12v bilge pump to irrigate from a trailer tank?

I just got a 200 gallon flat 4x8x1 tank, to pull on my utility trailer to water new trees in the orchard.

Has anyone tried a bilge pump to distribute water out of a bulk tank? This Bilge Pump, $25 at HF looks about right at 18 gallons per minute.


Has anyone tried these 12 volt pumps for watering from a trailered tank? Net lift is negative so it doesn't work very hard. Essentially the pump just gets a siphon started.

I'm thinking I will cut a hatch in my $25 tank and just set this pump in. I assume a stiff output hose will be sufficient to offset the motor's torque.

Comments? Has anybody done this?

I would suspect the duty cycle for a HF pump might be less than you're hoping for.

I used one in a pinch -- not sure the volume comparison but mine was sloooooow.There are 12 volt "pony pumps" for sprinkling that work well and of course PTO pumps that are even better. I now use my bilge pump as -- surprise --a bilge pump to pump out boats that have been rained in.

I just bought this HF pump for a similar purpose, though I have not used it yet. $25 on sale.


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I have an old 175 gal sprayer tank I used. I tried gravity flow and it was far too slow for my taste. I built a platform on the front hitch which sits perfectly level and put my generator on that all summer. I run a 1/6hp sump pump with a hard pipe coming out the top and then reduced to a 25' garden hose. Works excellent. I can do 3-4 trees from one spot, approx 1-2 mins per tree before moving. I have one of those quick attach outlets at the top so if I have fertilizer in the tank I can just remove the hose and it sprays out approx 20' so when I have finished my important transplants I can just drive down the row of established trees and give them a treet as well. On start up the torque does twist the pump a little so I just bungee it(also keeps it vertical by preventing it from walking around)

Brent

I used the same one as Travelover for refilling the fresh water tank in my motorhome when we lived in it on weekends before the well was in. It worked just like it should.

Don't know if the 4 gpm is enough or not for spraying, but it actually develops lift as well as pressure. Advantage is no cutting holes in the tank, just drop a hose to the bottom through an existing opening, or come off the outlet at the bottom.

I used a bilge pump in a 330 gallon tank and powered it from the battery in my truck. I spliced in a toggle switch and with 10 feet of hose I drove from tree to tree to water them when they were young and I never had to leave the seat of the truck. It worked great. I also tried using two 50' hoses on a Y adapter so two of us could water at the same time but the GPM flow was reduced enough that it was not any faster than doing it myself.

Travelover said:

I just bought this HF pump for a similar purpose, though I have not used it yet. $25 on sale.

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That was the one that got me interested in this project. HF's current mailed ad shows that one (240 gpm) and a slightly larger twin (260 gpm, 35 ft lift, #94639) with both under $30. But both are in the range of 4-5 gallons per minute while the bilge pump I described above is 18 gpm.

What I want is to drive the tractor up to a new tree and quickly dump 5 to 10 gallons into the reservoir around the tree, so I want volume but not pressure.

Here is how I watered when I planted about five replacement trees per year. Now with 30 new trees planned this year, I need to deliver water on a larger scale. I would set up the hose so I could deliver the water without leaving the tractor seat.

If you were towing a water tank on a trailer, looks like gravity would give you all the flow you need.

I am wary of any electric or gas powered anything from HF.

If you have to have a pump, looks like a PTO pump would be a better investment in my opinion.

CurlyDave said:

I used the same one as Travelover... Don't know if the 4 gpm is enough or not for spraying ... Advantage is no cutting holes in the tank, just drop a hose to the bottom

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Dave, that's the elegant solution except its volume isn't sufficient to deliver 200 gallons in a reasonable time. I suspect cost would jump up sharply for a similar pump with 3-4 times the capacity. I'm considering the 18 gpm bilge pump simply because it's cheap. If I need to replace it in a couple of years, that's still cheap.

2manyrocks said:

If you were towing a water tank on a trailer, looks like gravity would give you all the flow you need.

I am wary of any electric or gas powered anything from HF.

If you have to have a pump, looks like a PTO pump would be a better investment in my opinion.

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Tul01 found that gravity feed was too slow - and his sprayer surely had more elevation drop than this flat tank. There is no bottom outlet on this tank. Plus I would need to elevate the tank if I installed one. I like the idea of sliding the tank into the trailer without fussing over an elaborate mount or easily-damaged fittings.

I wouldn't rely on a HF bilge pump to go out to sea but at $25 I don't have much at risk here. While a bilge pump moves water uphill, in this use it would simply start and assist a siphon so it's not working as hard as what it was designed for. Maybe I should buy the Extended Replacement Warranty.

Do you know of a $25 PTO pump? I expect $200 would be a reasonable estimate to do it that way.

bigtiller said:

I used a bilge pump in a 330 gallon tank and powered it from the battery in my truck....never had to leave the seat of the truck.

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I like your solution! I think that's where I'm headed.