water system

Hi I recently read in a book about a system of water butts/plastic barrels a person had set up through out their garden to collect rain water and via a number of hoses linked them all together so that it siphoned water between them and they didn't have to carry water any great distances.

I was thinking of doing this in my own garden but as it is on two different levels I thought I would have three linked at the top via a siphon system and then on the barrel at the end add a kind of overflow system to carry excess water to the bottom garden where there would be another siphon system between the ones on that level with the one at the end having an overflow into the stream at the end of the garden (as it will be rain water I wouldn't have thought it would be a pollution issue???).

Has anyone else done something like this and is it very hard to set up?

Thanks Jennifer

 

Thought I'd bump this up.
B&Q are selling a water butt pump kit which could inspire ideas. If your garden is on a slope, it's possible you won't need a pump, but use gravity to water where necessary.

Very small pumps can be bought for �£15.

 

HI htere jennifer, I think Bob Flowerdew has htis sytem he talked about it on gardeners question time. I am interested in this subject too - good ot hear that pumps are so cheap. I too have a sloping garden. It is about twenty feet above the house. I was wondering if I could use bathwater and a pump to get it up to the top. as well as having a linked butt sytem. Just havent got those plumbers brains. I'm interested in anyoen who has actually got soem sort of system sorted. Wiggly wigglers sell a device just a plastic tube and a hand operated pump to get bathwater out of your bahroom window and into a butt. Has anyone made a watering system that works.

 

I have a garden on a slope so I have water butts at intervals up the garden, finishing with a very large one at the top. The idea is to pump winter water as it accumulates up tothe top one, then gravity feed it by hose, possibly perforated, or combination of both, in summer. You can buy pumps which will operate from a 12 volt battery [which could be charged by a solar trickle charger] for around �£30-40, or cheaper but I need one which will pump uphill.
All came to grief this year when the large butt developed a sneaky leak [possibly due to my over-zealous potato digging] which I didn't notice until I tried to refill it.... We've had no rain since!
The system worked in principle. It's worth trying as we have so much rain in winter!

 

Lapod you would need a hefty pump to pump a 20ft head I don't think a 12volt one will do it, check before you buy that the pump is up to the job

 

Have a look at these pople, click on 12 volt pumps:
http://www.thetankexchange.com/home.htm
They are friendly and answer queries about suitability.

My garden needs a 'head' of 30' over 150'. You don't have to do it allin one go, though. Ihave 5 water butts!

 

Thank Liz I have got a better picture now - If we had rainwater how the butts would work and then i could use the bathwater for the ground level garde, Thank for warning Walnut helped me rethink what is poosible- Thanks I will look up about pumps - I can see how it works in my mind now.