So I want to get a few 250 gallon totes and have them plumbed to where they would water 2-4 raised beds during the summer. I would think that by stacking them on top of each other, you would generate enough pressure from the height and the water would travel a good distance in the pvc.

Due to HOA's (link mentioned in the other thread) I can't stack the totes because they will be taller than my fence. If I just had them side by side on the ground, do you think it would generate enough pressure to water my raised beds? I'm guessing the beds would be about 12" above the ground and I would run the pvc from the totes (ground level) 5-15 feet to the beds, then up the wood siding on the bed about 12", then down each bed 8' or so.
Do you think the water would travel that far without having the totes elevated (like a water tower)?

I would like to hear an answer as well!

DP

[This message has been edited by Reel aggies (edited 2/2/2012 5:51p).]

So long as you have a negative elevation from outlet to where you are irrigating you're going to get flow. May not be fast but you can always run a hose this as pressure loss over anything less than 200 feet will be pretty negligible in the big scheme.. Will it run a sprinkler? Unlikely.



[This message has been edited by baxterlives (edited 2/2/2012 7:56p).]

[This message has been edited by baxterlives (edited 2/2/2012 7:54p).]

For every 2.31 feet in the water column you will have 1 PSI, so you will not have much luck without some sort of pump.

[This message has been edited by uncover&humpit (edited 2/2/2012 9:09p).]

wont work, esp when totes get low in volume.

it depends on how you intend to irrigate... you will no be able to plumb to any existing irrigation system due to lack of operating pressure. What I teach my students is that if they want to use rain barrels then just plumb to soaker hoses. they require the least amount of pressure to operate, however with lower pressures comes greater inconsistency with application uniformity. If you want it to work, just mount the totes/barrels about 2.5 above the height of the beds, use a 1" pipe which will give you minimal friction loss and attach directly to soaker hoses to straight discharge (Flood) that can be controlled via ball valves

I think I might just build some type of stand and hold a tote or two 12-24" above the ground. That way it would just have a negetive slope to the beds and wouldn't require as much pressure.

Thanks fellas for the help!