Rural Irrigation/Remote Faucets Methods ??

[James]

thanks for all the helpful posts....... I think that the 1 inch polypipe is the way to go !!

James

[Joe]

Why not set up a system for gravity flow irrigation, like the farmers that grow rice have? All you need is a laser level and some sheet plastic for ditch liners. Or if you simply prefer to spend money, have a small well drilled at the site needing the water. Then a couple of 100' hoses will serve any part of the acreage.

Joe

[The Daring Dufas]

Oh it had a check valve at the pump but the pipe went straight for a distance then down into a gully where the spring was located. No matter what material a pipe is made of, it's going to move when pressurized. Pipe will also move with a change in temperature. Look at how metal pipe is supported in different situations. The longer the pipe the more movement becomes a problem.

TDD

[Brooklyn1]

You slip that in so nonchalantly... there is no such thing as drilling a small well on the cheap.

[Nad R]

My well has never gone dry and have let it runs for hours on end. However, I do not use the hose that often. Just between rains and when the rain barrels run dry. My barrels are now dry as of today. I am hoping for rain soon. Only a 30% chance of rain for today and tomorrow. I estimate running my well, filters, salt and power cost no more than twenty dollars per month.

Michigan is not like California, fresh water is cheap and plentiful here. The reason people do not like Michigan is the long cold winters.

[David Hare-Scott]

James

Could I make a couple of suggestions.

Don't change nyms from one part of a thread to another, nobody will know that you are the OP.

Answer some of the questions and provide more information. You haven't said where the water is coming from or how much you need at the destination. You haven't given us enough to make a guess if 1" polypipe will in fact be adequate. You don't want to go to the trouble of buying and laying the pipe to discover that it doesn't work.

If the inlet pressure is not very high 1" may be too narrow to give the outlet flow you want, if it is going up hill you might get a tiny flow at the outlet or none at all. Also 1" has a tendency to kink and get flattened very easily. If using 1" DON'T use push fittings (bayonet fittings) they will pop off all the time if put under pressure, use the more expensive fittings that clamp the pipe with a nut.

A knowledgeable irrigation equipment supplier will be able to advise you correctly, whether such is available near you is another issue.

David

[James]

Thanks David, and the others. First, I don't know what a "nym" is, but sorry....

My faucets at the cabin are based on the cabin water system, which is a well, with a pressure tank in the basement. I get good pressure (60 psi), and the poly pipe will not go uphill.

As for drilling a new well, come on guys, I am talking about watering a few plants and bushes, I just dont' want to constantly drag hoses around. That is all that this is about. I do appreciate all the help, and I think that the polypipe is my best bet, although David's last comments may make me consider smaller, perhaps 3/4 inch. BTW, I don't need much pressure at the end, just enough to do some light watering.

James

[Nad R]

I like the change. I will watch the fireworks from a friends boat on Lake St Clair on the 4th. Happy 4th of July :)

[FarmI]

That's interesting and different from our experience.

We use 2 inch poly runnin goff the pump on our dam and leading up to the tank on the hill to gravity feed for the toilets and the garden and it'd be about 200 yards in distance. It's not buried , must have been there about

20 years by now and we've never had any trouble from it. We dont' ever run that pump flat out though - just putttering alone at about half speeed (dont' ask me why because I don't know). The ants use teh poly as an ant superhighway, but I guess their tracks aren't doing anything much to wear it. The only trouble we've had with any 2 inch poly was buried and was in the gravity feed section. It started leaking and had to be dug up and fixed and then reburied, but I think it might have been a tree root that caused it to rupture.

I'm a huge fan of polypipe as I can repair most of it myself without ever having called upon Himself to do it.

[FarmI]

Given that Australia is the driest inhabited continent, we tend to have a LOT of solutions to water problems. Also given that our population is sparse in comparison to other lands, those solutions tend to be low tech as the support networks aren't there for professionals to make a motza out of support.

[Brooklyn1]

For what you describe it would be asinine to install a grid of piping all over six acres... your idea is way over kill, it's beyond over kill, it's as stupid as stupid gets... you're not growing crops. And with shrubs and trees once they're established it's not a good idea to water them unless there is a protracted dry spell or young plants won't develop a strong deep root system... when properly planted and mulched you really shouldn't need to water such plants after the first growing season, unless as I've said, there's a real dry spell... and native wildflowers need no watering, most do better if not watered. A newly planted sapling/shrub doesn't need much watering, five gallons once a week is all, and that's if it doesn't rain. And you don't want to water fast and heavy, you want to water slowly, so it can sink in and not run off. And from experience I can tell you that it never fails, right after you finish a whole lot of watering because everything is so dry the sky opens up and there's a deluge. All you need is a garden tractor, a cart, and a bunch of buckets, a riding lawn mower will do for occasional water hauling. And with six acres a tractor and cart is manditory to save your legs, it will probably get used every day hauling you and a mess of tools and materials to do some project, but you'll hardly ever water that smattering of plants, once growing probably never. I were you I'd be much more concerned about critters eating your plants... and if you water you'll attract more critters, critters would much rather dine on the juiciest plants. Most critters are nocturnal, while you're sleeping they'll be ferreting out those nice moist soft spots you left them, they will dig down and eat your plant's roots, you won't even know until one day you notice your plant is dying. Oh well, most everyone learns the hard way.

[FarmI]

Used all the time in farm irrigation. Also in the recycling business

- very popular with the midnight recyclers. __________________________________ So what do they do with it? I presume they have a market, but is it for the pipes or for the aluminium.

[FarmI]

>>>>> Would still be easier and less costly to haul water as needed. >>

Poly is not PVC. Poly does not have problems from UV and doesn't need replacing every few years. I have poly that has been in use above ground for 20 years.

Everyone has recommended that the OP use poly not PVC. Poly is short for polyethylene.

[The Daring Dufas]

My dad never knew I was responsible for leaks in some of the hose that was coiled up and not installed. It seems that a .22 bullet will travel a long way so you better know what's behind your targets. ^_^

TDD

[Harry K]

It's sold for scrap. High value, low weight.

Harry K

[Harry K]

It for sure gets brittle but doesn't seem to bother as long as it isn't moved. Brittleness shows when it breaks due to frost, fractures propagate down the line for several feet at times. I would probably go with black poly if I didn't have the stock of PVC. I think poly stands freezing a bit better.

Harry K

[Harry K]

I ran 1" PVC about a 1/4 mile buried in 1976. Still in service today with no leaks. Same for all my sprinkler lines. Only leak I have had was one fitting where I made the misstake of using a female PVC/male Iron fitting. NEVER do that! Always use a malepvc/female iron. Much fun as it broke in the middle of winter and I had to shut off the the entire line until spring so I could dig it up.

Harry K

[Harry K]

Stretch out 500 ft of hose under 60psi and see what you have at the end when the water is running.

Harry K

[trader4]

I hook up 50 ft of 5/8" garden hose to the sill c*ck at my house and measure the water that flows out over 1 minute. I do the same thing with 500 ft of the same hose. According to what you're claiming when I measure it over 1 minute, the same amount of water will flow. You have much experience here on planet Earth?

[David Hare-Scott]

You started of as James Nipper now you are just James

I was suggesting that 1" could be too small not too big. 3/4" will flatten and kink more than 1" and has about half the capacity. It's the area of the pipe cross section that is important so the capacity varies as the square of the diameter. Go see that irrigation specialist.

D