Plastic bottle irrigation hole diameter

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Plastic bottle irrigation hole diameter

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hairyhippy

Joined: 15 May 2006
Posts: 21

Posted: Fri May 26, 06 4:15 pm Post subject: Plastic bottle irrigation hole diameter
I've got some plastic bottles that I'm going to stick upside down in our new raised bed to keep it moist whilst we are away for five days next week. How many holes and of what size holes do I need to make in the bottles? They range in size fromm 500ml to 1500ml. Thanks for any advice you can give.

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Fri May 26, 06 4:31 pm Post subject:
Pinhole? And a pinhole in the other end to let some air in? Why not do one prototype ASAP, and hang it up to drip... Then you can measure how much drips away in 24 hours - then its just going to be a matter of multiplying by 5, and seeing how many such holes you'd need to empty the bottle in those 5 days... ?

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Fri May 26, 06 4:34 pm Post subject:
If you have some digital scales, you can measure the water dripped away really accurately (weigh before, write it down, weigh afterwards, note the difference, 1 cc weighs 1g)

sneeuwklokje

Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 277

Posted: Sat May 27, 06 8:52 pm Post subject:

The pin hole idea is a good one.

I cut Evian bottles in half and used the top bit + cap hopefully as a slug deterent, stuck into the ground around the little seedlings. The bottom parts of the bottles I've been using for seeds, placed on the windowsill and it's been successful. However, I did lose some dwarf runner bean seeds 'cos I over watered them, and there was no drainage in the pots. Trying to cut a hole in them just wrecked the bottle. It didn't dawn on me to use a pin / large needle / knitting needle.

Of course, it's obvious now I read it. heh.

Thanks Dougal, you've saved some of my plants!

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun May 28, 06 9:14 am Post subject:

For drainage holes, a hot skewer (heated very carefully in a gas frame, and wearing gloves and goggles, yada, yada, yada) works well. I don't much fancy doing the same with a pin, though.

let us know how you get on Hairy hippy. I plan to do this with some of my containers with 5l bottle over 24 hours.

Could turn into practical maths, this. If one pin hole drips 1 litre over 24 hours, how long will three pin holes take to drip 375ml?

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Sun May 28, 06 9:27 am Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

Could turn into practical maths, this. If one pin hole drips 1 litre over 24 hours, how long will three pin holes take to drip 375ml?

PLEASE, NO! It's Sunday

Hedonists

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 95
Location: Romford, Essex.

Posted: Sun May 28, 06 2:33 pm Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

Could turn into practical maths, this. If one pin hole drips 1 litre over 24 hours, how long will three pin holes take to drip 375ml?

3hrs???

(Do I win?)

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon May 29, 06 9:32 am Post subject:
probably - Haven't a clue myself!

hairyhippy

Joined: 15 May 2006
Posts: 21

Posted: Mon Jun 05, 06 5:50 pm Post subject:

Well, I haven't had very good results form the bottle hexperiments.

I did some holes with a heated needle and these proved to be too large, with 1.5 l bottle emptying lin 10 or 15 minutes.

I the did a pin hole with a cold pin and a pair of pliers and this had a slower rate of flow, but tended to silt up, so all in all, not a very good either.

If I can't get this sorted out (we're supposed to be going away in seven weeks) then I guess that I'll have to investigate some sort of irrigation system.

Does anyone know of a cost effective way to irrigate 4 hanging baskets and a 2.5m x 1m raised vegetable bed?

piglet

Joined: 22 May 2006
Posts: 10

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 06 10:53 am Post subject:
How about asking a neighbour to water for you ?

hairyhippy

Joined: 15 May 2006
Posts: 21

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 06 5:37 pm Post subject:
You haven't met our neighbours

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 06 7:10 pm Post subject:

HDRA do cheap ones for pots - abot 10 quid for two, and you cut the pipes to dribble on the plants - quite effective, but might be the same problem - would depend on the size of the water container. They also do some 'taps' that you put into plastic bottles, but I found they needed oodles of sealant, otherwise the leaks from the join totally negated the ability to turn hte dripp up and down the tap. Both cheap enough to give it a go, though.

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