remote water distribution

Sailorcrew · Jul 31, 2001

I'm looking for a way to get water to plantings that are too far from the house for a hose to practically reach. I want to be able to get a fair amount of water 50-100 gallons to these new plantings. So far, I have a 3pt carrier that I've made a large wooden floor and back out of rough 2x lumber. The carrier is rated for 1000#. I have two 55 gal plastic drums (clean) that I would like to place on the back of the carrier, strap them on, then add either an electric 12 volt pump or a pto pump to deliver the water. The electric pump would need a wire running up front to the battery, possibly run a permanant line to the rear of the tractor and keep covered, attatch when needed with the pump. They typically deliver about 2 gal minute which is low. One in Agri Supply delivers about 5 gal/min which would be the minimum. A pto pump, on the other hand, would probably deliver too much water. Anyone have a setup along these lines? Benefits of one way over the other? Plumbing issues? David

TWINKLE_TOES · Jul 31, 2001

Sailorcrew,

I'm guessing with your handle "sailorcrew" you already know this but..

Marine washdown pumps can deliver some pretty good flows. I'm looking at a West Marine catalog and see claims all the way up to 63 GPM. Seems there is no good standard for the way marine pumps are rated and the size and length of any hoses from the pump will dramatically reduce the flow. I think most are rated at zero head and 13.6 volt battery voltage, not very realistic./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Some are self priming some are not. Some allow run dry with no damage some not. The diaphragm pumps are superior but $$. Current draw for high flow pumps can bring a compact tractor battery to it's knees pretty quickly if the engine is not running.

Al

Bird · Jul 31, 2001

OK, you tell us the 1 to 5 gallon a minute 12volt pumps deliver too little and you think a PTO pump would deliver too much, but did you know the PTO roller pumps come in 4, 6, and 8 roller sizes with maximum flow rates of 7 to 22 GPM? I've used a Shurflow 12 volt pump on a spray rig behind my B7100. They don't pull too much amperage at all. I've also got a Hypro roller pump powered by a 3 hp Briggs & Stratton on another spray rig. I could very easily convert it to run off the PTO (you just have to take it apart and turn the shaft around because the Briggs turns the opposite direction from the tractor PTO). Tractor Supply Co. has the pumps, complete kits with the PTO quick coupler, etc.

Bird

heehaw · Jul 31, 2001

i use a 6 roller pto pump, with a regulator that lets me adjust how much water/pressure i get. to regulate, it dumps the excess back into the tank.
heehaw

john4nh · Jul 31, 2001

Just a thought couldnt you just lay the drums down on your pallet or back of pick-up and have a hose attached to the low side of the drum say a 1" or so and use the "free" gravity flow to water your planting. Of course this is if you can get fairly close. At least you could water while your building your pump. Good Luck

Sailorcrew · Aug 1, 2001

Despite my name, nautical knowledge is at a minimum. Ever since seeing Jaws at about age 12, I've had been somewhat reluctant to explore the history of my surname. I'm currently using gravity as a feed, works well for plantings I can get close enough to but I have some on the top of a rock wall about 10' high that would be better served by spraying. I like the idea of a pto pump, maybe 4-6 rollers. Would you have to have a separate unit to regulate flow or can you manage that with the pto speed and/or the nozzle? Any problems with running dry, etc? David

Bird · Aug 1, 2001

David, I don't find anything in my Hypro manual about running the pump dry. I don't think it would hurt it for a short time, but don't think I'd want to run it dry very long. If you used an open hose (no shut-off) you could do without a pressure regulator, but if you're going to use a nozzle that restricts flow much, or one you can shut off, then you need a pressure regulator on the outlet side of the pump and a hose from the regulator back to the tank. I have an adjustable regulator on mine. Another thing to consider is whether you know you are only going to be pumping clean liquid, or whether you might get some debris in it. They are not trash pumps, so I have a filter on the inlet side of mine; looks like a small cannister type, but it's just a very fine mesh screen inside that can be easily cleaned and put back.

Bird<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Bird on 08/01/01 09:44 PM (server time).</FONT></P>