how far down?

[randy41]

i have a spring that is downhill from my field. is there an easy way to determine the vertical drop to the spring from my field? or do i have to measure the distance and then figure out the angle and use trig?(i'm not opposed to doing this but i'm not sure i could figure out the angle).
why do i ask? i would like to use the spring as a water source for irrigation of my vegetable crops and i would need to know how far uphill i have to pump it so i know what size pump i need.
any help with this is appreciated.

 

[woodchuckie]

I would look at a topographical map probably avaliable on line. In some areas it shows elevation in in 1 foot increments . In my area it's in 20 foot increments. You have to be able to locate the spring and your field to compare to elevation.

 

[wrangler6831]

If you have or can get one, some of the handheld GPS's show elevation. Thats how I figured the drop to get to my well and my neices and it seemed to work fairly well.

Rich

 

[tommu56]

randy41

At the bottom of hill take a level put it on a post of known height(say 5' less the height of level) level level sight across it pick a spot at juncture of level and hill have some one mark it. that will be the 5 ft.

move to this point and repeat till you get highest point you need.

tom

 

[TedLaRue]

If the distance is fairly long and the slope fairly steep, I'd go with woodchuckie's suggestion of the topo map.

If the slope is not too great, Tom's method is pretty fast and accurate.

My inexpensive handheld GPS shows elevation, but it seems to be accurate to only 10 or 20 feet. I know that good ones can be more accurate, so if you have one with acceptable accuracy, Rich's suggestion would be the easiest of all. And maybe an excuse to buy a GPS unit if you don't have one.

If you want to measure the angle, drive a T-post in the ground at the top of the hill so its top is 5' off the ground. Then at the bottom of the hill set up a level 5' off the ground, aim a yardstick at the top of the T-post and have someone measure the angle between the yardstick and the level. Multiply the sine of that angle by the distance up the hill and you'll have your elevation.

If you could borrow a transit (a transit, not a dumpy level) it would be easy. I'm not sure how readily someone would loan you a delicate and expensive instrument like a transit.

Just for fun, you could also run a hose or plastic pipe up the hill, fill it with water, and then measure the pressure at the bottom. Divide that psi by 0.43 and you'll have your elevation in feet.

 

[Egon]

Hand level and a home made rod. Works best starting from the top.

Hose filled with water and a pressure gauge at the bottom.

 

[randy41]

gonna look around for a topo map today.
with my luck i'll develop this to irrigate and next summer will be a rainy one anyway.

 

[dmccarty]

If your county has property maps online you can check there. Our plots are online and can be overlaid with topographical data. You might try Google Maps to see if you can find your place. I don't know if they have the overlay though.

Later,
Dan

 

[Soundguy]

Get a long piece of lumber or pipe.. mark 1' hash marks and label feet on it from the bottom to the top. Have it held at the lower location by a family member.. or prop it up straight somehow.

Go to the top elevation and use a lock level or other sighting device ( rifle scope works pretty good.

Setup scope or lock level on a barrell and have a carpenters level there.. make sure you are level, and then sight over to the pole. record that number, and then subtract the height of the barrel.. that is your elevation difference.

Obviously if there is more than about 20' this becomes impracticle without special tools for the sighting rod.. etc. However anything tall you could park there with a tamp measure held tot he highers part ( loader bucket? ) would work.. etc.

Soundguy

Soundguy

 

[randy41]

TopoZone - USGS Indian Valley (VA) Topo Map

so theres the topo map. the red cross is appox where i would want the pump to pump to. the spring outflow is about 60' below. the contour lines are 20'. so it wouldn't take much of a pump to get 60' up. now if i can figure out how to build a spring box and then have the water pumped into a tank at the red cross it can gravity flow to my drip lines which are all downhill from there.
i could just use my well water but i'm afraid of using up my home water supply.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Randy,

If you can find your property on Google Earth it will show the elevation. All you do is move your mouse from "point a" to "point b" and you can see the elevation readout at the bottom of the screen. I have used this on my property and it is fairly accurate.

Do a search for Google Earth it was a free download. The only problem is some parts of the country will not let you zoom in. I can zoom in on every part of my county but move one county over and can only zoom in on certain areas.

earth.google.com

David

 

[randy41]

i cant zoom in very far on it....it just gets blurry.

 

[randy41]

so i've decided that a spring box is overkill for irrigation since i dont really care if the water is potable or not. if i wanted 1000 gallons available for irrigation i figure i would need to dig a pit of about 135 cu ft...or something that is 7'x7'x3'...since 3' is probably as deep as i want to dig by hand. anyone able to check me on that? i know that i dont have to make it square but just looking for verification of the cu ft calculation.
that is that 1 cu ft of water= about 7.5 gallons.
thanks.

 

[TedLaRue]

My calculations match yours. 135 cubic feet is just a little over 1000 gallons.

Of course your 7' x 7' x 3' hole is 147 cubic feet, but I'm sure you know that.

 

[tommu56]

randy41
cant you get any equipment up there?

What about IBC container they are about 300 gallons just use 3 of them ?

here is a link
Reusable Transport Packaging - Everything you need for convenient, cost-efficient reusable packaging...and it's all in one place. Your source for bulk containers, attached lid containers, pallets, export pallets and more!

but locally around here they are about $75.00 ea or $50.00 for 2 or more.

tommu56

 

[TedLaRue]

Randy,

If you decide to dig the hole and want to dig a round hole, here are the dimensions:

If you dig a circular hole with the sides going straight down, you'd need a diameter of 7'-7" with a 3' depth to hold your 135 cubic feet.

If you dig a circular hole with the sides gently sloping like a spherical bowl with a maximum depth of 3', you'd need a diameter of 11'-7" to hold 135 cubic feet.

The gently sloping sides are more likely to promote cattails along the edges, but are less likely to trap an unfortunate critter. I'm pretty sure straight-down sides would be sloped sides after a few years anyhow.

 

[randy41]

i reckon i could hire someone with a backhoe to dig out what i need in no time but i'm one of those idiots who gets satisfaction from doing it all the hard way myself. thanks for the link tommu56...looks like a good way to store it after it gets pumped uphill. how do you think those hold up exposed to the elements? and thanks for verifying my math ted.

 

[TedLaRue]

how do you think those hold up exposed to the elements?

For other readers, IBC = Intermediate Bulk Container

I think UV exposure from sunlight would be your biggest threat. Apparently some IBC's are UV-stabilized (probably like the gray PVC electrical conduit).

Here's a quote from a PDF file I found at Francis Ward IBC's (which is apparently a British site):

Outdoor Weathering
Most plastics are highly resistant to weathering agents such as oxidation,
extremes of temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, chemical impurities in
the atmosphere, fall-out, biological agents and light. They will however undergo
some chemical transformation and consequent degradation when exposed to
sunlight or fluorescent light for long periods. The result is discolouration, loss of
clarity, loss of gloss, and tensile, impact strength reductions. Visibly
polyethylenes will exhibit crazing, cracking and become increasingly brittle. In
order to prevent this UV photo catalytic degradation the polyethylenes used in
the manufacture of Francis Ward IBC’s are UV stabilised by adding a high
strength HALS type UV stabiliser to the base polymer. Even greater protection
can be provided by the incorporation of a small percentage of carbon black
which effectively blocks out UV light.

 

[orezok]

If you have enough garden hose to reach from the top elevation to the bottom elevation, stretch it out full of water and put a pressure gauge at the bottom elevation. The hose MUST be completely full of water so fill from the bottom if possible. After filling, leave top open to atmosphere. The gauge will read 1/2# per foot of elevation difference. i.e. 100' difference in elevation reads 50# on gauge.

 

[tommu56]

randy41

I have 3 that have been sitting out side for over 10 years the tops have a little crazing but if you put some tin sideing over them to keep sun light off that would stop it.
One is on a trailer that I fetch water with and even with the josseling the tank has been fine I did have to replace skid it rotted out I made one from pt wood.

tom