Water hauling

HiTechTed · Apr 4, 2011

Every year it rains here early in the spring then by mid summer, everything is dead (especially my lawn). I am trying to come up with a way to combat the problem, as I'm tired of seeing my lawn turn brown every year.

My neighbor has agreed to let me take water from his pond to water my lawn with. The catch is, it's too far away for me to directly pump water from the pond to my lawn. It's reasonable enough to reach with my tractor, though. So I'm thinking that I could get a tank that I could secure in the back of my trailer, find some kind of pump to fill the tank with and then hopefully be able to use the same pump to spray my lawn with.

I need to water about an acre of lawn give or take, and I'll be using my L3400 to haul it with so I'm limited to around a ton as far as towing weight, making the max load around 250 gallons per trip. Actually I will be towing with the 3pt hitch drawbar, so I'll have to check on the weight limits as to how much I can tow that way.

Would a trash pump do this job? I have never used one but I know what they are generally used for. I wasn't sure if it could be used to actually water a lawn without causing damage. I need to keep the operation as simple as possible and I know (even if a trash pump would work) that I'd have to switch the hoses around from pulling from the pond to spraying the lawn or possibly create some way to do it with valves. Somebody will probably mention using my home well to do the job, but I'd rather not do that. Any ideas are welcome here, let me know what you think.

BruceWard · Apr 4, 2011

How clean is the water you would be pumping?

My Father and I used a 3" gas powered water pump (not a trash pump) to create a sprinkler system to aerate his 6 acre pond. We mounted the pump on a dock with a screen over the end of the intake. We did not have any problems with the pump but we were pumping relatively clear water.

How far are you moving the water?

I watered fruit trees using 55 gallon barrels last year. I had two linked together. Somethink like this might work well for you

275 Gallon Tote, Plastic Barrels, Plastic Drums, Metal Drums, Plastic Totes, Plastic Storage Containers - ArizonaBarrels.com

In my area they are availabe used for $50 to $75 on Craigslist.

studor · Apr 4, 2011

I water about and acre of lawn with a three inch semi trash pump, four 5/8inch garden hoses and tripod sprinklers.I am pumping directly from a pond for the lawn.If you are just pumping into transport containers and onto the lawn, a two inch or even 11/2 inch gas powered pump would be fine. For the garden that is further away I fill 55 gallon plastic drums with the semi trash pump and sprinkle using a pto pump. I carry the drums in a carryall. You can also get square caged containers from surplus places that hold 250 gallons or so and would be good to carry and pump from.

20 20 · Apr 4, 2011

Harbor freight sells a nice 1.5" gas pump{around $100-150.00 I believe} I have owned one for a few years now and it works great. I use it to pump water out of our pond, water the garden, wash my vehicles, etc....... A tank like the one pictured and that little pump would work great for what your describing.

thebonepile · Apr 4, 2011

1" of rain on 1 acre = 27500 gallons of water -
forget hauling water - fertilize a little better, plant a different type or grass, or learn to like brown.

moored4 · Apr 4, 2011

Questions:
How big is the pond and is its supply end-less?
What else is the pound used for? Fish, stock tank, ect?
How many trips will the grass allow you to make over it before it becomes a dusty road?
Length between the rain seasons?
How good a friend is this neighbor?

HiTechTed · Apr 4, 2011

thebonepile said:
1" of rain on 1 acre = 27500 gallons of water -
forget hauling water - fertilize a little better, plant a different type or grass, or learn to like brown.

That figure is why I refuse to use my home well for the job. I do need to do some other work on the lawn (dethatch, fertilize, etc) but at some point water is going to be a factor, at least until I get the lawn strong enough to endure longer dry spells.

The pond is spring fed and is about 1 acre and 12 feet deep, no fish in it and relatively clean. There's already a driveway nearby so that's not an issue. Plus whatever rig I come up with would also be used to water our garden (which would probably take top priority over the lawn watering, but I'd like to do both). I realize I can't do an inch a week on the lawn but I'm hoping that what I do at least helps it. I also know that watering too shallow will not help the grass root deep enough, so I'm kind of thinking that I might do just one area per day really thoroughly and then move to another area, etc.

Mousefield · Apr 4, 2011

Over the years hauling water might get a bit old. Lots of wear and tear on the tractor as well as time consuming. If your neighbor has a pond then perhaps a pond or shallow well on your land?

tony Cecil · Apr 4, 2011

Sometimes it is the heat that turns to grass brown, and water doesn`t help it...Check and see from someplace like a grass grower, what type of grass you have, and further what happens to other people around you Tony