Re: Sump water irrigation system

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:19:58 -0700, Bob F wrote:




Thanks for the help. I went and got 3 55 gallon drums over lunch
@$15 each. Former juice barrels. I'm on my way now.

Have you figured out how you will plumb to the barrels?

yea, i will connect them together near the bottom with 1 1/2" PVC and
some bulkhead fittings. Feed tube in the top and overflow in the side
near the top. overflow will be piped back to where the sump goes now.

Some barrels have fittings in the top that fit standard plumbing pipe
threads. You can use these upside down to get a good seal on the
"bottom". Then cut a hole for the filler. I suggest using a "T" at the
top so you only need one hole in the barrel. Water from the sump comes
into one arm of the "T", and pours down the vertical into the tank. When
the tank fills, water will continue out the other arm to your outlet
pipe. You would need a bypass for the winter.


I'm going to have 4 tanks side by side. I'll need a connection between
the bottom of the tanks so I can be sure to get all the water out. The
upside down is solid idea but I would have to suspend the tanks up a bit.
Also it might be tricky to make that good seal under all that pressure.
Plus the tank outlets have different threads. 1 thread is normal fine
thread, the other is coarse.

The T on top of the tank is a good idea. That will keep me from having to
cut an overflow in the side of the first tank. But I wonder how to get
the water to flow into the tank through a T and not loose 1/2 of it out
the side of the T even before the tank fills.


Make sure the pipe/tube from the tanks to the pump are big enough. Pumps
don't like working for their water. The pump outlet size is less
sensitive.



going with 1 1/2" which is the size the sump uses. Output of the
sprinkler pump will be 1" PVC mated to 1" copper.

Getting from the barrels to the sprinkler valves is a bit more tricky.
Need to consider blowing out, and mating to the copper pipe, and
removing pump and tanks for the winter.

Not sure how to ensure the pump runs steady and smooth while watering
the grass. most websites I read have the system using a pressure tank
but i don't want to spend that much.

How deep is the sump? Could you put in a second level switch in the
sump so you can throw a switch which lets the sump level rise before you
water? Then throw the switch back after you start the watering, or even
have a "full" switch in your tanks which causes the sump switch to
change as the tank level drops below full. Although this would have to
be adjusted to avoid overflowing the tank and losing water.


Haha yea, if only I could dig a 55 gallon sump pit :) I put on some of
the piping today and so the sump was off for a few hours. When I finally
powered it back on, it ran for about 45m straight. Lots of water had
accumulated under the house that quick. The idea would work if it were
not for my water based backup sump pump which would kick in.

For heavier watering, You could put a "Full" switch and an "Empty"
switch in the tank. Additional circuitry could then turn the pump off
when empty is sensed. The pump would turn back on when full is sensed,
as long as the pump is enabled by your master switch.

One possibility for water sensing is the tub depth switch from clothes
washing machines. You just have a small tube into the tank from the
switch. Water pressure pushes air in the tube into the switch to turn it
on/off. These can often be adjusted for a wide range of settings, and
the depth of the pickup tube in the tank can be adjusted also. Is is
easy to scavange these off old washers.

ill investigate this. problem is when pump is turned off by the float/
pressure switch, the controller wont compensate for this pump off time.


About pumps - look at the pressure and volume (gph or gpm) specs when
choosing. You need to match the pump to your sprinklers. Pumps will
likely deliver less pressure than city water, so you need to take this
into account. How does it affect the sprinkler "throw"? "Sprinkler"
pumps probably deliver more water than "well" pumps, but at less
pressure.

yea, im getting concerned over these sprinkler pumps at the big outlet
stores. i don't need much psi. Plus the water is all above the sprinkler
system in general. but im not 100% sure if i will go with jet or
sprinkler pump.
.

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