If you have a system for collecting water from the roof during rain into a container, for example, a metal barrel, you can create an automatic watering system without using a pump or consuming electrical energy. Any adult with at least minimal plumbing skills can handle this type of work.
Will need
You should first prepare the following materials:- 32 mm polyethylene pipe;
- steel rod 1 inch 150 mm long;
- two 1 inch nuts;
- two silicone gaskets for 1-inch nuts;
- two 1" × 32 mm female threaded outlets;
- two 90 degree corners 32×90 mm.
To work, you only need a 32 mm metal drill bit, a bit holder with a shank and a drill bit, and a drill.
Automatic watering manufacturing process
We clamp the holder with the crown by the shank into the drill chuck and drill a hole in its wall a little below the top of the barrel. We insert the squeegee into the drilled hole.We install one silicone gasket on the outer and inner sides of the barrel wall and tighten them tightly with nuts using open-end wrenches. We screw and tighten two plastic corners with internal threads onto the ends of the squeegee, having previously sealed them with fum tape.
We connect the bends to the corners. We attach a piece of plastic pipe to the internal outlet, slightly short in length to the bottom of the barrel, and to the external outlet we connect an irrigation polyethylene pipe of the required length.
In it, opposite each bush or tree, we will drill small holes for watering.
Our simple irrigation system works due to a slight difference in hydrostatic pressure. When it rains, the barrel is filled to the top with rainwater, creating excess pressure due to a column of liquid from the top of the container to the outlet. As a result, water rises through the internal vertical pipe and enters the irrigation main with holes.
Even if the rain stops and the water in the barrel drops below the discharge, watering the plants does not stop, since a vacuum is created in the vertical inner tube, and water will be sucked into it until the container is completely emptied.
It is advisable to equip the end of the suction tube in the barrel with a removable mesh filter to retain small debris and prevent clogging of the holes in the irrigation pipe.
You can also make an irrigation system based on a large cube with a bottom distribution, control taps and branched pipes.
