[Fieldfare]

Hi all- I have a shallow 60 litre spring-fed trough (approx. flow 60 litres per hour). I would like to move this water uphill (head of about 4 metres and distance of between 10metres to 40 metres). This would be collected in a tank for watering plants/animals with over the summer months. Anyone got any ideas of the best/most efficient way of doing this?

I already posted on "Techniques" and realise a pump might not do it (too small a flow and too small a collecting vessel)- but does anyone have any ideas of any other way of doing it? wheelbarrow bowsers? I probably would like at least 200 litres per day I guess (I do have an option to pipe it down hill into a larger vessel). Anyway- hopefully you understand what I'm getting at. Anyone got any experience in this?

In case I can't get an answer here is there another forum who might be able to help?

Thanks

 

[Fleecewife]

Hi.  I don't know if this is relevant to your problem but I'll tell you how we move water around.  Our holding is on a gentle slope with the house near the bottom end and a long shed at the top.  We use this shed roof to collect rainwater in 2 x1,000 litre barrels.  The water then goes by gravity from one barrel to all our sheep drinkers, which have ball cocks, and from the other barrel to a hosepipe which waters my veg garden, which is about halfway down the (gentle) slope.  Further down, near the house is a long barn, and again we collect the water from this roof in 2 x 1000 litre barrels, which are linked by a hose pipe (so the far away one fills the nearer one once it has been emptied).  The nearer barrel in turn fills a 40 litre drum (again connected by a short hose pipe - it has to be 'primed' by running water through with the hose lower, then a thumb stuck over the end and lifted back into the barrel) - this has a small water pump attached which pumps water back up to just above my polytunnel (it takes maybe 5 mins or so to pump up each barrelful) , where it is used to fill yet another 1000 litre barrel, set up on a plinth to give it a head.  This one is used to water the tunnel, via an ordinary hose as well as seep hose (not very successfully as the plinth isn't high enough).
I am not sure from your description whether you need a continuously running pump, or whether you could do as we do and collect your water in a larger container then pump it up whenever you need it.  We used to carry water up in buckets with lids on, very briefly - it's unsustainable so I invented the system we now use.  If you buried a barrel near the trough, or as you say pipe it downhill first, you could pump it up whenever it was full, or whenever your container at the garden was emtying.
So far collected rainwater using this system has been enough to water all the animals and plants.  We have a well for our own use but it has run dry in the past, so we would only use that water for the animals in a real emergency (and in the worst of the winter)  The 1000 l barrels are I think now about £160 from the Tank Exchange but worth the initial investment.

[Fieldfare]

Hi Fleecewife- thanks for taking the time to post your system. My partner wants to buy a 10,000Litre tank fed by the end of an old land drain and fill it during late winter and pipe by gravity (big, ugly and not potable for animals). I prefer the always trickling clean spring water that we have downhill at the house. I could actually pipe it by gravity to a 1000 litre 'bowser' in the road and drive it up to where I want it once a week (or actually pump it back up as you say). Anyway- thanks for allowing me to bounce some ideas about.

cheers

[poppajohn]

I use 250 gallon juice containers to catch rainfall. Its then pumped via an electric submersible pump ( the sort you can use for ponds ) powered by a small generator. I transport the tanks on a fork attachment on a compact tractor to where its needed and just pump until its used. An alternate method is a tractor pto driven pump or a free standing self powered pump. I like the electric ones personally, good flow of around 15 gpm and easy to control. If you buy one, Screwfix have a good range, ours is used to pump a blackwater waste tank out as well, thats then used for watering veg too.
If you go this route, make sure you buy a "dirty water pump", they cope with some solids up to a 1/4 inch in size. I bought mine for forty pounds and its been in use for about eight years.

[Plantoid]

Depends on how much you want to spend ... on lots of anchored on the water  boats they have a wind genny and a solar panel  charging a pair of batteries and use a float operated submersed 12 volt pump to keep the bilges empty especially in heavy rain at night .
It coiuld be what you are after .
 The lift of such pumps  on a small bore tube is around 8 mtrs ( but you would need to check )  , this could then easily be arranged for a piped gravity flow to your header tank .

 If you have mains power close by ..,use a time clock and a central heating pump with a float cut out & self priming device fitted .

Another thing you could consider :-  Is to get hold of a wind powered pumping element It's a mechanically driven  pump is immersed & self primed them make or buy your own simple windmill that can be cocked against the wind and braked etc.

[Plantoid]

Just seen one of my emails for a solar panel powered small bore centrifugal pump able to lift 14.7  pounds of water .. takes a pump of 230 gallons per battery charge and takes 8 hrs to recharge the battery in day light for around £ 99.

 Using a 1/4 bore tube and a direct vertical lift to a header tank sholud see you get an impressive head of water to push thing back up hill .
 Could it be used in non frost periods to raise the water  to a head and let it run down a poly pipe  to a barrel and lift with yet another solar pump?
 Look in Two Wests greenhouse website