Remote, battery-powered watering

[econometrics]

Howdy all,

I have a 65 gallon spray tank that I have elevated about 3' off the ground to water a small garden on some land that has no power or running water right now. I only have 8 plants to water, and have an irrigation system set up.

The problem I am running into is that I cannot find a batter-powered valve/timer that works under low pressure.

How much PSI do you think I am getting from 65gal elevated 3 feet? The first timer I tried just did not flow: Amazon.com: Orbit 62001 Lawn and Garden Digital Watering Timer: Patio, Lawn & Garden

So now I am looking at this guy, which specs at 10-140psi for flow. It has a 5.2gpm flow at 30psi. DIG: 9001EZ-C Battery Powered Hose End Irrigation Timer

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Howdy all,

I have a 65 gallon spray tank that I have elevated about 3' off the ground to water a small garden on some land that has no power or running water right now. I only have 8 plants to water, and have an irrigation system set up.

The problem I am running into is that I cannot find a batter-powered valve/timer that works under low pressure.

How much PSI do you think I am getting from 65gal elevated 3 feet? The first timer I tried just did not flow: Amazon.com: Orbit 62001 Lawn and Garden Digital Watering Timer: Patio, Lawn & Garden

So now I am looking at this guy, which specs at 10-140psi for flow. It has a 5.2gpm flow at 30psi. DIG: 9001EZ-C Battery Powered Hose End Irrigation Timer

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Water weighs .43# per ft of depth. At 3' the pressure is in the order of 1.25# plus any added pressure from the depth of the holding tank.

 

[econometrics]

Water weighs .43# per ft of depth. At 3' the pressure is in the order of 1.25# plus any added pressure from the depth of the holding tank.

Yikes, thanks for helping me figure the pressure here. Bottom line, I need a lot more depth or more height it seems.

 

[BeezFun]

I have a 65 gallon spray tank that I have elevated about 3' off the ground to water a small garden on some land that has no power or running water right now.

If spray tank holds air, you might be able to pressurize it enough to get your valve to work. Even if it blows, the only casualty will be the corn. I assume you have to come back fairly often to add water, so you can pump it back up.
Other option would be an electrical timer and put a small solar panel out there to run it. At some point you're paying about $20 each for carrots, you could buy certified organic grown by monks in Tibet for that price.

 

[newbury]

If he's only watering 8 plants they probably aren't carrots

OP - have you thought about a drip irrigation? A small drip irrigation with a low flow constant drip might do as well as a bigger flow on a timer.

You could have one or several small drip lines to each plant.

About 120 drops of water = 5 milliliter, so 90840 Drops in 1 Gallon. How many drops of water in one gallon

So do the math.

 

[weedpharma]

I have a similar situation on my block. I use a 23000ltr tank to water my garden. As the head is so low, I cannot use the normal valves.

I bought some stand alone battery timers designed to connect direct to the tap and run from a battery. They do not need pressure to operate as they have a motorised valve. I then have a trickle feed to the garden.

Weedpharma

 

[econometrics]

I have a similar situation on my block. I use a 23000ltr tank to water my garden. As the head is so low, I cannot use the normal valves.

I bought some stand alone battery timers designed to connect direct to the tap and run from a battery. They do not need pressure to operate as they have a motorised valve. I then have a trickle feed to the garden.

Weedpharma

From the research I have been doing, this seems to be the route I am going to need to go. Thanks for the input from your experience!

newbury, I did think about the drip route, yes. That was going to be my "fall back" plan if I couldn't come up with anything else.

The garden is nothing too wild - a couple of pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes. We're mostly doing this as a "test plot" on some new land we purchased to see how things take. So, yeah, we're going to put a lot more $$$ into these plants than they are worth, but it's all about getting that experience - which is priceless - right? :laughing:

 

[yeagisyeag]

I just bought a 12 volt programmable timer and 12 volt, 1/2" gravity feed solenoid valve on Ebay in order to do the same thing you are. I plan on using a small battery with solar charger to operate the valve.

1 2" Gravity Feed Electric Solenoid Valve DDB CD 12VDC | eBay Valve

DC 12V LCD Digital Power Programmable Timer Switch Time Relay 16A US Shipping | eBay Timer

Jim

 

[econometrics]

I just bought a 12 volt programmable timer and 12 volt, 1/2" gravity feed solenoid valve on Ebay in order to do the same thing you are. I plan on using a small battery with solar charger to operate the valve.

1 2" Gravity Feed Electric Solenoid Valve DDB CD 12VDC | eBay Valve

DC 12V LCD Digital Power Programmable Timer Switch Time Relay 16A US Shipping | eBay Timer

Jim

Jim, that is perfect! This is what I was looking to do, but didn't know where to start. Thank you!

How big is your tank, and how far are you watering?

 

[gocards1177]

It sounds like we have similar scenarios. I started a separate thread last week with my thoughts if you're interested. I'm totally in favor of drip irrigation and have used them in the past. I like the idea of the solenoid and timer suggested and will probably use the same. My biggest concern is how to fill my tank. How were/are you filling a tank that's elevated? Do you just fill it remotely and then lift it up? I'm planning on using a larger IBC tank (300 gallons), and I'm trying to decide how I want to fill it without power from a nearby pond that's 160 feet away. My default is to use a gas powered pump, but I'm seriously considering a wind pump.

 

[econometrics]

How were/are you filling a tank that's elevated? Do you just fill it remotely and then lift it up?

My neighbors have running water and are kind enough to let me fill my tank every once in a while. So, yes, I just lift it up off the stand by hand when it's empty, put it in the back of my JD Gator, drive it up to the neighbors and fill it, then pick it up out of the bed of the Gator with my tractor and lower it back down onto the stand. It gives me about 2 weeks of watering, so it's not too much hassel.

 

[newbury]

Our cousin took one of my IBC's for watering his watermelons last year during an extreme dry spell in Northeast Mississippi. He put it in the back of a beater truck and drove it down to the water source, then drove it uphill of the watermelon patch and drained it with soaker irrigation hoses. Saved his watermelons.

300 gallons gets rather heavy, about 2,400 lbs.

 

[yeagisyeag]

Jim, that is perfect! This is what I was looking to do, but didn't know where to start. Thank you!

How big is your tank, and how far are you watering?

I have a few 55 gallon plastic rain barrels at home that I will switch out when needed. I'll set the timer to open valve for 1/2 hour each morning. My thoughts on plumbing are: 1/2" pvc is cheap. After my garden is planted and weed fabric down, I'll dry fit the pvc with tee's, unions, caps to reach all. My garden is roughly 50' by 25'. Then drill small holes at each plant, or a few down a row. At the end of the season, I can break down the pipes and store them until next year, just put some caulk in the holes.

The timer and valve aren't weather resistant, so I've got a cheap lidded plastic container from the dollar store that I can hole up to keep them dry.

For filling, I was just going to swap out barrels, but I do have the old 12 volt pump from my camper that had a bad pressure switch. This would probably do fine running on the tractor battery.

Any suggestions are welcome, mind you this is just an idea and will be adjusted as the real world dictates. It'll at least be better than the previous years, when I watered from a 7 gallon bucket once/week!