Who here knows about irrigation.

07/12/2013 04:25:51 PM · #1

OK I have a unique problem and I thought that someone would have sources to find info or ideas to accomplish the task.

Anyway, I am starting a MOSO bamboo grove on some farm land that I have. Bamboo needs plenty of water. Last summer I lost a few plants. This year I have been putting in an irrigation system to keep it watered. I bought a 2000 gal steel water tank and elevated it 5 feet off the ground on a rack I built. The idea is to have a gravity feed system. (It is not possible to put it 80 feet in the air) I laid my PVC pipe and ran soaker hoses around the plants. After filling the tank (thank god my rack held up over 16000 lbs) I had less water pressure than I though I would. Infact it was not even really coming out of the soaker hoses.

My idea is to pressurize the tank with a solar powered air pump. My prob is I have scoured the internet looking for something like this and I came up empty.Is my air pump idea not really the best way to go about it. Oh and the kicker there is no electricity so everything has to be solar or wind. I am also not able to manually water being that it is about an hour drive each way and I have to work (and pay for gas)

Any suggestions will help greatly

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

07/12/2013 05:45:07 PM · #2

If you want to use the pump idea, I'd say a bank of batteries, an auto on/off timer, charge master/load balancer, and 50-100 watts of mono-crystalline solar panel will probably do you very well, combined with a 12V HVLP air compressor.

Message edited by author 2013-07-12 17:45:50.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

07/12/2013 05:47:39 PM · #3

Check this out for low pressure, gravity feed drip irrigation system requirements.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

07/12/2013 06:04:21 PM · #4

You know.

Here's an idea for a completely passive, if somewhat costly, solution.

Get another tank, a big one, and paint it black, and preferably figure out a way to transfer heat to the air effectively - aluminium fins come to mind, but you'd have to have a metal tank for that to work well.

Put a valve on this tank that will allow air in, but will not allow air out.

Connect this tank to the water tank with a hose, and allow the heat of the sun to do your work for you.

Here's the calcuation that made me think you could do this:

7570L/2000 Gallon tank

@ 288K / 60F
@ 760 Torr / 1 ATM @ sealevel
= a volume of 7162L of air at STP

@333K = 140F
@1250 Torr / 10 PSI @ sealevel
= a volume of 10209L of air at STP
10209L

..

Now that's simplified, and you'd have to adjust for volumetric issues, but it looks like you'd have something like 2000 liters worth of 10PSI or so off a single day's heating.

The idea is that each day it would heat up, and produce pressure, which could then be used by activating a valve in the afternoon, once max temperature has been reached.

Then as the tank cools, fresh new air is introduced, which is heated the next day, and creates pressure.

Now, this is assuming quite a bit, but I was very conservative on temperature, (a solar oven can easily get to 450 degrees), so this isn't pure fantasy - although, you do have a higher percentage of cloudy days, so this may not be well suited to your area.

And of course, this is totally theoretical - don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing this.

Message edited by author 2013-07-12 18:07:01.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

07/12/2013 06:11:21 PM · #5

Irritation? Boy, let me tell you, do I know about... O wait. You said "irrigation." Nevermind.

ETA:
More seriously, at 5 ft. of elevation difference, you have 2.2 psi of head pressure. Once water starts moving, the pressure drop in the lines negates some of the head pressure. Now, you don't need very much flow, so your pressure losses may very well be negligible. Also, when the tank is full, obviously you may have as much as double the pressure or more, depending on the height of the tank.
All that said, I'd look at stuff like what Robert posted, made for very low pressure applications. My numbers may give you some guidance as to whether specific materials will work for you.
That said, I'm wondering, what is the water source? If you have no electricity, how are you moving it up to the tank? If you *can* pump water to the tank, you can easily pressurize the tank, and doing so by pumping the water in against air pressure is more efficient than pumping air in.

Message edited by author 2013-07-12 18:20:13.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

07/12/2013 06:43:40 PM · #6

I know about irrigation of the external ear canal to remove impacted cerumen, but that doesn't need a 2000-gallon tank ...

07/12/2013 07:07:54 PM · #7

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Check this out for low pressure, gravity feed drip irrigation system requirements.

Thanks Robert... I will check this out. I had not found this site

07/12/2013 07:09:41 PM · #8

Originally posted by Cory:

This is not an option due to cost. I lucked into this tank for next to nothing

07/12/2013 07:22:07 PM · #9

Originally posted by cowboy221977:

This is not an option due to cost. I lucked into this tank for next to nothing

Well, then I'm also pretty sure you're really not going to like the cost of a solar system either. It'd almost certainly be more expensive overall, especially considering that you'll need to build a housing for the compressor so it doesn't get ruined by the weather.

I think Robert and Fritz's direction is the more productive line of thought for you here.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

07/12/2013 07:47:21 PM · #10

I was looking for an air pump that put out maybe 30psi. (or could keep 30 psi on the tank) But again it would ave to be solar... I have plenty of sun

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

07/12/2013 07:48:59 PM · #11

Originally posted by cowboy221977:

I had less water pressure than I though I would. Infact it was not even really coming out of the soaker hoses.

How about carefully taking an ice-pick (or large needle?) to those soaker hoses near the base of each plant and converting to a modified drip-irrigation system?

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

07/12/2013 08:02:49 PM · #12

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by cowboy221977:
I had less water pressure than I though I would. Infact it was not even really coming out of the soaker hoses.

How about carefully taking an ice-pick (or large needle?) to those soaker hoses near the base of each plant and converting to a modified drip-irrigation system?

actually I am going to do that tomorrow. I have some other work to do over there and was definitely planning on doing that.

tanguera

Nikon D750

07/12/2013 08:07:29 PM · #13

Is this bamboo near any other plants or structures? Their roots are REALLY invasive...

07/12/2013 08:10:09 PM · #14

Originally posted by cowboy221977:

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by cowboy221977:
I had less water pressure than I though I would. Infact it was not even really coming out of the soaker hoses.

How about carefully taking an ice-pick (or large needle?) to those soaker hoses near the base of each plant and converting to a modified drip-irrigation system?

actually I am going to do that tomorrow. I have some other work to do over there and was definitely planning on doing that.

Old Indian Trick - put a flat stones at the base of the plant, it will hold the water in place very effectively - gravel can also work very well, at least for a while.

The natives here used to actually put a large semi-round river stone in the center, and plant around it in a pattern where distance from the center was determined by water needs and plant height.

Pretty genius stuff really. You might benefit from that if you're not able to get as much water as you'd like on the plants, or aren't able to water as regularly as you'd like to.

07/12/2013 08:20:49 PM · #15

Originally posted by tanguera:

Is this bamboo near any other plants or structures? Their roots are REALLY invasive...

Ive got 64 acres...No buildings... I have started my grove on the north side of the prop bordered by a bayou. I want it to spread It has plenty of room to. I dont have much now but I plan on expanding every year. Also every year this stuff spreads...with water

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

07/12/2013 08:23:03 PM · #16

Originally posted by Cory:

Originally posted by cowboy221977:

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by cowboy221977:
I had less water pressure than I though I would. Infact it was not even really coming out of the soaker hoses.

How about carefully taking an ice-pick (or large needle?) to those soaker hoses near the base of each plant and converting to a modified drip-irrigation system?

actually I am going to do that tomorrow. I have some other work to do over there and was definitely planning on doing that.

Old Indian Trick - put a flat stones at the base of the plant, it will hold the water in place very effectively - gravel can also work very well, at least for a while.

The natives here used to actually put a large semi-round river stone in the center, and plant around it in a pattern where distance from the center was determined by water needs and plant height.

Pretty genius stuff really. You might benefit from that if you're not able to get as much water as you'd like on the plants, or aren't able to water as regularly as you'd like to.

I didn't think about that I may do that. Thx for the suggestion. Rock is cheap

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

07/12/2013 09:28:31 PM · #17

When I was a freshman in high school and taking Biology, the bamboo growing next to our house decided to start sending up shoots, and I decided to chart their growth (maybe looking for an extra-credit project?). I don't know the exact variety, but the mature stems were anywhere from 1-4 inches in diameter, and I'd guess they were mostly 15-22 feet tall.

I remember measuring one 2" diameter specimen in the morning just before leaving for school, and when I measured it that afternoon after I got home it was just about one meter taller. FWIW they can break through a typical concrete slab (e.g. patio) ...

07/12/2013 09:42:33 PM · #18

Originally posted by GeneralE:

This variety when the plants are mature will get 10 inches in diameter and grow 75 - 80 feet tall. I am growing it for lumber....(hardwood floors, plywood, etc) In China they even use this stuff for scaffolding around buildings. When it puts up a new shoot (only in the spring but it puts up 3 or 4 per year per shoot)it will grow up to 18 inches a day until it reaches the height that it will get to. It stops growing and the that is it.

My cane is between 8 - 10 feet tall but every year it gets taller