Auto water kit useless.

[Sheikh Yerboutti]

I bought a cheap , non branded watering kit and the drippers were useless. A few worked but most let out no water. 2 were too fast. In the end I found a better solution. Pierce the small black tube with a drawing pin every 12". The water will squirt out, so to make it a more controlled drip, get some tube which slips over the black tube, cut it into 15mm sleeves and slip 1 over each piercing. You can just wrap a bit of tinfoil around instead if you cant find some tube for the sleeves.
Also, the best thing for the system is a pressure reducing valve, adjusts from 1psi to 70psi. I set mine at 8 psi and had 40 drips going nicely and once its adjusted and locked theres no fiddling with the tap to try and regulate flow, just open tap wide each time. Also, theres no risk of pressure build up blowing push fittings off.
Now Ive done all that were bound to have a wet summer, sorry.

[Steve Valentine]

I bought one of the cheapo irragation kits from ebay for around £7, 75 foot of pipe, various fitments and a load of useless drippers!!!

I bought some gardena drippers I think they were £4 for 25!! much better and all drip equally!

[quark1]

Sheikh - I 'created' this idea last year - well in truth it's probably not a unique idea but was new to me at the time - so I shared! Best bit is it is completely free - either if you buy the base product or know peeps who do and would otherwise discard.


http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ive_39756.html

You may find you need to make your own adjustments - and this is for container grown stuff only - larger plot/bed would need much bigger solution. Great thing is you can add a feed solution when needed.

[EddieJ]

Now Ive done all that were bound to have a wet summer, sorry.

Thanks for starting this thread, you have answered a question for me.
I was looking at the cheapo kits on Ebay last night and wondering why there was so much price difference between those and te branded makes.

As for the above quote, I hope that we have some rain, or my newly installed containers aren't going to get filled!!

Which leads me to my next question. Would a drip feed system work from these?


By

[quark1]

That's a pretty magnificent looking system Eddiej - yours - or what you aspire to?

With the correct system of feeders and pipes - see no reason why that wouldn't be a near-perfect solution for the larger plot.

Better still if you have a free source for the large containers! They look like they may have come from a brewery if not bespoke.

[Steve Valentine]

Better still if you have a free source for the large containers! They look like they may have come from a brewery if not bespoke.

Those containers are used to transport chemicals, you can buy them for around £40 each. They hold 1000 litres each

[EddieJ]

That's a pretty magnificent looking system Eddiej - yours - or what you aspire to?

With the correct system of feeders and pipes - see no reason why that wouldn't be a near-perfect solution for the larger plot.

Better still if you have a free source for the large containers! They look like they may have come from a brewery if not bespoke.

Thanks.

The IBC tanks are on the veg plot that I have been constructing for many many months. http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra.../hi_48118.html

IBC tanks hold anything from chemicals, through to vegetable oil and fruit juice. The ones above held fruit juice concentrate and had already been rinsed out.
Price wise, there are loads on Ebay and you can pay anything from £20.00 - £60.00 Its just a case of taking your time to find ones that are close to your location, and that aren't priced over the top.
I messed one of the bottom blanking caps up, so I can't finish the system until a replacement arrives. When it does, I have two taps, and the water will also be supplied automatically into the animal trough. A simple ball valve is used in the tank to make life easier.

[Sheikh Yerboutti]

Thanks for starting this thread, you have answered a question for me.
I was looking at the cheapo kits on Ebay last night and wondering why there was so much price difference between those and te branded makes.

As for the above quote, I hope that we have some rain, or my newly installed containers aren't going to get filled!!

Which leads me to my next question. Would a drip feed system work from these?


By

Drip feed will allways be best where the pressure is a constant, ie a tank with a ball valve to maintain a fixed head of water or mains water and a pressure reg valve like I used. If you mount those tanks with the base of them at least 3ft above your highest bed it should work impecably. If you can get the tanks higher then you can use smaller pipework to deliver the same amount of water.

[Sheikh Yerboutti]

Eddie, what does the black trough in front of tanks do? Is it a cattle trough with ball valve?

[Sheikh Yerboutti]

Ignore my post above. I just read through your post and understand now. Also, are those tanks UV stable?

[EddieJ]

I had hoped to lift the containers as high as possible, but sadly aesthetic reasons prevented me from doing this.
I guess that everything ends up a compromise and this was/is no exception.
The cattle trough which does have a ball valve, is to be used for the convenience of just being able to dunk watering cans into it. Originally, I had hoped to use an electric pump to operate the irrigation, but getting as supply to the plot would have proved too much hassle. I actually quite enjoy the watering, and find it quite relaxing and rewarding. It'll be interesting to see if my opinion changes after a summer of it though!
I'm lead to beleive that the tanks are UV proof, and ultimately the tanks will be hidden by trellis and plant growth, which should hopefully help to reduce any later problems in respect of that.

[Sheikh Yerboutti]

So will the ballvalve be fed from mainswater or from the store tanks?

[EddieJ]

Simply via the tanks. I've been using it for a week or so, and it seems to work very well.

[Jimmy]

I was thinking of putting a single tank up high and top it up from various butts.
I would like to use a "small" wind powered lift pump. But haven't seen any that fit he bill.
Anyone seen any ?

Not the big ones you see in the cowboys but a smalled version.

Jimmy

[Steve Valentine]

How about a 12 volt pump, using a car battery that is charged via solar panel?