Food Plot Irrigation

[PrairieShadow]

Has anyone used something such as this to irrigate food plots? How long of discharge hose can you use before pressure starts dropping?

1250K-R15S Sprinkler Irrigation Cart with Wheels

With a heavy gauge steel tube construction, the 1250K-R15S sprinkler irrigation cart with wheels is suitable to water various areas. Buy one for yourself online!

www.bigsprinkler.com

 

[westonwhitetail]

What flow rate and what size piping would you use? Would you pump out of a pond or stream like shown on the website

 

[PrairieShadow]

I have a 2" honda pump that I would use from my pond. 8k acres of watershed run into my pond per USDA so it generally is full (last year not so much). I'd plan on feeding it with 2" hose which with my pump is good for 220gpm at zero lift but adding pressure I'm sure would set that back a good bit. I'd have about a 1300ft feeder line to get where I want though and I do wonder about pressure drop over that distance. I could adjust flow rate through nozzle size and throttle at the pump I spose. Area to be watered would dictate a lot of that.

If I made a 1 acre circle plot, I'd need about 105 feet to water full circle from center.

 

[bigboreblr]

get me the specs on the hondas pump and what kind of feeder line and fittings it is. I can do the pump math. Also from the pond surface to the food plot, how many feet uphill is that.

 

[bigboreblr]

The honda wb20 pump can make close to 45 psi at 15gpm and about 40psi at 20 gpm. Pressure loss through 1300 ft of schedule 40 pipe only accounting coupling fittings as additional loss, about 4-5psi loss. Fabric hose would be alot more, aluminum pipe would be similar. On the loss chart, 15 and 20 gpm is very low flow velocity for 2 inch hose. About .2 to .3 psi for each 100ft. 2.31ft of water vertically equals 1 psi....... Turbulence through fitting and kinks of hoses as they make a bend could almost double that, but friction is a factor of velocity squared, and youre not making alot of velocity at 15-20gpm........

Let's say you loose 7-8 psi on friction of pipe and fittings at 15gpm. 45psi -7 psi for pipe friction losses = 38 psi left This mean your food plot can be no more than 3 psi * 2.31 ft / psi = 7ft taller than the pond to make 35 psi. On the lowest end of 4 psi loss through the pipe friction you'd have to be less than 15ft taller than the pond.

if 55 psi = 150 ft then if its linear psi = distance then 35 psi is 95 ft. IF it is linear......... Likely this 150ft number occurs in the higher flow rate with larger nozzles. Realistic guess you might get a 80ft radius out of it...... If they could have one nozzle smaller than 8mm, you'd probably be good.

you could hybridize your watering with the right kind of furrows to spread out the runoff water. Channelized irrigation is done alot in california and the world. Could get a few pipes, drill some small 1/4 inch holes around, and let each hole fill a furrow. Maybe 15ft apart furrows. Could be done with the right tools or a one bottom plow, or dragging a log inline, etc..... I could do the math on what size and how many holes.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I'd just spread a "soaker" hose around the plot and not worry about it. You could probably find a bunch of hose for free if it has holes in it.

 

[PrairieShadow]

The honda wb20 pump can make close to 45 psi at 15gpm and about 40psi at 20 gpm. Pressure loss through 1300 ft of schedule 40 pipe only accounting coupling fittings as additional loss, about 4-5psi loss. Fabric hose would be alot more, aluminum pipe would be similar. On the loss chart, 15 and 20 gpm is very low flow velocity for 2 inch hose. About .2 to .3 psi for each 100ft. 2.31ft of water vertically equals 1 psi....... Turbulence through fitting and kinks of hoses as they make a bend could almost double that, but friction is a factor of velocity squared, and youre not making alot of velocity at 15-20gpm........

Let's say you loose 7-8 psi on friction of pipe and fittings at 15gpm. 45psi -7 psi for pipe friction losses = 38 psi left This mean your food plot can be no more than 3 psi * 2.31 ft / psi = 7ft taller than the pond to make 35 psi. On the lowest end of 4 psi loss through the pipe friction you'd have to be less than 15ft taller than the pond.

if 55 psi = 150 ft then if its linear psi = distance then 35 psi is 95 ft. IF it is linear......... Likely this 150ft number occurs in the higher flow rate with larger nozzles. Realistic guess you might get a 80ft radius out of it...... If they could have one nozzle smaller than 8mm, you'd probably be good.

you could hybridize your watering with the right kind of furrows to spread out the runoff water. Channelized irrigation is done alot in california and the world. Could get a few pipes, drill some small 1/4 inch holes around, and let each hole fill a furrow. Maybe 15ft apart furrows. Could be done with the right tools or a one bottom plow, or dragging a log inline, etc..... I could do the math on what size and how many holes.

Wow thanks Big B!

Thats a lot to digest and not sure I understand it all.

I'll see if I can track down the specifics on my particular pump. Per OnX maps I'll have 7' of rise from pond to plot.

I had only thought about using blue discharge hose as my feeder line simply based on price point.

 

[PrairieShadow]

I'd just spread a "soaker" hose around the plot and not worry about it. You could probably find a bunch of hose for free if it has holes in it.

I got plenty of those type of hoses

 

[Jonathan]

I use the same sprinkler in my yard, I used the WB20 as well as the high pressure Honda or a cheapo 2" Pacer pump, Big B's numbers match what I see. I run two sprinklers on each pump and do not see much distance loss over one, I am only running 2-3 hundred feet from the pump with no rise in elevation.

 

[bigboreblr]

You'd loose a little flow. I am having trouble finding losses at 15-20gpm range for 2 inch hose because it usually is used for higher flow rates, which is good.

If you use those rolls of schedule 40 PVC piping. You'll loose about 10 psi of pressure going through 1300ft of 1.5 inch diameter pipe. That might be cheaper than flex hose,

 

[buckdeer1]

I have a well about 150ft from one of mine.I drop a 1 1/4 inch well pipe with a foot valve down the well and it's hooked to low level well pump ran off a generator.Plumbed from pump is 1 inch black roll pipe that I put faucets in and run 2 garden hoses to my sprinklers.I fill generator with gas and let it run for 3-4 hours till it runs out of gas.It doesn't water it as much as it should but it keeps it alive. It takes thousands of gallons per acre to equal 1 inch of rain.

 

[PrairieShadow]

You'd loose a little flow. I am having trouble finding losses at 15-20gpm range for 2 inch hose because it usually is used for higher flow rates, which is good.

If you use those rolls of schedule 40 PVC piping. You'll loose about 10 psi of pressure going through 1300ft of 1.5 inch diameter pipe. That might be cheaper than flex hose,

I found this Friction Lose chart on the Sprinkler website. If Im looking at this right, I'd lose about 19psi 40 psi at 1300ft.

https://www.bigsprinkler.com/sites/www.bigsprinkler.com/files/Friction%20Loss%20Chart.JPG

Having trouble finding what my actual pump is capable of though as far as psi.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

The honda wb20 pump can make close to 45 psi at 15gpm and about 40psi at 20 gpm. Pressure loss through 1300 ft of schedule 40 pipe only accounting coupling fittings as additional loss, about 4-5psi loss. Fabric hose would be alot more, aluminum pipe would be similar. On the loss chart, 15 and 20 gpm is very low flow velocity for 2 inch hose. About .2 to .3 psi for each 100ft. 2.31ft of water vertically equals 1 psi....... Turbulence through fitting and kinks of hoses as they make a bend could almost double that, but friction is a factor of velocity squared, and youre not making alot of velocity at 15-20gpm........

Let's say you loose 7-8 psi on friction of pipe and fittings at 15gpm. 45psi -7 psi for pipe friction losses = 38 psi left This mean your food plot can be no more than 3 psi * 2.31 ft / psi = 7ft taller than the pond to make 35 psi. On the lowest end of 4 psi loss through the pipe friction you'd have to be less than 15ft taller than the pond.

if 55 psi = 150 ft then if its linear psi = distance then 35 psi is 95 ft. IF it is linear......... Likely this 150ft number occurs in the higher flow rate with larger nozzles. Realistic guess you might get a 80ft radius out of it...... If they could have one nozzle smaller than 8mm, you'd probably be good.

you could hybridize your watering with the right kind of furrows to spread out the runoff water. Channelized irrigation is done alot in california and the world. Could get a few pipes, drill some small 1/4 inch holes around, and let each hole fill a furrow. Maybe 15ft apart furrows. Could be done with the right tools or a one bottom plow, or dragging a log inline, etc..... I could do the math on what size and how many holes.

 

[Troubles Trees]

Distance isn't so much the issue pumping water if there is no elevation change unless you are looking to go a very long way. There would be variables in an uncontrolled setting like this but your concern would lie in rise or fall in elevation and how straight you can run the main supply line. I would have to look to be sure but for every 10 feet of rise I believe you need 4.33 PSI, if you are dropping 10 feet in elevation you will gain the same 4.33 PSI. We always rounded up to 5-7 PSI or more per 10' of rise to size a pump for the heating systems in our buildings because cheaper pumps claim more GPM than they produce and pumps lose GPM as they age. All our pumps run on Variable Speed Drives so we didn't need to be 100% accurate.

So from end to end if it rises in elevation 30 feet you will need 15 PSI just to get water there, then add in how many PSI you want at the sprinkler, if you want 20 PSI at the sprinkler you need 35 PSI minimal at the pump in this scenario, you will also need to factor in friction loss if you need high PSI but that factor is minimal for short distances and PSI below 100. Most pumps are rated for GPM not PSI but I am sure there is a conversion chart for that online somewhere.

 

[ethompson]

i Was thinking about doing the same thing and every time I asked someone with experience in this field, I got so confused. Eventually I got 2 big tanks put on trailer filled with pond water using generator and pump. Then drive it to plot. Using a plastic 2” water nozzle I can spray maybe 50’ , possibly more, without moving. If 2 people were at play here, it would work better. I little man power but heck I made a sprinkler and a portable fire protection system if needed. With this system I go through a lot of water fast.
Good luck

 

[Lucky_P]

Any concern about clogging from debris/sediment/algae, etc. in the pond water? May not be a concern with a sprinkler, but with driptape, a filter is a 'must'.
We irrigated 12 acres of hemp from pond here at the house, back in 2019... 12 hp pump... and a self-flushing Orival-B series irrigation filter. Most of it was downhill from the pond, so we had to have pressure regulators in the 3" irrigation pipe before each irrigation zone. I had to install a ball valve at the outflow from the filter... had to restrict ouflow in order to get pressure up high enough for the self-cleaner to function... but, at full flow, I suspect pressures downhill would have been so high that I'd have had blowouts all over the place, if not for regulators at each zone.
Troubles Trees is pretty spot-on with regard to pressure gain/drop for elevation changes.

 

[bigboreblr]

Look under specs in the honda site. think this is your pump?

Honda WMP20 | 2" Chemical Pump | Honda Pumps

The Honda WMP20 chemical pump is designed to handle over 70 industrial and agricultural chemicals, in addition to clear water.

powerequipment.honda.com

Went to a maritime college for a mechanical degree in thermal and fluids. Work in power generation industry in both fossil and hydro units. Basic flow stuff for pumps.

ft head / 2.31 = psi