Help with gravity water system

remist17

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I have an idea for a gravity fed water system but need some help. I will try and explain what I am looking to do .

I have a 8 foot raised bed that is 3 feet deep. I would like to take a 4” PVC pipe stand it vertical and attach a T to the bottom. Basically a upside down T. Off each T section running a 3 foot section of 4” PVC pipe and capping them off. I then want to put in (4) ¼” house bibs attached to the 4” PVC sections of the upside down T. I would then run ¼” hose to each tree. I can put a bucket full of water down the pipe and then run out on each tree.

The issue….
Adapting the ¼” house bib to the 4” PVC. I even thought about reducing the size of the pipe on the T but not sure how I can do that.
Any suggestions or did I just totally confuse everyone?

Here is a simple drawing
View attachment water.pdf
 
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GO-OK

Mame
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Why not just water the old fashioned way....get a hose and a sprinkler with a timer...$40/ 10 minutes. The KISS principle always applies in bonsai...from fertilizer to soil to watering systems. There is genius in simplicity.
 

jkd2572

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And that simple sprinkler could be put on a timer. Buy a pressure regulator that you can buy from dripworks.com. as I have used the sprinkler method in the past and the coverage was affected by water pressure fluctuations. With the pressure regulator you can turn it up high and it will stay the same.
 

drew33998

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I have an idea for a gravity fed water system but need some help. I will try and explain what I am looking to do .

I have a 8 foot raised bed that is 3 feet deep. I would like to take a 4” PVC pipe stand it vertical and attach a T to the bottom. Basically a upside down T. Off each T section running a 3 foot section of 4” PVC pipe and capping them off. I then want to put in (4) ¼” house bibs attached to the 4” PVC sections of the upside down T. I would then run ¼” hose to each tree. I can put a bucket full of water down the pipe and then run out on each tree.

The issue….
Adapting the ¼” house bib to the 4” PVC. I even thought about reducing the size of the pipe on the T but not sure how I can do that.
Any suggestions or did I just totally confuse everyone?

Here is a simple drawing
View attachment 50105

You can thread into pvc. Just get a 1/4" NPT fitting with a hose end on the other side of the fitting. You need to drill out the pvc prob 1/16" less than the size of the fitting. Use pipe dope and plumbers tape when you thread the fittings in. The only prob you may have is that the hoses closest to the fill column will receive more pressure as they will be the first out. If you choose to do it this way I would put needle valves on the lines if it will be a problem.

Honestly I agree with the others though. Why not buy a timer from Lowes or HD, around $40, and run a soaker hose, sprinkler, or some other apparatus to the trees? Much easier. Just set it and forget it. Be sure to keep an eye on it because the batteries will eventually die in the timer and you will have to replace them. I use this timer valve for my veggie garden and it works out great.
 

lordy

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And that simple sprinkler could be put on a timer. Buy a pressure regulator that you can buy from dripworks.com. as I have used the sprinkler method in the past and the coverage was affected by water pressure fluctuations. With the pressure regulator you can turn it up high and it will stay the same.
I went to the website and saw numerous different regulators based on incoming pressure. If I am on well & septic system, how do I know what pressure my system is under? I use a fan-type back and forth sprinkler and notice that the distance it covers varies depending on whether or not something else in the house is being used. (this watering system is used on timer, only when I go on vacation for a couple weeks in the summer)
 

twarawa

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I went to the website and saw numerous different regulators based on incoming pressure. If I am on well & septic system, how do I know what pressure my system is under? I use a fan-type back and forth sprinkler and notice that the distance it covers varies depending on whether or not something else in the house is being used. (this watering system is used on timer, only when I go on vacation for a couple weeks in the summer)

Take a look at the gauge on your pressure tank for your well. It will tell you the pressure.

Most well systems are setup with a pressure switch that will turn the pump on and off at different points. For example a 40/60 switch will turn the pump on when house pressure drops to 40 psi and turn it off when it reaches 60 psi. This means your house pressure will vary quite widely.

If you want a constant pressure for your watering system find a pressure reducing valve that is set to the lowest setting of your pressure switch. In the above example, 40 psi or lower so it will always have more pressure available than you need for your watering system. Mostly pressure reducing valves are adjustable for a certain range as well.
 

remist17

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I cant water off the well. I have softener on the hole house and yes the outside faucet is attached to the same line. The beds are over 100 ft from the house. I use rain water to do all the trees and beds at the house. I hate the water system I have in the house but without I am over 9 ppm iron which is much higher that the EPA's .5ppm.

Thanks for the suggestion on screwing directly into the tube. Never thought of that. I can use the pipe dope and caulk should work fine..
Again you all have been helpful and gave me the last suggestion I needed to complete.
 

lordy

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Take a look at the gauge on your pressure tank for your well. It will tell you the pressure.

Most well systems are setup with a pressure switch that will turn the pump on and off at different points. For example a 40/60 switch will turn the pump on when house pressure drops to 40 psi and turn it off when it reaches 60 psi. This means your house pressure will vary quite widely.

If you want a constant pressure for your watering system find a pressure reducing valve that is set to the lowest setting of your pressure switch. In the above example, 40 psi or lower so it will always have more pressure available than you need for your watering system. Mostly pressure reducing valves are adjustable for a certain range as well.
Thanks! Now all I need to figure out is how much pressure the sprinkler likes to cover all my trees. I keep them under a landscape maple for afternoon shade, so I need to oscillate to just one side, up to vertical and back.
 

GrimLore

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Take a look at the gauge on your pressure tank for your well. It will tell you the pressure.

Most well systems are setup with a pressure switch that will turn the pump on and off at different points. For example a 40/60 switch will turn the pump on when house pressure drops to 40 psi and turn it off when it reaches 60 psi. This means your house pressure will vary quite widely.

If you want a constant pressure for your watering system find a pressure reducing valve that is set to the lowest setting of your pressure switch. In the above example, 40 psi or lower so it will always have more pressure available than you need for your watering system. Mostly pressure reducing valves are adjustable for a certain range as well.

Depending on total use would a larger bladder possibly ALSO be needed? I understand you are a plumber and also what you said is correct. I do figure though that sprinkler needs to run for a good long while. I THINK if the bladder is to small the pump would be running way to much to keep up. Just a thought.

Grimmy
 
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twarawa

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Depending on total use would a larger bladder possibly ALSO be needed? I understand you are a plumber and also what you said is correct. I do figure though that sprinkler needs to run for a good long while. I THINK if the bladder is to small the pump would be running way to much to keep up. Just a thought.

Grimmy

Grimmy,

I had to assume that the well will produce enough water for the watering demands. Without getting too far into the details if the water is available from the well there won't be any problems with using a pressure reducing valve to keep the sprinkler consistent. I think he is only using it when there isn't other water demands so it shouldn't be a problem.

If the water isn't available from the well at the rate that it is being used then you would need to look into water storage usually in the form of a cistern. The bladder I think you mean is the pressure tank and this mostly just stores energy (pressure) in the water for later use. These aren't really used to store water for peak demand times as they are measured in too small of increments (10, 13, 20 gallons, etc.) to make up for lack of water when you need it. For example a shower will use 13 gallons in around 5 minutes. Cisterns are measured in hundreds of gallons to give you a buffer when the water is not immediately available and will fill up when there is no demand for later use.

Another thing that will affect the amount of water is the incoming piping size. You can only put a certain amount through a given size no matter how much is in your well.

Hope this makes sense. And now I believe I actually have more responses with plumbing advice than bonsai. LOL
 

Poink88

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Hope this makes sense. And now I believe I actually have more responses with plumbing advice than bonsai. LOL

Not sure if that is true but I for one appreciate your "expert" contribution. Thanks!

If all the various talents out there (in various fields) contribute in the same way, we will be progressing much faster. ;)
 

GrimLore

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Thanks twarawa! I understand what you said and it makes good sense to me now:D

Grimmy
 

lordy

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Depending on total use would a larger bladder possibly ALSO be needed? I understand you are a plumber and also what you said is correct. I do figure though that sprinkler needs to run for a good long while. I THINK if the bladder is to small the pump would be running way to much to keep up. Just a thought.

Grimmy
when this sprinkler is running, it is all that is running as no one else is home. Additionally, the area to cover is relatively small, so this only runs for 5 minutes every 12 hrs, or maybe I set it for 10 minutes every 24 hrs. Whatever it was, everything was happy. I just thought it would be a good thing to be sure that when it was sprinkling, that the entire area was covered thanks to consistent pressure from the regulator, as opposed to experiencing a pressure drop in the tank thereby not pushing the water as far until the switch recognized said pressure drop.
 

GO-OK

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Understand your dilemma.
What about this:
Rain barrel, 1hp electric pump, outdoor electric timer, hose. I have a pump which cost me $70 and produces perfect pressure from a rain barrel.

Set it up in 10 minutes and wait for rain. :)
 

GrimLore

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Understand your dilemma.
What about this:
Rain barrel, 1hp electric pump, outdoor electric timer, hose. I have a pump which cost me $70 and produces perfect pressure from a rain barrel.

Set it up in 10 minutes and wait for rain. :)

Link that pump please ;)

Grimmy
 

chansen

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Understand your dilemma.
What about this:
Rain barrel, 1hp electric pump, outdoor electric timer, hose. I have a pump which cost me $70 and produces perfect pressure from a rain barrel.

Set it up in 10 minutes and wait for rain. :)

I am planning on setting up a similar system this spring/summer but with re-mineralized RO water instead of rain water. I would use rain water... it just never rains!

How long are the sprinkler lines, and how many heads per line? I've been looking at pumps, but I'm not sure what HP I need.
 
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