Background: I've got some seedlings almost ready to plant out, but it's going to be too dry. I have several empty 2l pepsi-max bottles, and I thought about filling them, with a pin-prick in the bottom, and allowing them to slowly drain. However, even with the thinnest pin and tiniest prick, the water drains out too fast - would like it to last a few days. Any ideas for using these bottles and getting a slower flow rate?
You might be better off with something flatter, like a large tray. I'd guess the height of the water in a bottle creates an slight extra pressure 'forcing' out the water through the hole .. a lower water height wouldn't produce as high a pressure.
Just a thought ..
That could be achieved by laying the pin-pricked bottle on its side (would need to have the cap fitted and vacuum-releasing hole made in the 'upper' side of the recumbent bottle)
David
Cap on or cap off? Presumably cap off. Put the cap on and adjust so that air can only get in slowly, it might be a very fine adjustment...
AKA a "chicken waterer", much better than holes and air control of some sort.
use a misting spray powered by a solenoid and activate every few hours
controlled by a Raspberry Pi if your seedlings can wait that long...
Owain
on 3/25/2012, Andrew Gabriel supposed :
Your method isn't working because you have an air leak around the lid. Seal the lid and your method will be quite slow. Certainly more than a few days per gallon.
McGyver
Drill a hole in the cap and insert a thin wall soft brass tube down to the bottom and bend over in a U shape. Araldite or silicone to seal it.
3/4 fill the bottle with water, stand it upright and sleeve the lower part with white paper and add black PVC tape to the top air space until the right drips per day rate is obtained. Overnight when it cools the pipe sucks air back into the bottle and the process begins again.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.