[Badger]

Hi, I have just installed a 1000lt IBC tank to harvest rainwater for irrigating my allotment. The tank is raised and I have fitted a 15mm pipe into the oulet which terminates to a garden tap. Of course this works fine for watering cans, but will not work for a hosepipe. I wondered if there is some kind of pump I could fix into the 15mm pipe to increase the pressure sufficiently to run a hose ?


Badger

[Black Sheep]

Drill pump or maybe a bilge pump off a 12V battery? If you have mains power then there are plenty of pond pumps and the like that could be an option. There'll be all sorts of connectors to shift between various bores of hose or you could just run a second hose from the IBC for the pump specifically and leave your tap as it is.

[arobwk]

How high above ground level have you installed the IBC ?  I was quite surprised at how much water will issue from a hose with a gravity feed height of 1-2m (and that's not counting height of water in the IBC !).

[Badger]

Hi, and thank you for your replies. The tank is mounted on concrete blocks, the bottom of the tank would be approx 20 inches above ground level. I have not tried a hose but cannot imagine it would be any good with say a 25mt hose attached to tap. But I will try it. The tank is pretty much full at the moment.


Badger

[arobwk]

@Badger - I forgot to offer this forum link https://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=95211.msg690881#msg690881 which you should check out.

[Badger]

I read the posts that I followed through the link. I like the idea of pressurizing the tank. How much pressure would I need to run a say 25mt hose say ?. How much pressure could I safely put in the tank? What is the simplest way to pressurize an IBC tank.


Badger

[arobwk]

I read the posts that I followed through the link. I like the idea of pressurizing the tank. How much pressure would I need to run a say 25mt hose say ?. How much pressure could I safely put in the tank? What is the simplest way to pressurize an IBC tank.

I would have thought that cloddopper's friend's method is about as easy as it could get (other than raising the water tank higher above ground) !? 
I have no idea what pressure an IBC could take so can't help there.
Otherwise;  I believe minimum UK water mains pressure should be 1Bar (= 10m head):  that's about 14.5 psi.  I would suggest that you don't need anything like 14.5 psi to get a decent water flow (for watering plants) out of a 25m hosepipe. 

I would therefore suggest @Badger that you just see what your IBC can deliver via your 25m hose if you by-pass the garden tap (as the tap's height above ground will reduce your head of water to your hose).  Then, if you are not happy, raise your IBC some more (more concrete blocks) before checking out other options. 

[Womble]

I have no idea what pressure an IBC could take so can't help there.

Actually, it's more than you'd expect. IIRC, they're tested for their UN certification up to 1 barg. However, this is the pressure they're designed to take without bursting - you'd find it will turn spherical before then, which isn't ideal!

If you want to try it, you could pressurise it carefully, but not to the point it starts to distort, and that would definitely help your flow.

That said, if you have the wherewithall to pressurise up IBCs etc, surely you also have the capability of installing a small pump, which seems like the better and safer option to me.

[Badger]

I read the link with interest, and agree it sounds simple enough. I would have to make some kind of seal where the downpipe comes down from the gutter and into a hole I cut in the top screw on lid. Then I realized that I also fitted a tank fitting which acts as an overflow, which of course is open. So pressurizing the tank would not be possible.


Badger

[Gornoeth]

I've just set mine up with a submersible pump inside, then run a hose off that. Pump was £35 from Toolstation and powers a 30m hosepipe no issue for watering the veg patch. If you have power near it's a great option.

[arobwk]

Of course there are 12v pump options also.  If anyone has a good experience with a 12v pump brand/model, I would personally be pleased to hear.


(Given strict water supply reg's for agri' activity, always worth having a good 12v pump on hand - in the absence of an electrical mains supply - to pump/distribute water from your water storage tank  )