Equipment To Siphon Water For Garden From Adjoining Stream?

[balliali]

Hi, has anyone a bright idea about how our women's group can easily take water from an adjoining stream for use in the garden. We have already got a water butt for another area, but the stream is quite deep and inaccessible, though it runs along the garden. The water is fairly deep. It seems a shame not to be able to use it, when it's free and beside where it's needed. Is there a cheap piece of apparatus (that I can source online or in hardware shop) to siphon the water up and fill watering cans or butts. Labour saving and cost saving in the long term, ideas appreciated. The current alternative is lugging water from the village school in buckets, and we're too old for all this!!! Thanks.

[Old_Geezer]

I'm sure your local garden centre would sell pumps for ponds and suchlike.

[jomifl]

You cannot siphon water uphill. You will need a pump of some kind. If you have mains electricity available a submersible pump will do the job.

[bhg481]

You can't siphon water up - you can only siphon it down or pump it up. Pumping it implies a need for power, so you'll need an electricity supply. If you have power then, as OG says, a water-butt pump from a garden centre should do the job.

[SlackAlice]

Don't forget you might need permission to extract water from the local water authority.

[Tilly2]

I don't think you can just take the water from a stream.

[jomifl]

would that be taking the p1ss?

[Buenchico]

You can safely ignore the worries above, regarding abstracting water from the stream, unless you've got a really massive garden!

The Environment Agency only requires a licence to be issued if you're taking more than 20 cubic metres per day. Given that amount equates to around 4,400 gallons, you should be OK unless you're planning on installing an Olympic-sized swimming pool!
;-)

[balliali]

Thanks everyone, feels like the third world here when water is scarce, and needs to be pumped. Contrast it when the stream floods and everything is waterlogged for weeks. Not near a power source so it's back to the bucket on a rope, or carry water from elsewhere.

[pixie373]

My neighbour fills her watering can by putting a tea towel in top of water butt (tap doesn't work) and the other end in watering can. The water is drawn through, even uphill. Not sure how long that takes though!

[jomifl]

balliali, you can get solar powered pumps that aren't expensive. The critical factor is how high it has to pump. As solar pumps are not very powerful and will only produce a trickle on a sunny day the best way would be to have the pump pumping to a reservoir placed so that the height of the water above the stream is as low as practical. You can find out from the suppliers how high they can pump and just pick one that is capable of filling the reservoir.

[jomifl]

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

something like this should do the trick but check how much water you need per day because you can probably get a smaller and hence cheaper one that will do the job

[paul1763]

there is also a device called a water ram pump which will pump water uphill and relies on the water pressure of the stream (no electric needed) don't know where you'd get one but maybe someone in your group could make one. they are shown on you tube (water ram pump)

[woofgang]

archimede's screw?

[FrogNog]

That's a really idea Woofgang. Thank you for that.
you could easily use a handwheel to crank that and it would still be much easier than buckets ballaili.

[Old_Geezer]

Can you get them that run on a 12v car battery ?
Worth investigating.

[woofgang]

ha ha, first time something i learnt in physics has been useful!

[jomifl]

For a water ram to work you need an exploitable head difference along the length of stream that is available. A solar powered pump will operat when ther is no head difference available, it will need sunshine of course, which usually fits well with the need for water.