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Help in designing a system
I have read most postings looking for guidence and decided to post my project in order to get your feedback. I see that many of you are willing to share your knowledge and wisdom. Any and all sudgestions are very welcomed.
I have a commercial building in S.C. located in an industrial park next to a 1 acre 6ft deep water retention pond. Water is clear and harbors fish and wildlife. I do plan to do a water test. Soil is very sandy. I have 3 shrubury beds 4' x 100' and a 1600 sq ft lawn. I had planned to install 3 drip runs and one line with 4 sprinklers.
Here are my plans
I have a 1hp McDonald pump from an existing sprinkler project. Lake is 60' away and 5 ft uplift.
Install the pump in building in order to minimize weather related problems.
use 1 1/2 sched 40 intake line to lake
use foot valve with screen in lake (does it have to be vertical or can i use it horizontally??)
build manifold with 1 1/2 pvc to 4 valves.
Do I need to install a small tank on pump to minimize priming?
4 station clock
1" pvc to 4 impulse for lawn (noise is no problem and I feel they may require less maintenance that rotors) about 150 ft run.
3 landscaped beds would get 3/4 pvc to black poly with drip emiters built in. Beds have a mixture of commercial plants such as pittosporums, Indian hawthorne and hollies.
Your input is welcomed
Jose Guidera in hot and sticky Conway, SC
Bringing non-potable water into a building could be a real problem. (Heavy fines) Look for a way to keep the pump outdoors. As for the pipe sizes and layout, only you know what performance the pump is capable of. Some 1 HP pumps could justify larger pipes, like a 2 inch suction line. Drip irrigation from lake water is not a great idea. Better to figure on spray heads, so you can minimize the filtration you need. And find a good intake strainer for the suction line in the pond, and you can trade the foot valve for a check valve at the pump. A pressure tank might be useful, if you intend for the pump to be controlled by a pressure switch.
Thank you for your imput. I agree with you about bringing into the building non potable water. I will place the pump outside next to the building and build a small enclosure to protect it from the weather. Also a heating unit may help it weather the winters. Thanks
I also live in SC. I pump from a lake with the pump located on the seawall. I had installed unions on both sides of the pump and electrical is cord and plug connected.
When it begins to get cool I unscrew the unions, unplug the plug and take the pump inside for the winter. Make sure any above ground piping is clear of water.
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