Portable Water Wagon Project

[Theowegian]

Ive been working on this project for a couple weeks now and finally finished it up today. I thought maybe you would like to see how it turned out. So far, it works very well.

It is a water wagon that I pull with my compact tractor to irrigate my crops and garden. I designed this system to help me do the following:
1- pump water out of my pond and into the poly tank very quickly,
2- then pump water out of the tank to irrigate my acre of sweetcorn, all our little trees and my wifes garden,
3- it’s also a portable pumping station which can pump water from the pond, bypassing the tank and having a straight discharge. For example, I am sucking water from the pond and then discharge thru an irrigation pipe straight up to my garden about 200 ft away.

Here are the main components of my system:
Honda centrifugal pump, 4 hp, 190 gpm
325 gal poly tank,
array of PVC pipes and valves to divert the water.

Here’s the first pix.

Dwight

 

[Theowegian]

Closeup of the trailer. (Yup, I live in kansas)
I can fill the 325 gallon tank up in less than three minutes!

 

[Theowegian]

Here Im tossing the suction pipe into my pond.

 

[Theowegian]

Here’s a view of the water wagon from the tractor seat. You can see how I set up the valves and the array of PVC piping.

 

[Theowegian]

Final shot.
A side view of the water wagon. Note, I had to use rubber couplings - especially on the suction and discharge of the pump to permit some movement of the pump while it is running.
Also, there is an inline filter located near the back of the trailer and is used only during irrigation, not during filling. There is one valve located between the tank and the fender tha the pictures don’t show very well. Therefore, there is a total of four valves.

Lastly, there is a relief line right before the filter. That line is routed up to the tank’s top fill opening.

 

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Closeup of the trailer. (Yup, I live in kansas)
I can fill the 325 gallon tank up in less than three minutes!
)</font>

Do you go fast enough to need that wing on the trailer? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

All seriousness aside, nice rig. I like the way it's self contained. Interesting how the tank has notches to fit over the trailer tires... made to fit!

 

[Slamfire]

Actually the wing needs an adjustment, so it provides lift when the tank is full, and downforce when it's empty. I'd look for some other method than a wickerbill though, they are pretty slow. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[OldMcDonald]

Cost?

 

[Mike_C]

Nice job!

 

[Theowegian]

Cost:
4 hp Honda pump: $400
Poly Tank: $190
20' suction and 20' discharge hoses: $75
PVC valves: $45
PVC pipe, fittings and cement: $70
filter: $15
Relief hose and valve: $15
3 rubber couplings: $15
total (approx) : $825

The wooden thingy at the back end of the trailer is just a couple of 2x4" studs screwed together to serve as a hand hold and it also supports a crude water boom/tower (not pictured) which dangles off the side to irrigate my sweet corn.

thanks for the comments and for looking.

dwight

 

[oliver28472]

Heck, I thought that was a ROPS for the trailer! Very nice. I've got to email this to a friend who is thinking about watering his remote garden.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Thanks. Cost seems quite reasonable and, I think, comparable with here. I am thinking of a similar project. Old McDonald.

 

[Theowegian]

Id like to add that I also put a cheap pressure gauge on the discharge side, upstream from the filter. At 3/4 throttle, it shows 45 psi. For a 2" pipe, that seems like quite a bit of pressure to me.
When watering, I just let the pump idle and there is PLENTY of flow using an ordinary garden hose.

Also, the differential pressure (increase) across that filter is noticeable, giving me the 45 psi, so I dont like to run full throttle when watering and dont really need to. When I was testing it, I took out the filter and the pressure was only about 15-20 psi. Maybe someone could help me decide on how to keep the pressures as low as possible??? Different filter size mesh???

I did blow out the one rubber coupling on the pump discharge once. But whenever I fill, I can use full throttle and don't have any problems with the rubber couplings in the "fill" lineup, only the "emptying" lineup.

Overall, I think the pump is a little TOO much for my system. I think a 100 gpm pump would be plenty. Mine is 190 gpm.

Also, I confess I used vent and drain pipe which is not rated for a pressure system but it was a lot cheaper and my confidence was low that the whole idea would even work. Im still a little concerned that I might burst the pipes, so I want to keep the operating pressures low.

So far Ive pumped about a dozen tankfulls of water.
Any feedback from you all is welcome. Any idea what pressures a 2" vent and drain PVC pipe can withstand???

dwight

 

[johnday]

Dwight; Nice job!! Ah yes your pressure problem, real easy. Move your filter to the suction side of the pump, that will also protect your pump impeller from wear and tear. And then, on the discharge side, put in a tee between the discharge valve and pump, another valve, preferably a globe valve, and attach a recirc line back to the tank. By throttling the recirc and discharge valve, you can vary your pressure and flow, and protect the pump from overheating due to low flow. Sure works on the pumps in powerplants. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[frank_f15]

VERY , VERY NICE. THAT IS ABOUT ALL I CAN SAY /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DocHeb]

Could you draw and attach a rough schematic for a system, including the modifications, that you are proposing. Although it might not run for very long, I could see how a system like this could be kept on standby for fire emergencies (but at those pressures, you would run through the water pretty fast.)

 

[johnday]

Hi Chris; Sure, I'll give it a shot tommow morning. I've tried to do that before, but as you know, puters and I aren't real friendly. Besides, I'm watching the Tigers loose bigtime right now! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

On second thought, PM me your FAX and I'll send it to you. Then using your natural kind personality, you can post it for the whole world to see!!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Bayoucritter]

Thanks for the post. I have been thinking about this type of setup. This fall I am hoping to plant 50 more pecan trees to the orchard. We lost a number of new plants several years ago due to drought and no water supply. I have access to three 100 gallon tanks. My water access will is a small bayou. My concern is from the source to the trailer I will need to draw the water up about 10 feet. What size portable pump would it take to draw the water up?

 

[johnday]

All; I know DocHeb has a pretty hectic schedule, so if anyone is interested in the diagram he asked for, PM me your FAX number. I'll send it to you, and you can be the hero of the day. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I've tried to scan it to my photo program, but this electronic stuff hates me. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DocHeb]

No hero, it's just Theowegian's project seems really interesting and useful, and I am considering duplicating his effort.

The attachment for this post is the suggested Water Wagon Plumbing Circuit described by johnday.