Bucket and gravity feed systems employ some of the most basic mechanics and simple tools available. This makes them easy to assemble and repair. Do-it-yourselfers often employ these systems to irrigate small gardens, feed farm animals or even enhance an indoor hydroponic growing setup. On a large-scale, gravity feed systems can be used to bring water to entire villages or off-grid home sites. Using a simple teeter system, rain water can be filtered so that large debris doesn't clog the waterway. Does this Spark an idea?
Hydroponics
The hydroponic bucket method is a simple gravity feed with the addition of a low-flow pump. These systems usually consist of six to eight 5-gallon buckets on a 1-inch stand for growing and one not on a stand used as a reservoir. Planted 3-gallon buckets are nested into the 5-gallon growing buckets and water is dripped down over them. The water (with liquid nutrients) drips down through the growing medium and returns to the reservoir only through gravity. A low-flow water pump pushes the water from the reservoir back up into the lines above the growing buckets. This is a very efficient growing setup.
Outdoor Irrigation
Gravity-fed outdoor irrigation systems have been in use since almost the beginning of agriculture. New methods developed in arid regions employ a micro-irrigation process that delivers small amounts of water directly to the roots of plants, eliminating overwatering and wasted irrigation. This system uses polyethylene tubing lined with tiny holes to distribute water from a reservoir. The reservoir could be as small as a 10-gallon bucket or as large as a man-made lake. As long as it is at a higher elevation than the tubing, the system will work.
Farm Watering
Farmers and vegetable gardeners use highly regulated gravity-based watering systems. These systems generally work when the water pressure is between 15 and 30 pounds per square inch (psi). To calculate the amount of psi your system will generate, measure the height of your reservoir in feet and multiply it by .443, the amount of psi you gain per foot of elevation. This will give you the psi for your system. To achieve a constant 15 psi in your system, the height of the lowest point in your reservoir must be 35 feet above of the intended area of irrigation. The farther down the line from the reservoir, the lower the drip rate will be and, because the height of the water determines psi, the system will slow down as water is released and the water level goes down.
Rain Barrels
A unique system designed by several green homeowners is the teeter bucket system. Water runoff from a roof is diverted from the eave drain to be collected in rain barrels. A problem with this is that debris from the roof ends up clogging the intake or release valve and the rainwater becomes contaminated. To remedy this, a bucket on one end of a teeter is set up just below the eave drain. As the initial rainwater comes through the eave, it pushes the debris with it. This debris is caught in the bucket ,which then pushes the teeter down so that an open lane to the rain barrels is exposed. This water will be free of the initial flow of debris. When the rain is over, the bucket can be dumped out and the system reset.
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