# Pressurizing rainwater



## TRellis (Sep 16, 2013)

I was not exactly sure where to put this thread, but I thought that "Gardening" would be as good a place as any.

I presently collect and store rainwater in four 275 gallon water totes that are linked with a 1-1/2 manifold, essentially creating a 1,100 gallon or so reservoir. I would like to add a pump system of some type to the reservoir so that I can connect a hose to the system and provide pressurized water to a micro/drip irrigation system that will water my vegetable beds. I am getting tired of carrying watering cans full of water and can honestly find something better to do with my time.

Also, gravity feeding the rainwater is not an option. There is only a three foot difference in height between the highest point on the property and the lowest point. 

I have not yet determined how the irrigation system will be constructed. It could wind up being either pvc pipe system with holes strategically drilled in them from which the water will flow or it could wind up being a micro system with all of the little hoses and specially made tips. 

I also realize that I may not be able to water all of the beds simultaneously and I am good with that. My intent is to water two or three beds at a time and then manually switch the pressurized water hose to a different set of beds. The maximum run from the water tote location to the furthest bed is no more than 75â. 

I have done a bit of research and I have come to the conclusion that my three options are 1) a pressure tank in conjunction with a pump, 2) an inline pump controller in conjunction with a pump, and 3) a pressure sensitive pump.

Basically, I am looking for someone that has done something similar and asking for your advice, given the aforementioned parameters, on what type of system you would recommend and then the parts that make your system function properly. I would rather not spend a bundle of money on this project but I would prefer a system that functions properly and is reliable, with minimal problems, ideally.

Has anyone already done something along these lines? I welcome any advice that you can offer.

TRellis


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## FarmTechnician (Dec 25, 2014)

I recommend a water tower. Something small (since it must be at minimum 3 ft) like a 55 gallon drum on a 6-8ft platform. Use a small pump from an aquarium (25 watts) and a float with a cut-off switch for the pump. That would be one of the cheaper options. Pressurizing your system will cost some money as you will need a reservoir for the air to act on the water, a separate pump for the air, additional fittings, and more electrical consumption.


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Haven't done this type of irrigation myself, so this may lead you astray...,. I would suggest a sump pump ($100) at the totes, connected by a common garden hose to a water tower in your garden. The cutoff switch could be at the water tower instead of the tote, so that when it is filled, the sump pump shuts off, and when the water in the tower tank is low it starts up. I think gravity would be sufficient pressure you need for micro irrigaton. Just a suggestion...

geo


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I used the Harbour Freight pressure pump at my last house. Worked great. 

http://www.harborfreight.com/34-horsepower-shallow-well-pump-with-cast-iron-housing-69305-8595.html


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## TRellis (Sep 16, 2013)

Thanks to everyone for offering suggestions.

The problem, as I see it, is that most micro-irrigation systems require somewhere between 15 and 30 psi in order to function properly. Pressure will increase only .433 psi for each foot about the target area (my vegetable beds). In order to get the system up to 15 psi the water source would have to be 34+ feet in the air. That water source barrel would be higher than all of the houses in the area and taller than many of the trees. 

And I still have to pump water into the source barrel. That would require a fairly strong and therefore expensive pump.

The pump that Belfrybat provided a link for looks fine price-wise and may have worked well for you, but I took a look at the reviews. It seems that pump may have some problems including interior pieces and parts rusting and no source for replacement parts. I hate buying something that I can not tinker with and replace worn parts.

Thank you all for the suggestions, but unfortunately I have not yet seen anything that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

TRellis


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Again, just a suggestion on my part, but wouldn't a simple gravity system from the garden tank to the plant beds be workable? Seems like you wouldn't really need a micro system--just a drip system fed by whatever pressure produced, and without emitters or micro tubing to clog up, it would drain out into the beds just fine. You could also put a manifold so as to water a lot of beds at once, then shut off the ones that have gotten enough water, while the others kept watering.

geo


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## Jhn56 (Oct 11, 2011)

Water tower setup worked well for me. Before building my home (no well yet), I set a 275 Gallon IBC type tank approx. 4' high up on blocks. The drain outlet was fitted with a 2" camlock and reduced down to a standard hose outlet valve. When the tank was full, there was plenty of pressure...enough to walk a (flat) 1/2 acre garden and give everything a good drink. As the tank empties, of course the pressure drops off some, but gravity would drain that tank dry in no time. I always watered the plants furthest from the tank first.

Another option to increase capacity and pressure, would be to build a platform and piggyback 2 tanks with 18"-24" between tanks. Plumb the upper tank drain down thru the top of the lower tank via a bulkhead fitting. 

Or, you could forget about the water tower and hook up a 12v on demand RV type pump. (That was how I transferred water from the truck tank to fill the garden and camper tanks)


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Take a look at RV water pumps. They're not expensive for simple ones. A pressure tank from Lowes or Home Depot will even out the pressure and won't cost much either. If you want 120 volt instead of 12 volt, those types of pumps are available. I think one brand is FloJet. There are others. Good luck!


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## TRellis (Sep 16, 2013)

I would really love to just use a gravity system, but I just can not. Where I am presently living stacking the totes or pumping into a higher holding tank will just not cut it. That option would not be allowed.

That leaves me with keeping them where they are at which is only about 18" at most above the beds. That would be only 2.165 PSI at best and .433 at worst as the tank empties.

I have been giving some thought to a twelve volt pump normally used on an RV or boat, but from what I have seen they are even more prone to failure than 120 volt pumps and really not built to run for any great length of time. Depending on flow this bugger may be on for a four hour stretch.

I am still thinking of using a pressure tank and reliable pump (if there is such a thing), but instead of all the little hoses and emitters, just using PVC with holes drilled every foot. The problem with that is crop rotation along with the fact that not all of the vegetable beds are the same size nor the same shape. Don't ask.... 

It is the monster that I have created all on my own. I was feeling a little artistic with the creation of some of these beds. 

Let me ask this though... How imperative is it that the water exiting from the holes in a PVC pipe be right at the base of the plant as opposed to two or so inches away? Should there be watering pipes on both sides of the plant or is a pipe on one side adequate?

I am pretty sure that leveling the PVC pipe is pretty important and I am not relishing having to do that either.

TRellis


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## treefrog (Mar 18, 2006)

i have a rainfed gravity operated system in my greenhouse. i have a 500 gallon upright tank that fills from the roof drains. i have a "weep hose" system using half inch porous "weep hose" or "soaker hose" instead of emitters. half inch soaker hose has a three eighths inside diameter, so three eighths barb fittings work well. the interior diameter of common three eighths plastic barb fittings is a quarter inch. this means i can use common drip irrigation hose to distribute the water. i have a one inch black plastic pipe installed around the perimeter of the greenhouse. mostly, i have tropical trees in my greenhouse (avocados, mangos, papayas, bananas, etc).
the typical application is that i drill a seven thirty seconds hole i the one inch main supply, and jam a piece of quarter inch drip irrigation tubing in it. that's tight enough not to leak. the other end of the quarter inch tubing goes INSIDE the leg of a three eighths plastic barb tee fitting near the base of a tree. on the (barbed) OUTSIDE of one of the arms of the tee, i put one end of an eight foot or so piece of soaker hose. i take the soaker around the base of the tree and slip the other end of it onto the other arm of the tee. eight feet of soaker gives me about a two and a half foot diameter loop around the tree. 
i have the base of the tank about three feet above the dirt, and have plumbed in valves where i can send water to the soaker system, or just a common garden hose. the pressure isn't great, but it beats the hell out of carrying buckets.


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## Jhn56 (Oct 11, 2011)

Treefrog, Nice:thumb: What type filter are you using and where on your system is it located?

ETA: What size is the greenhouse?


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

TRellis said:


> I would really love to just use a gravity system, but I just can not. Where I am presently living stacking the totes or pumping into a higher holding tank will just not cut it. That option would not be allowed.
> 
> That leaves me with keeping them where they are at which is only about 18" at most above the beds. That would be only 2.165 PSI at best and .433 at worst as the tank empties.
> 
> ...



I have an "unreliable" 12 rv type pumps to pump from my spring to my hoop houses. It pumps 2 gallons a min, thru 700 ft of 3/4" pipe, with a 50 ft elevation change. Been working well for 2 years. 

I use this pump. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_527_527

[YOUTUBE]Q6PNECxhUI0[/YOUTUBE]


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## TRellis (Sep 16, 2013)

treefrog said:


> i have a rainfed gravity operated system in my greenhouse. i have a 500 gallon upright tank that fills from the roof drains. i have a "weep hose" system using half inch porous "weep hose" or "soaker hose" instead of emitters. half inch soaker hose has a three eighths inside diameter, so three eighths barb fittings work well. the interior diameter of common three eighths plastic barb fittings is a quarter inch. this means i can use common drip irrigation hose to distribute the water. i have a one inch black plastic pipe installed around the perimeter of the greenhouse. mostly, i have tropical trees in my greenhouse (avocados, mangos, papayas, bananas, etc).
> the typical application is that i drill a seven thirty seconds hole i the one inch main supply, and jam a piece of quarter inch drip irrigation tubing in it. that's tight enough not to leak. the other end of the quarter inch tubing goes INSIDE the leg of a three eighths plastic barb tee fitting near the base of a tree. on the (barbed) OUTSIDE of one of the arms of the tee, i put one end of an eight foot or so piece of soaker hose. i take the soaker around the base of the tree and slip the other end of it onto the other arm of the tee. eight feet of soaker gives me about a two and a half foot diameter loop around the tree.
> i have the base of the tank about three feet above the dirt, and have plumbed in valves where i can send water to the soaker system, or just a common garden hose. the pressure isn't great, but it beats the hell out of carrying buckets.


Treefrog,

Sorry, but I do not see a picture, but I do see an icon that leads me to believe that one is supposed to be part of your post.

I have a boatload of "soaker" and "weep" hoses and I have even tried hooking them to the spigot from the tanks and just let gravity do its best. The soaker hoses were useless and the weep hose did, IIRC, let some water out, but it was not that great. Both of these were meant for a pressurized system, so maybe that is part of the problem.

Maybe I just need to poke a few holes into the soaker hoses and maybe bigger holes into the weep hoses.

TRellis


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## TRellis (Sep 16, 2013)

stanb999 said:


> I have an "unreliable" 12 rv type pumps to pump from my spring to my hoop houses. It pumps 2 gallons a min, thru 700 ft of 3/4" pipe, with a 50 ft elevation change. Been working well for 2 years.


I assume that your use of "unreliable" is sarcasm to my questioning if there is such a thing as a reliable pump??? 




stanb999 said:


> I use this pump. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_527_527


And is the pump that you use the same pump that pumps _"2 gallons a min, thru 700 ft of 3/4" pipe, with a 50 ft elevation change"_??? 

I checked out the pump in the link that you provided and it does show a lot of promise mechanically and economically. If nothing else, it would be worth an additional $7.00 just to be able to send it back if it fails and have them replace it.

I still have some questions about it, particularly about what they consider continuous runtime (I may still consider using a pressure tank) and also as to whether or not that pump can run dry without damage (there are some conflicting statements). I will ask the "experts" through the northern tool site.

If it is the same pump, how do you power yours? Rechargeable car battery? A 110VAC to 12 VDC power supply. Solar with a battery?

Regarding the video, I am really confused. I watched the video three times and not once did I see a solar powered pump. 

TRellis


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## treefrog (Mar 18, 2006)

jhn 56, no filter. the rainwater is pure enough. i suppose there's a little pollen, but other than that, it's just water. the tank is opaque, so there is next to no algae growth. the greenhouse is 24'x30' with 16' headroom.

TRellis, 
"I have a boatload of "soaker" and "weep" hoses and I have even tried hooking them to the spigot from the tanks and just let gravity do its best. The soaker hoses were useless and the weep hose did, IIRC, let some water out, but it was not that great. Both of these were meant for a pressurized system, so maybe that is part of the problem."
the weep hose is designed for a pressurized system. yes. at 30 psi it will perform as you are accustomed to. at low pressure it will perform much more ssssllllllooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy. are you in a hurry? when i run the water into the weepers, i go away and come back a few hours later. the soil is soaked in a ring around my trees. a little trial and error will tell you how long you have to leave the valve open. start with four or six hours. come back and check to see how far down your soil is soaked. if it takes fifteen or twenty hours to soak your soil, so what? gardening is not a split-second, hurry-up proposition. at least not around here.
alternatively, rig just one of your tanks to your weepers. time how long it takes to drain it. the pic? i've never been good at posting pics. i just cut and pasted a pic i had of my rainwater tank. "still life of 500 gal. olive drab plastic water tank with avocado trees"


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

TRellis said:


> I assume that your use of "unreliable" is sarcasm to my questioning if there is such a thing as a reliable pump???
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yep, it's that very pump. 

I contacted Shurflo about the duty cycle of the pump. It's less than one hour continuous. You also want to limit short cycling AKA on, off, on, off and so forth. You want a min of 30 seconds running and 10 seconds off to avoid switch failure due to cycling. What I did was time my watering for less than an hour and setup the drip lines so they can dispense all the water coming from the pump so it doesn't cycle. It isn't as hard as it sounds. On each run I have (75) 2 gph drippers, capable of putting out 150 gallons an hour. I have set up a battery powered timer that runs the water for 20 min. three times a week. So each dripper is dispensing about 1 1/2 gallons to each plant which has been plenty.

The entire system is solar powered. I have a panel and battery at the spring. 


Here is a write up about it on Build it solar.
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterPumping/SimpleSolarPump/SimpleSolarPump.htm


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