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So, I live way out in the boonies and have a well system for water. The water is pretty nasty, you could drink it and not die but there is lots of iron, some sulfur, and silica in it. We do dishes and shower but bring water in from a relative who lives a couple miles away for drinking and cooking. The problem- we want to get a garden going but in the past the nasty water has tainted the taste of whatever we grow. There is an irrigation canal about 150 ft. away and about 10ft. lower than where the garden will be. What would be the best way to pump water over to the garden and not spend a fortune?
 
First thing you need to do is make sure you have water rights to that canal.. I would venture to guess that you don't and getting caught pilfering water from a farmers canal w/o permision used to be $1500 for the first offense and it just goes up from there.

If you do have water rights to the canal then you really have 1 choice; Gas Powered, you could use electric but will have to build a pump house to protect the pump and motor.. I did a quick search on Grainger.com and they have THIS on clearanace right now...
 
So, I live way out in the boonies and have a well system for water. The water is pretty nasty, you could drink it and not die but there is lots of iron, some sulfur, and silica in it. We do dishes and shower but bring water in from a relative who lives a couple miles away for drinking and cooking. The problem- we want to get a garden going but in the past the nasty water has tainted the taste of whatever we grow. There is an irrigation canal about 150 ft. away and about 10ft. lower than where the garden will be. What would be the best way to pump water over to the garden and not spend a fortune?

Do you have power at that location? If so, a jet pump works for that application. The problem is storage/pressure tank, or pumping directly when it is time to irrigate. Perhaps a smarter person could chime in on this.
In the past, I have also used a Honda gas-powered pump to fill 500 gal storage tanks.
 
The problem with Solar powered is that your going to have a hard time finding a pump that will have 10' of verticle lift and the ability to give any amount of pressure 150' away from the source. you can go with a submersible if you have electric but will have to build a catchment of some sort to place it in.
 
why not do rain water collection for your garden? Seems like everyone is doing it now days. Its cheap, and relatively easy (or so I am told). The other thing you could do is find a filter for your well. Iron, from what I gather is darn near impossible to remove, but the other crap can be taken out relatively easily. Might be worth the look for a whole house filtration system.
 
why not do rain water collection for your garden? Seems like everyone is doing it now days. Its cheap, and relatively easy (or so I am told). The other thing you could do is find a filter for your well. Iron, from what I gather is darn near impossible to remove, but the other crap can be taken out relatively easily. Might be worth the look for a whole house filtration system.
There is already an iron filter on the well, it just has so much and some of it is extremely fine we can't get it all out. The landlord was talking about drilling a new well before the economy tanked. There are 4 houses on this acreage and he has lost about 1/3 of his tenants to the nasty water in the 12 years we've been there. I'm presently looking into making some rain barrels but don't think I'll get enough water over the summer.
I think after reading these posts it's going to be harder than I'd hoped but I NEED fresh potatoes and corn next summer or I WILL DIE AND I AM NOT JOKING.:s0112:
 
You might look into solar. If you install a cistern above the garden site and can find a positive displacement piston type pump, this, with a check valve in the supply line, MIGHT solve the static head problem. From the cistern a drip system would be very economical with the water. Or..if you have kids.. a old washing machine pump hooked to an old bike frame could work as well.:D
 
Lots of good stuff to think about. Thanks! My wife's half crazy uncle is trying to build a homemade water ram so I'll see how that turns out, he's the one we currently get our drinking water from. They live about two miles away over a hill and their water is the best drinking water I have ever tasted but I think their well is much deeper. They say it's the same aquifer as Cedar Canyon brand water but it's way more deliciouser:D. If and when I get something going I'll post it for all to see.
 
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Forest Grove gets lots of rain right? I'd first look at rain barrels and a way to hold more than 55 gallons. Run your gutters into the rain barrels and then transfer it to a cistern or one of the larger (500 gal) holding tanks. Another thought would be making or buying a filtering system. Diatomaceous earth along with regular sand built into a box would help. Do your research on home made water filters. You need not reinvent the wheel, just seek the answers from others who have gone before you. Maybe ask your neighbors who are on the same well water.

How to Make Homemade Water Filters;
http://www.ehow.com/how_4880648_homemade-water-filters.html
 
Regardless of method of retrieval a large storage system is definitely in order.
If you elevate it even a few feet gravity will water your garden just fine.
You might be amazed how much water your roof will produce between now and spring!
 
you could hit harbor freight and pick up a 1hp "dirty water pump" for $50 that pumps up to 3400 gph and has 26' of lift capability. Just have to run an extension cord to it and mount it so that it isn't sitting on the bottom so it won't pump mud into your storage tank or irrigation system. where I used to live I had hard pan dirt so every time we had a good rain I had 3-4" of water on the back porch - used one of these with some 1 1/2" pvc pipe to pump the water out to the front yard so it could run down the gutter.

found pump here: 1 HP, 3400 GPH Dirty Water Submersible Pump with Float
 
you could hit harbor freight and pick up a 1hp "dirty water pump" for $50 that pumps up to 3400 gph and has 26' of lift capability. Just have to run an extension cord to it and mount it so that it isn't sitting on the bottom so it won't pump mud into your storage tank or irrigation system. where I used to live I had hard pan dirt so every time we had a good rain I had 3-4" of water on the back porch - used one of these with some 1 1/2" pvc pipe to pump the water out to the front yard so it could run down the gutter.

found pump here: 1 HP, 3400 GPH Dirty Water Submersible Pump with Float

We use one of these on our fplace, keep the receipt and they replace it up to a year, and none of ours have lasted that long.
 
You could pump your nasty water into a temporary pond (childs pool might even be sufficient) and then use a submersible fountian pump (cheap at harbor freight) to aerate the water. You could then use another pump, or divert the fountian pump, to get the water to your garden. If this needed more help you could make a waterfall and pump water through a slough filter made of gravel letting the deposits settle out, or even through a membrane containing activated charcol. My guess is that given some o2 our friend the bacteria will take care of your problem.
 
Check out Engineer 775 on you tube, He's has tons of advise on wells and ram pumps. ram pump pt3 - YouTube

Interesting and eventually I would like to put together a self contained system,

But at the same time I guess I should of explained more about my need, I wanting to purchase a pump to water a large garden, drench a field in case of wild fire or fight a fire in shtf scenario and there is local FD available. A pump that is also portable so if my neighbor has a fire I can go and feed off a pond, creek / stream and help and possible prevent from spreading to my place.

Any imput on the pump I was looking at good or bad or other suggestions where I am not spending a gazillion dollars, I know I am going to have to spend money on hoses, intake noozle and screen and out put nozzle and valve, I do not want to waste any $$$ on cheap stuff, but at the same time I would to keep cost down.

scratch the above questions After doing some internet research (which I usually do in advance but was lazy here) I have learned that a lot of people have had people with this particular pump, some referred to it as a cheap knock off of a Honda.

WOW who would have thought 20 years ago that honda would set the industry standard for small generators and gas power water pumps.

Anyways found a Honda around the same size for sale at a few bucks more,
 
Seriously, all I would do is go to your local scrap yard. There are always large metal tanks laying around waiting to be scrapped, and you could find one that does not leak which holds 300-400 gallons. Buy a gas pump, and every week or two turn the gas pump on, fill up the tank and water from the tank. You don't need an automated system if you have a storage tank! Also uses much less energy to just pump it all at once instead of a trickle system like you would get from solar.

Though the water ram idea is pretty cool... Home-made Hydraulic Ram Pump

Edit: Make sure you paint or coat the metal tank...
 

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