# 330 gal water tote



## mystang89 (Oct 10, 2012)

I have a 330 gal water tote that I use as a rain barrel for my garden. I works well enough with the soaker hose but I was wanting a bit more pressure coming out of it since the water only seems to come out of a new soaker hose best in certain areas, especially when parts are going up hill. What's the best way of doing this? I thought of a water pump like you'd use in a little plastic pond you buy from Home Depot. I don't really know how I would hook up the soaker hose which is currently connected to a spicket you see on houses.


----------



## jim_2326 (Oct 5, 2012)

I think you could hook up an electric pump that goes in the tote and hook your hose up to that. Electric submersible pumps are pretty cheap depending on the amount of pressure you need. I think you could use one from Home Depot or Wally world.


----------



## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

You could try something like this.
http://www.discount-pumps.biz/inline-pond-pumps.htm

Or maybe elevate your tank to increase the pressure.


----------



## mystang89 (Oct 10, 2012)

farmrbrown said:


> You could try something like this.
> http://www.discount-pumps.biz/inline-pond-pumps.htm
> 
> Or maybe elevate your tank to increase the pressure.


I did try to elevate the tote and it worked to an extent, just not the extent I wanted it to lol. With the inline pump are you able to hook the male end of the hose into a threaded part on the pump or will the pressure from the pump be enough to have it come out the hose stronger?


----------



## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

mystang89 said:


> I did try to elevate the tote and it worked to an extent, just not the extent I wanted it to lol. With the inline pump are you able to hook the male end of the hose into a threaded part on the pump or will the pressure from the pump be enough to have it come out the hose stronger?


I think that particular model uses barbed fittings, but that's no problem either.
Just use a short piece of hose with either a male or female end, whichever you need, and push it over the barbed fitting, then hook your soaker hose to that.


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

The fittings for those totes (quick disconnect) can be purchased at tractor supply (and can be reduced down to a PVC, and then to garden hose thread). 

In order to overcome the friction due to the line loss of a water hose a pump will be needed. A cheap irrigation booster pump would do fine and would give you the pressure you are used to coming from your home faucet. People don't realize how restrictive a garden hose is.


----------



## CesumPec (May 20, 2011)

If you just want more pressure to drip irrigate, maybe raising the tote to just under the gutter might be enough. But elevation is usually not a good answer for water pressure unless you have a tower handy. It takes about 1 ft high to give 1 lb of pressure. 30 lbs of pressure is the bare minimum you will find in a house, more likely you'll find something near 50lbs. If you want to spray irrigate, you'll need 50 - 80 lbs pressure and a 50 - 80 foot high building to put the tote on.


----------



## mystang89 (Oct 10, 2012)

Thanks for the great information everyone.



wannabechef said:


> The fittings for those totes (quick disconnect) can be purchased at tractor supply (and can be reduced down to a PVC, and then to garden hose thread).
> 
> In order to overcome the friction due to the line loss of a water hose a pump will be needed. A cheap irrigation booster pump would do fine and would give you the pressure you are used to coming from your home faucet. People don't realize how restrictive a garden hose is.


I looked up the irrigation pump and thought of another possible problem. The tote has a 3" opening with a handle that is used to open a ball which allows the water to come out. I went to Home Depot and bought a reducer to put in the 3" opening that reduced it down to the size of the house spicket that I originally mentioned. If I put in an irrigation pump or an inline pump how will I get the hose actually attached to the submersible unless I attach the hose to the submersible and then drop it in through the top of the tote where the water comes in at and just close off the ball at the 3" opening. That would take up another 5' of hose or so but if that's the way it has to be then so be it, just didn't know if I had not thought of something.


----------



## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

The intake of the pump will hook to the ball valve on tank and garden hose fitting on pressure side of pump. That's why I mentioned the hardware that tractor supply has...they have the eared quick disconnects in male or female threads. It's doubtful you will match the treads of the ball valve where it attaches to tank, it's a non standard course thread.

Don't buy a submersible pump, you want an irrigation booster pump.


----------

