Silent Stealth River-Fed Irrigation for Outdoor Guerilla Growers

[Muttley]

I am so excited about this discovery I just made that I am posting it in TWO gardening websites. Read on, and you will agree with me that the easily fabricated, river-powered irrigation water pump described below, represents an earth-shaking quantum leap in stealth garden irrigation technology, made possible by an invention that first appeared way back in 1746.

Stumbled on this ingenious design for a floating barrel water pump with only one moving part, that can lift water up to 25 feet above the river's water level.

This water pump is completely silent, durable, and capable of pumping water around the clock, for years on end without maintenance.

This barrel is tethered in the flow of rivers, where it spins slowly, due to the paddle wheels bolted at intervals along its outer circumference. As the barrel spins, water is ingested through the inlet opening of a 1-inch tube, most of which is coiled in a spiral that is fitted on the INSIDE of the barrel.

The other end of the spiral coiled tubing is connected via a "T" junction, to the hollow axle that runs through the center of the barrel. The result is that a spurting flow of water and air bubbles, is expelled from the axle of the floating drum pump, which in turn is connected via a free-rotating, waterproof connector, known as a Banjo connector, to a long hose that delivers that water uphill, at a rate that amounts to several hundred gallons a day. Next below is the link showing the free-spinning, fluid retaining Banjo connector.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Banjo-100B-...72.m2749.l2649

This is a tried and tested water pumping device that was first invented in 1746, and is also known as the Wirtz Pump, or Spiral Pump. There are several variants on the theme, but from my research, this floating barrel configuration is by far the most portable, durable, compact, and concealable of ALL similar contraptions I have studied online.

With this floating drum pump, any stealth weed gardener that is fortunate enough to be within 100 yards of a flowing stream that is at least one foot deep, can set up a silent, non-stop irrigation pump that completely eliminates the need for noisy motorized water pumps, or worse still, lugging kegs of water over distances through rough terrain. Burying the long water supply hose, will render this entire setup practically invisible, save for the points at which the water drips unto the roots of the guerilla crop at a user-adjustable flow rate, continuously.

In short, this floating barrel pump is God's Gift to the guerrilla gardener. All that is needed is a flowing river within shouting distance of your crop, and this concept will supply a constant stream of water that can even then be regulated with a battery-powered timer valve at the garden outlet end of the supply hose.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Programmabl...ageName=STRK%3 AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872. m2749.l2649

Here is a Youtube video on this subject, posted by a brilliant backwoods dweller, over five years ago.

The pictures copied here from an online website, detail a far more polished version of the floating barrel pump shown in the above video clip. The link to the inventor of this amazing game changer of a pump, is below.

https://organicdesign.nz/Our_water_wheel_project

I am absolutely certain that a working model of this astonishing innovation, will be made by someone who reads this post, even before I complete my rendition for use out here in the boondocks, alongside a flowing river now seen with a brand new perspective. Have at it fellas, and don't forget to report back with your findings.

 

[MIMedGrower]

This is very useful info. I have just a stream in the woods next to my house. Thanks for posting!

 

[Planewreck]

Yea thats awesome bro.Once again something to build ive seen on here.

 

[Muttley]

I look forward to hearing from anyone who can rig one of these pumps up, because that'll give others the inspiration to try this idea. This barrel design with the coiled pipe contained inside the drum, would probably be light enough for one person to carry, which is a big draw for me.

Having looked over so many photographs of spiral pumps that were large in size and ungainly, I assumed that scaling down the diameter of the wheel might reduce the height of water that the pump could lift. This single barrel design evidently proves that smaller floating coil pumps can shift a lot of water over considerable distances, as cited by the inventor who posted the youtube video I linked above.

Posting pictures showing a couple of the more traditional coil pumps I saw online, because they show a bit more detail of how the coiled pipes are routed.

The topmost photograph shows better detail of how the coiled tubing connects to the wheel's hollow central axle at the hub, and terminates in a water scoop intake located along the outer edge of the wheel. This example has two separate coiled coiled hoses, and would take a crew of men to move around.

Looking at these easily spotted, large contraptions, the convenience of that small floating drum concept is to be appreciated by all guerilla growers for sure. For any number-crunchers in the house, boy have I got some gnarly differential equations for you to ponder. Never knew there was so much fluid dynamics theory involved in why these deceptively simple devices work as they do.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.2017.0533

 

[Planewreck]

I look forward to hearing from anyone who can rig one of these pumps up, because that'll give others the inspiration to try this idea. This barrel design with the coiled pipe contained inside the drum, would probably be light enough for one person to carry, which is a big draw for me.

Having looked over so many photographs of spiral pumps that were large in size and ungainly, I assumed that scaling down the diameter of the wheel might reduce the height of water that the pump could lift. This single barrel design evidently proves that smaller floating coil pumps can shift a lot of water over considerable distances, as cited by the inventor who posted the youtube video I linked above.

Posting pictures showing a couple of the more traditional coil pumps I saw online, because they show a bit more detail of how the coiled pipes are routed.View attachment 1088815View attachment 1088817

The topmost photograph shows better detail of how the coiled tubing connects to the wheel's hollow central axle at the hub, and terminates in a water scoop intake located along the outer edge of the wheel. This example has two separate coiled coiled hoses, and would take a crew of men to move around.

Looking at these easily spotted, large contraptions, the convenience of that small floating drum concept is to be appreciated by all guerilla growers for sure. For any number-crunchers in the house, boy have I got some gnarly differential equations for you to ponder. Never knew there was so much fluid dynamics theory involved in why these deceptively simple devices work as they do.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.2017.0533

Ive probably got enough scrap material stashed to do this.Looks like something thats fairly simple to fabricate.

 

[mysticepipedon]

As long as you have a creek that no one will be walking through or along, this looks good.

 

[Muttley]

The most likely mode of failure with this floating barrel coil pump design, would be water seepage through any of the points where the drum is perforated to install the mounting bolts that affix the paddles. Rubber gaskets and sealant used to waterproof those numerous bolt-holes could spring a leak over time, just as water could also enter the barrel via leaks along the edges of the sealed lid, or at the flanges where the hollow, water carrying axle passes through the center of barrel's top lid, and its floor.

Too much water weighing down the floating drum spiral pump will cause it to lose buoyancy, sink and cease to rotate in the current. After donning my conical thinking cap for some serious pondering, it occurred to me that if the entire volume of the barrel were to be stuffed with styrofoam material, from the inside surface of the coiled hose, right snug up to the hollow central axle, the barrel would continue to ride high in the water, even if water did begin to seep in over the time. The addition of styrofoam buoyancy enhancing material will add very little to the weight of the barrel coil pump, while extending its service life significantly.

This styrofoam idea is inspired by the construction of speedboat hulls, whose double walls are form-fitted with high density styrofoam to keep the craft afloat even in the event of minor leaks in the hull.