The PWRW: Portable Wide-Range Waterer

This is a garden waterer made from commonly available parts. Technically, it is completely modular, so using couplers and other stuff you could link several together to water a whole garden at once. This is just a one-row version.

Step 1 Materials

You will need:


3 Pieces of 1/2" Schedule 40 PVC. Make it several inches taller than your tallest plant that you will be watering. Also, be sure to allow ample room to stick the pipes into the ground.


1 10-foot long piece of 3/4" Schedule 40 PVC. I chose 10 feet because that's about how long my garden is.


1 3/4" end cap for the PVC.


1 3/4" smooth to 3/4" female threaded adapter.


3 Metal Pipe Straps.


6 Screws to hold in pipe straps (must be same size as pipe strap holes)


3 1/2" diameter tee connectors.


Tools:
Drill
Dremel (optional)

Comments

[CaseyCase]

That pvc coupler in your last picture is female pipe thread on both ends. You might consider getting a male pipe thread to female hose thread adaptor--just a nitpick.

[chirp-o-tron]

Actually, maybe I'm not understanding, but the side going to the hose is threaded and the end going to the PVC is smooth, since the PVC I used had no threads. Light duty hoses are sometimes smaller in diameter, so anybody who uses those would need to get a smaller coupler.

[CaseyCase]

Oops! My mistake. I meant to point out that in plumbing 3/4" pipe thread is different from hose thread--so you might want an adaptor.

[chirp-o-tron]

My garden hose must be a different kind then, because the 3/4" pipe thread I had fit right onto it.

[joeljensen]

All of these comments about even water flow. How about this, Use a hose "Y" and connect a hose to each end of the pipe. The water will be more evenly distributed and only the center will have lower pressure and volume.

[chirp-o-tron]

I dunno, I think for watering plants the pressure doesn't matter, but the flow looked pretty even from a distance... I couldn't be sure, though.

[jdege]

There will be a difference in pressure from one end to the other, with that design. That will mean a difference in waterflow. If it's a small difference, it won't matter. But if, say, one end is putting out twice as much water as the other, it would matter. If it's only 20% more, it probably won't. You won't know which is the case unless you measure it. You'd want to measure how much water it's putting out, anyway, since you'll want to know how long to leave it running.

[dennisdesmo]

how bout smaller holes at hose end graduating to larger at the cap end

[jdege]

Yep. Or having the holes closer spaced at one end than at the other. Or you could simply turn it around, half-way through your watering. Or it may be that the difference isn't enough to matter. Measuring the flow rate will let you know.

[jdege]

I'd not expect that design to produce even water flow - the water at the hose end will be at lower pressure than at the end-cap end, so more water will be emitted. Is it enough to matter? Can't say. Try grabbing a pair of matching tall glasses, and set one beneath each end. It shouldn't be hard to tell if its watering unevenly.