automated watering

[theoneandonlyfat]

does anyone here have any experience with automated watering?

 

Whats the best way to supply 25 large plants. i was thinking small fire fighting pump to fill a tank then use gravity and drip lines to feed the plants.

 

How high above the plants does the tank need to be to get some pressure?

 

The problem i see with gravity and drip lines is that as the tank empties the flow rate will slow down, is there anyway to create a continous even rate? also will the plants closer to the tank get more water then the ones further down the line?

 

the plants will be grown in a perlite/vermiculite mix in 30L grow bags.

 

any suggestions??

[Radic]

gravity feed irigation is kool

automated watering takes timer controled valves

buy dem from the garden shop

fire pump will work fine

how far it can lift water straight up is called static head and should be printed pon the pump somewhere

so dat is the limit pon how high you put the tank

 

The problem i see with gravity and drip lines is that as the tank empties the flow rate will slow down, is there anyway to create a continous even rate? also will the plants closer to the tank get more water then the ones further down the line?

 

yes if poorly planed and designed

 

google for more info

cause

now it starts to get complex

what type of irrigation are you considering????

 

drip

micro

spray

flood

wick

or any combination

???????

if you not sure google it and check the runnings

you mentioned drip

is that your choise????

25 plants you intend to drip feed

irey

 

the trpe of irragation will tell you the amount of water required every day flow rates ect

pluss how many times you want to fill the holding tank eg 2xday or 2xweek

and you start to get an idear of how big a holding tank is required

 

now

the hight the tank is above the plants is also called static head and is measured in feet or meters

 

 

the length and size of the dileiveary pipe slows down the flow too that is called friction head

when you buy the pipe it will have the friction head details printed on it or it package

 

 

how fast the water comes out pon th plants is called pressure head

 

ok

so to work this out

you need to know how much water you need for each plant per day for your enviroment

imo

plan for the worst case senario big drought, hotest summer pon record

in perlite/vermiculite mix in 30L grow bags. that it be bout 10lts/plant/day

ok

mulitply dat by how many plants you plan to tend 25

thats 250lts per day

pressure head to static head is about 3 to 1

so 3kpi increase pre meter of static head less friction head

around 10m for 30kpi minus the friction head

i would gessamate bout 10m static head for 25 plants for a low pressure system like drip, micro or wick with in 100m radius of the holding tank

for high perssure spray system is more like 30m of static head

however

over 100 meters of friction head could cause problems with low pressure head in small pipes

thats where the bigger the diamater and the smother the interior of the pipe is

will have less friction head

so you cant go too far from the holding tank with out big pipes

 

do some research and deside which system you need first

 

 

guidance

[theoneandonlyfat]

most on the info on google is related to drip systems running of taps with AC timers not really suitable for the bush.

 

drip is the way i wanna go. can fire fighting pumps run off a DC timer and then directly into the drip system, or do they have to be started manually?

If not i will need a small DC pump to move water from the res to the plants as well as the fire pump to fill the res right?

 

thanks.

[Radic]

gravity feed drip

that can be a fiddley set up and require regular matinance

are you up for dat

if not check the wick system

ok

out door bush style

tell i

is stelth a problem?????

will noise of the fire pump arouse undue susspition

electric is much stelther

 

imo

dc cause you wont have to constantly fill the fuel tank in time for your automation to work

dc is would better lend itself to automation too

 

if you have a flow rate in you water soruce like a creek or spring then a hydrolic ram or a miny hydro would work great

a windmill can power a pump for still water like dam or bore water

 

check some more alturnitives

[ekul]

The best thing to pump water into a little tank is those hand operated oil/molasses pump. They are about $350 at the rural co-op but def worth every cent. I scored one from a farmers garage sale for $10, they are out there on the cheap, keep an eye out for them at property auctions. If you get the oil type, wash it out with soap before you use it, just pump a heap of soapy awater through it. What i would do was paddle down the creek to get to the grow spot with some fert and the pump. I had to fill the pipe with water in order for thew pump to work so i clamped on end and poured water into it. Then i would pump a plastic 44 gallon drum (these cost between nothing and $50 but they last forever and don't add any metals to your water) full of water after putting the water soluble ferts in there. I would fill it to the brim, put the lid on and then turn the tap on. The drum had a pipe coming off it to the plants. The ends of the pipes went into the soil about a foot so that the water trickled out really slowly and sort of regulated itself, when it was wet the water wouldn't come out as quick cause the soil particles expand, when it was dry the water would be used quickly. The 44 gallon drum was painted brown and green and had scrim netting over the top of it. The drum was under this big tree and would have been hard to spot from the air, when the choppers are looking for stuff, they look for growing equipment, rather than the actual plants. Using a hand operated pump is a little more work than a petrol pump, but it is absolutely silent. I'd grab my pump and paddle home, then i would pour vege oil into the head of it so that it didn't rust.

[Radic]

irey ekul

gotta love dat

yes

more power to yah

thats is the wick system in its glory

silent and effective

you can make wicks easy

check google images for pix

try search for hydro ponic wick

out door hydro rulez

automating the human input is the changle here tho

if you creek has a reasonable flow rate or more than 1m fall than f afew options are available

like a hydrocli ram which is free energy water pump

or a mini hydro electric system

solar pump or a sterling engine

even a water wheel

[loylty gets u nothing]

30 ltr grow bags

thats an interesting pot

wat yield do u pull from that size rootzone?

where do u source grow bags?

take care and stay safe

bil

[theoneandonlyfat]

thanks i will have a look into the wick systems and a few other ideas too. still got plenty of time till spring

 

the grow bags are from simple grow in sydney their either 30 or 50l cant remember.

[melindaskrapz]

The 'grow bags' can be purchased at any sand /soil depot in numerous sizes. If you have a building site near you have a look as most builders throw them out !