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Illinois

I'm going to construct a water tower for my garden. I'm going to use a plastic 1000 gal tank. I'm then going to water with flex pvc or something simillar. I also will water by hand with a water wand. I'm thinking of filling the tank from the downspouts from my shed. What I need help with is this, how much water pressure will I have if the tank is 8 ft high? What about 12 ft high? If I use 8 feet I can go directly into the tank, if I go 12 feet I will have to pump it into the tank. Where can I go to find out how much water press I will have. I also need to find irrigation equipment.

Thanks in advance
Brad

10/14/2004 6:40:55 PM

Http://www.rosendaleacres.com

Hi,

Here's some thoughts. 2.3 ft of elevation = 1 PSI. Even 12 feet in the air would give you very sad water pressure if you plan on using sprinklers. The size of the tank doesn't really matter either. A 100 gallon tank gives the same pressure as a 1000 gallon tank. All that matters is the difference in height between the surface of the water and where the water is exiting. You can kind of test how this works by taking a bucket of water onto your roof and putting a hose into it. Have your wife on the ground with a spray nozzle on the hose. OK - now is your big chance to soak your wife. hehe - lost my train of thought there. You will see that the spray from the hose isn't that great. OK - so here are some other thoughts. Do you want to spend all that money on the wood to support 1000 gallons of water above the ground? It would be much safer and cheaper to just put the tank right on the ground or a small tower and spend your money on a pump instead of the wood. Then you can get AWESOME pressure at the flick of a switch. I got a pump that did the trick for $100. Next year though I personally am going to simplify things. I have a tower that's 5-6 feet off the ground which is low enough to easily toss the fertilizer into and keep clean. I'll be using gravity feed to soaker hoses that I'll bury just under the surface in a circular pattern under the plants. I'll also use a 1 inch pipe as my distribution manifold which connects to smaller diameter hoses in the patch. Hope that gives you some ideas.....Jeff

10/15/2004 1:02:39 PM

Oz

Northern tool has a solar battery charger for $130.
That and a 12volt pump,,or a power inverter and a 110volt pump,,plus a little height should do the trick.

11/18/2004 12:14:33 PM

No Place Special

I watered from a 350 gal water tank in 03 using a 12 volt pump and it was barely enough to turn one sprinkler. I spent $250 on a very nice new gas powered one and can turn more than eight sprinklers at a time. No doubt worth every $ to me.

11/18/2004 9:31:05 PM