Water Storage Planning - Part 2: In this video I describe my purchase of 55 gallon drum barrels and the process of filling them up. Additional Parts Apex 25 feet long drinking water safe water hose was purchased at Walmart for around . It is lead free and can be found in the gardening section or camping/rv section of walmart or lowes, home depot, etc. Check the apex website for different variations of this hose www.teknorapex.com Faucet Adapter is produced by Neoperl. Its part number is #572798. It allows a flow rate of 1.5 Gallons per minute and fits a 3/4 inch male hose. I paid .97 for this part at home depot in the faucet section of the store.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
PVC Irrigation System, Automatic Water Timers, and Rain Barrel System
This video highlights my gardens around the house. There are several because I'm land-locked and use anywhere I can get sunlight. The video goes over the 6 barrel, 330 gallon rain barrel system along with the PVC drip irrigation system that waters the garden. It also discusses the automatic water timer used to water the garden automatically.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Drip Made Easy - Anyone Can Do It
This brief overview of drip irrigation shows you how quick and easy planning, purchasing and installing a drip irrigation system truly is.
How to Clean Out a Basement Or Shower Floor Drain
For floor drains like those in basements and showers, a garden hose often is more effective than an auger if the blockage is far down. Remove the strainer from the drain. Attach the hose to a faucet (a threaded adapter is needed for a sink or lavatory faucet).
Push the hose into the drain and pack rags around it. While you hold the hose--and the rags--in the drain, have a helper turn the water alternately on full force and abruptly off. The surges of pressure should clear the blockage.
To get increased pressure you can buy, at a plumbing supply store, an inexpensive rubber device that resembles a nozzle and seals the hose in the drain better than rags. When the water is turned on, the device expands against the drainpipe so that the full force of water is directed into the drain.
Be sure never to leave a hose in any drain, though. If water pressure should drop suddenly and drastically--a rare but not impossible occurrence--sewage could be drawn back into the fresh water system.
To unclog a bathtub, unscrew the overflow plate and lift it up and out. Draw out the stopper and its linkage (note how the parts line up so you can put them back the same way). Close the overflow opening with rags or masking tape, then use a plunger to open the clog.
If that doesn't work, then run an auger through the tub overflow opening to reach the P trap, which serves both tub drain and overflow. Use the cranking back-and-forth movements of the auger to unclog the drain effectively.
Keep in mind that instead of a P trap, bathtubs in older hoses and apartments may have a so-called drum trap located at floor level alongside the tub. To get at it, unscrew the cover of the trap counterclockwise with an adjustable wrench. Remove the rubber gasket. Using a drain-and-trap auger, first search for a blockage in the lower pipe inside the drum. If you find no obstruction there, insert the auger in the upper pipe, which goes to the main drain.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
What Are Floor Sucker Pumps?
A basement full of water is a possibility that homeowners with basements have to think about and to make plans to fix if the event occurs. Getting water in your basement due to rain or a broken pipe can destroy much of the contents in your basement area. Some new homeowners have had to deal with extensive damage from rain water getting into their basements. Waiting for installation of a sump pump after your basement has been flooded and the water has penetrated your belongings will do nothing to save them. The reality of the damage potential of having your basements contents sitting in water is something that should be thought about and preventive measures taken. Floor sucker pumps are designed for homes or commercial buildings that do not have sump pumps installed.
Many homes with basements have sump pumps installed. If your home does not have a sump pump then floor sucker pumps are an option since a floor sucker is a handy moveable sump pump that can prevent water from sitting in your basement.
Engineered for homeowners whose basements do not have sump pumps, the floor sucker can protect your basement, roof and any other space where water damage is possible. There are various models of floor sucker pumps that can drain these areas. The machine operates either automatically or manually and some come equipped with a garden hose adapter. Basically, the pump can be used to suck up water in your home to prevent water damage to your belongings. There are other uses for the pump as in fountains or around air conditioning units. Wherever the fear of water damage or any kind of liquid spillage is possible, the pump can make the difference between safely and easily collecting the liquid or dealing with the damage that such leakage or spillage can cause.
The pump is fully versatile and can be used wherever the transfer of water is required even to expel water from pool covers. Getting a sump pump is expensive and requires drilling and other types of plumping installation. If you are concerned about a sudden pouring of water into your basement from heavy rains or even from an accidental pipe bursting or a plumbing backup then keeping floor sucker pumps at home or even in your commercial building can be the difference between losing much of your belongings to water damage that can be severe even with just a few inches of water or pumping the water out of your basement safely.
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Friday, December 2, 2011
DIY Rain Barrels
Not only is rain water better for your garden plants and flowers than chlorinated tap water, but by using rain water you also save money. Plus you reduce the water that leads into the local storm sewers, gathering various chemicals and oils along the way and taking them to the natural streams.
Making a rain barrel is one of the simplest do-it-yourself projects that you can approach. A rain barrel can be filled within a matter of minutes during a good rain, and you will have a good supply for watering your garden during a dry season.
Tools
• Jig Saw
• Power Drill
• Scissors
• Pipe Wrench and Pump Pliers
• Screw Driver
• Hack Saw
• Tape Measure and Level
1. - Calculate the capacity of the barrel
How quick your barrels fill depends upon how large the collection surface you have.
The equation to calculate the size of the barrel will be something like this: 200 sq ft (rooftop area) x 0.0042 ft (average rainfall) x 0.9(losses to system) x 7.5 gals/ft 3(conversion factor).
Where, if you have 200 sq ft of rooftop area and the average rainfall is half an inch (0.042 ft.) you will need a 56.7 gallon barrel.
2. - Gather your barrels
You need to identify a source of food quality 55 gallon barrels. Many manufacturers of fruit or drinks discard their barrels after the first use. Therefore they will be happy to see you take home as many barrels as you can for free, or at most for a few dollars. (As barrels are made of plastic, manufacturers have to discard of barrels as hazardous waste)
Keep a close eye on Craigslist. People used to post when they have extra barrels that the need to get rid of for a few bucks or even for free.
Consider the barrel should be food grade, it means no prior chemical or petroleum contents.
Plastic barrels are more convenient, as steel barrels are heavy and prone to rusting, very hard to drill, and generally they were used for chemical or petroleum products transportation.
Bring home as many barrels as you can, as long as you have room to storage them. One 55 gallon barrel can be fill up in less than 10 minutes during heavy rain. It's a good idea have a secondary barrel to fill with the overflow water and you can do a good use of extra barrels as water storage.
3. - Screen the lid
The use of strainers and leaf screens located in the gutters and downspouts are designed to prevent debris, like leaves, from entering the tank.
Cut a square hole in the lid with the jigsaw, and then place the piece of scrap window screen over the hole to keep mosquitoes out of the barrel. You can fasten it with duck tape or nails.
4. - Modify the downspout
Use the small drill bit to drill out existing rivets as you need it. Usually they are put together with sheet metal screws. Redirect the downspout so the water will flow directly on top of the barrel.
5. - Attach the garden hose valve
Drill a 1" hole near the bottom of the barrel. On the inside of the barrel attach the adapter and the washer. On the outside, install the valve. If you prefer you can use a 3/4 inch plastic faucet; make a hole slightly smaller than 3/4 inch, close to the bottom. Seal with silicone. Don't drill the hole too far down inside the barrel where you can't reach it as you will need to fasten the attachments.
6. - Attach an overflow
Cut a 2 inch hole very close to the top of the barrel and on a side that will allow you to run an overflow pipe away from your house foundation. Instead of a pipe, it could be a hose that end up into the secondary barrel. Seal with silicone.
7. - Raise the barrel
Putting your rain barrel on a platform will give you good water pressure, and you won't have to bend over to get to the water.An elevated stand can easily be built using a few pressure treated wood logs. Elevated barrels allow plants to grow in a shady spot, without taking valued graded space. The area under the barrels can be used to store stuff, like brushes and garden tools. The pressure of the water increases approximately half a pound per foot of elevation. The water pressure at the end of the hose is based upon the level of the water in the barrel.
8. - Make it pretty!
Paint the barrel with paint prime for plastic material. You can choose a color that blend with the exterior walls of your house, in that way it will stand out less, without altering the faade too much. Or, you can be creative and make it a decorative item of your garden.
Screening is a good alternative to conceal the barrels. Use natural materials as straw or wood trellis.
9. - Maintenance
Keep the gutters and system screens clean and free of leaves and other debris. The barrel also needs a periodic thorough cleaning, usually in the summer when its water levels tend to be lower.
During the winter, drain the barrel 100% if the temperatures drop under 32 F. Otherwise, it could have serious damage. You should fully drain the whole system, including pipes hoses. Also I recommend you remove the downspout that flows into the barrel to make sure no water enters the system during the frosty months.
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