you're going to operate sprinklers from a 15 foot drop.
you're going to regret burying those pipes if water freezes in them, or if you accidentally spike one with a shovel while tilling.
put a transfer pump in line, they're cheap.
The area immediately beside your house is more useful for other activities than areas further away. Try and move the tank away from next to the house wall so you're not always having to walk around it.
Can I just buy random sunflower seeds for planting them? Or are those feeding seeds. I have an unused part of my acreage and I want some sunflowers
In that drawing your garden looks huge, you might want to build a genuine cistern instead of some small tanks.
I have a big cistern in my yard build with concrete cylinders and that one didn't last for watering the tenish square meters last summer.
You might have to add an electric pump or hand pump into a separate tank, though.
>rainwater is collected
check your state laws or you'll end up in jail with a bill for demolition and disposal of your property when you are released. no i'm not joking.
stfu this is old news and it was oregon the northwest that passed this, a place that gets a ton of rain a year
the real crime is agricultural runoff
.
they fricking hate that shit
Aunt did something like this, but in the garden there are secondary barrels you can fill from the large reservoir OR by hose and the rows are watered from those. irrigation tubes get in the way of weeding and tilling, just fill up the watering can at the barrels and get a little exercise, if you forget to shut off the sprinklers all ur waters just gone.
sprinklers should have neccessary pressure listed on them? or borrow one and check or make one.
pressure you get is dependant on height of water column. check website for calculation.
you can automatically empty the tank with a bell siphon at whatever height you want.
but pressure probably wont be enough. so get or make a solar powered pump -- dont know how good these are but if you put it at the bottom of tank the water will also have a bit of fall to get even more speed.
if you need more speed you can have multiple downspouts with bell siphons on top of them and super ultra d00per mode -- have a solar powered pump inside the bell siphon output head that turns on when its full(floating ball valve for example).
thank you thank you ill be here for 2 minutes more.
>are these tanks big enough to generate enough pressure
Tank size doesn't determine the pressure. Elevation does. Tank size has to be sufficient to satisfy the GPH sprinkler demand.