Barn floor drain pipe - depth slope?

[lhfarm]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I don't have a level or transit, but the bucket and tube method (I use 100' of 1/4" tube and a two gallon bucket) is an easy way for one person to measure levels over a two hundred foot distance, accurate to as close as you can read a tape measure. ..
Wm )</font>
Can you explain extacly how this works. Sounds like the price is right /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

 

[willfick]

OK, I'll give it a shot.
Take a bucket near full of water.
Get a 100' roll of 1/4" clear plastic tubing. A couple of dollars at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.
Put the bucket some where so that the water level in the bucket is higher than anywhere you want to measure. Put one end of the tube in the water and secure it to the bucket. I had the one in the picture tied to the handle with string, a light clamp would be more convenient.
Unroll the hose to the first place you want to check and suck lightly on the end for a second. The water will, quicker than you think, syphon to where you are.
Hold the end of the hose up and the water will stop perfectly level with the water level in the bucket. Tape measure or yardstick down to the ground. That gives you the ground or ditch bottom level relative to the bucket.
Then move the end of the tube to the next place you want to check, measure again, and in your head arithmetic will tell you the difference in elevation of the two spots.
Did I get that right?
When I built the spillway for my pond I used this to get the foundation right for the water level to be 8" below the top of a footbridge 150' away though the woods. Thirteen years later I'm still using the same piece of tube.
Wm
New bucket, though.

 

[lhfarm]

Great! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I'll give it a try and let you know how I do. Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[willfick]

Ooops.
I forgot the part that makes this slightly less than foolproof.
You have to be sure that the end in the bucket stays under water. If it catches air the instrument is not accurate. I think.
Anyway, if there's any doubt in your mind, you don't have to minutely check the length of the tube - just lay the end of the tube down and let the water run for a minute or two to clear any air out.
Good luck, Wm

 

[jloppy]

1/4 per ft is right on....but, remember that more slope is NOT better. By saying this, understand that waste water will have trash in it. If the slope is too much the water will outrun the trash, thus causing a clogged drain sometime in the future.

Good luck!

 

[lhfarm]

I finally got back on my drain project. I used the bucket and tube method to make a water level. From the point where I took the shot (~50'), there is a drop of over 11". I was really surprised. So I figure I can dig at a pretty constant depth and be pretty close to the proper slope. Just have to wait till next weekend to do the digging.

In case you are wondering why the drain doesn't run straight out from the barn, there is an old shed built into the hill, just out of view. So I had to run the line to the back of shed.

Thanks for the advice. I'll post the final results.
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif