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Ran a 12V DC pump off my solar setup for a year before realizing my rain barrel outlet was just an inch too low for gravity feed to work without it
I spent $80 on the pump and wiring back in March after my barrel wouldn't drain into the garden hose, but turns out raising the barrel on cinder blocks would have saved me all that, has anyone else overcomplicated a simple water setup before noticing the obvious fix?
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king.eric13d ago
Right after I set mine up my neighbor walked over and said why didn't you just stack some blocks under it. Felt like such a dummy. But honestly the pump setup gave me way more pressure than gravity ever would have so it wasn't a total loss. Plus now I can run the hose uphill to my raised beds which I couldn't do with just gravity feed. Sometimes the overcomplicated solution ends up being better in the long run even if it stung at first.
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caseythompson13d ago
Get yourself a Y splitter and a shutoff valve right at the pump so you can control the flow without walking back and forth. That uphill pressure is a game changer once you get it dialed in.
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kimfisher12d ago
Oh man that's the worst feeling when someone points out the simple solution after you've already built the fancy one. But you're totally right about the pressure difference, gravity feed is fine for a slow drip but it can't push water uphill or through any kind of distance. Once you add a pump you get all kinds of flexibility you'd never have with just blocks, so maybe your neighbor was the one missing out.
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