3 Point Water Spreader

[rob in ore]

Should I build a water spreader/sprinkler for my 3 point? When I'm working on our gravel road it, sometimes seems like a little more moisture would help. When I finish the job I would certainly like to water it in. Our roads have a good base with plenty of gravel and fines but need a freshening now and then. From May to September we won't get enough rain to even attempt repairs.

I have a couple water tanks, used pressure tanks from our well. I could build a carrier for one of them to ride on the 3-point. The small one is 80 gallons. The larger is 120 gallons but I think I'll be able to lift either safely since I'll be on roads and not in the wilderness. I've carried the smaller tank through my pastures and it required some caution, especially when full.

I'd like to do it WITHOUT a pump, just gravity to dribble out. The roads I maintain are 10 feet wide so I was thinking a 6 foot boom for the water. I'd use 3/4 pvc for the boom.
Has anyone tried this with such a tank?
Will the dribble method work or do I need a pump? Should add nozzles even if I don't have a pump?
Is the amount of water going to make a difference or will I need to make dozens of trips to refill in order to achieve results? The maximum distance is under 1/4 mile and water is plentiful. It's just the hassle factor to consider. A few trips would be ok but more than that, maybe not.
How might I rig a valve that I could operate from the seat?
What size holes should I start with? I could always make them bigger.

Any other things to consider?
Thanks.

 

[chim]

Someone on here has probably done something similar and has it nailed down. My first thoughts are that I'd want nozzles and maybe a 2" header if going gravity. Drilled holes might work OK. A 3/4" header may have a big difference in pressure, depending on the flow. Flow from the nozzles near the incoming water could rob pressure from more distant nozzles. A larger flooded header should provide more equal pressure to the nozzles.

There are cable-operated valves (think vehicle heater) and motorized valves that could be rigged up.

Sounds like a fun project. All sorts of playing around come to mind.

 

[oldnslo]

As a point of reference an inch of rain on 10 ft wide by 1/4 mile long is approximately 8200 gallons so not sure if 80 or 120 gallons will be noticeable on dry ground.

 

[LouNY]

Dust control would take less then a 1/10th of an inch.

 

[bigtiller]

I tried gravity feed when watering 140 new spruce trees with a 300 gallon tank and a short garden hose.

I believe you will be happier with a pump. Even a simple bilge pump from a boat would be better than gravity...if you can get the orifice size figured out.

 

[EddieWalker]

I put a 300 gallon tote on an old trailer that I found abandoned on my land. It needed new tires and a few modifications to make it work. I put some treated blocks under one side of the tote so it was angled at the back so everything would drain out. I like the trailer idea because I can pull it with my Mule, or a tractor that doesn't have anything attached to it. Usually that's my little 37 hp tractor.

 

[scootr]

I'm currently assembling a fire fighting trailer with two 230 gallon totes and a 2" trash pump. I could add a spreader bar and water the road but 500 gallons will hardly solve the problem for more than day.
Really takes about 2-4k gallons to make a difference in workability and dust control in my experience.

 

[rob in ore]

Thanks to all for your input. I did some math, to put 1/10 of an inch of water down, my 120 gallon tank would last about 190 feet. So I'd have to make 4 trips just for a small amount of water.
I priced pumps at Northern Tool. A 7 gpm unit is a few hundred dollars. At 7 gpm it would take over an hour to water the road. That's longer than it takes to grade it most times.
Probably not a project worth doing I guess.
If anyone needs two used, slightly leaky pressure tanks, I got 'em for you.

 

[SmallChange]

If by any chance your FEL is available to mount something, you could use dump/curl to control flow, like a watering can. I've toyed with the idea of doing this to dispense brine on my icy driveway. The giant watering can could have no moving parts (no pumps, no valves) and be less maintenance trouble this way. Just a thought...

 

[JeepHead]

I would use a pump. You can get galvanized pipe and put T's in between each section and use power washing nozzles to create a spray pattern. This way you can make your spray bar as wide as you want and have as many nozzles that you want. I would think a nozzle every 12" would be plenty. It will be cheap and simple to make.