[Gornoeth]

Hi folks,

We have an IBC linked to drain pipes to harvest rain water mainly for watering the veg patch.
As much as I enjoy walking back and forth with a watering can has anyone managed to run a hose pipe off one?

I can get an IBC located about 3m off the ground, would that give enough head to run a hose? Any other options?

[Womble]

Yes it should do, as long as the hose length isn't excessive, but it will be quite a gentle flow, similar to what you'll get from a watering can rose.


Is the IBC already at 3m elevation, or is it near anywhere you can get 3m below it?  If so, you could test it first by setting up a syphon, since the flow will be pretty similar.

[Dav275]

Our IBC is about 2m above our polytunnel.  Works adequately for us.  Should think 3m would be fine.

[DavidandCollette]

We use a water button, if you have electric. I have also seen a post elsewhere of someone using a cordless drill with a small pump on the end

[Terry T]

Womble-how do you catch rain water off your tunnel if it is 2 m above your tunnel?

[DavidandCollette]

That should have read water butt pump

[Dav275]

Terry T  - If you meant me,   we don't.   

The IBC collects water from  a flat roof built over it.  Feeds pipe down to  polytunnel for watering in and around tunnel.

[Terry T]

Thanks Dav245.
We’ve just picked up a couple of IBCs which I want to use to run a soaker hose. Collecting off the polytunnel is tricky and seems to collect lots of debris and blocks regularly. We are now trying to run it down off our bungalow roof. Alternative ideas are really handy.

[Dav275]

Crude, but it works.

[Gornoeth]

Thanks [member=27141]DavidandCollette[/member] that looks like a good option, IBC is catching rain off our barn roof and the barn has electrics so easy enough to set up. Definitely easier than getting the IBC up to 3m

There is 5-15m between the IBC and the raised beds and then polytunnel. I'll test it still but I guess that distance is going to make just running off the IBC tricky.

[chrismahon]

We collect rainwater off our roof and find that leaves and seeds come with it. We fix plastic potato sacks to the downpipes with exterior self-adhesive tape- works well as a filter, but needs to be checked regularly.

[ToNo]

Low tech, cheap solution for limited periods.
Use one of these self priming electric drill pumps, about £12 from eBay 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/192879785532?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=192879785532&targetid=594652171400&device=t&mktype=pla&googleloc=9046605&poi=&campaignid=1880881670&mkgroupid=75768496531&rlsatarget=aud-739442098245:pla-594652171400&abcId=1140496&merchantid=118958571&gclid=Cj0KCQjw753rBRCVARIsANe3o47JGBO9KTH12EgdD-DauKTyHh98KG_n7G9GO0__YNvJs6MmxmMya6YaAjfhEALw_wcB

[DavidandCollette]

gornoeth - our water butt pump easily did 12 metres

[Alex_]

I haven't done it off an ibc but 2 250L barrels that i joined together. I used a 15mm tank connector with 15mm pipe, tap and 90° pipe connector. The hose i have threads nicely onto the 15mm pipe and waters the beds quite nicely but not a lot of pressure.

[Fleecewife]

I'm sure I used to know what IBC means, but if it's a 1000 litre black plastic barrel, that is what we use.  each of our large buildings has rones with a barrel to collect the water.  This then travels by gravity down to a main collecting barrel, or to the sheep water troughs.  Water is then pumped back up usng an electric pump, to the barrel at the polytunnel.  The barrel is raised about 1 metre above the ground, on a breeze block plinth.  The hose is connected to a tap at the bottom of the barrel.  3 metres would be better, as the pressure decreases as the barrel empties. I used to run 'leaky pipe' irrigation from this, but after the first year the leaky hoses blocked with algae.  The given way to clear this is with a high pressure squirt of water through the hose, but without the high pressure it didn't work.  I suppose we could connect the pressure washer to it.  I now use a normal hose run off this barrel, but with such a low head the pressure is very gentle, so watering can take a while.  We also run a hose from another barrel higher up the slope, which has far better pressure.  I suppose we could manage with just that, except in dry years when we need all 4 collecting barrels.