Farm Irrigation...no mains electricity

[Troy]

Apologies if this has been done recently...I couldn't find the thread so I thought I'd start a new one.

Is there anyone else around on a farm that has no mains electricity and requires irrigation? The locals rely on rain fed irrigation in a single season crop area, which to me is a little behind the times. Too little rain (as per this year) and the crop suffers badly...ditto with too much rain (as per last year). Furthermore the land is left idle for half the year due to no rain.

I found this paper from the FAO if anyone is interested in the different types of water pumps that can be made...

Water lifting devices

It is also available in pdf form somewhere on the internet....can find if anyone wants.

I tried to get the locals interested in making rope water pumps...both fixed vertical ones and portable ones for use in ponds but no-one was interested. Not even the local schools would take it up as a project. Something like this....

http://www.ropepump.com/dvc/camb01.pdf

I made a small scale one for demonstration in my pond but it was just ignored.

Has anyone built water pumps that can be used without electricity (or with their own electric generating system) and without using an ic engine?

[cymru]

I watched a Thai TV program last year where there was a group of Issan farmers using wind power to pump water to their crops with some success.... maybe if you search in Thai on the net you might find more info

[Norton]

I watched a Thai TV program last year where there was a group of Issan farmers using wind power to pump water to their crops with some success

Yes. There are a few up here. These guys near Khonkean.

A lot of technical issues to sort before they are commercially viable.

Wind power has been used in Thailand for years. Windmills can be seen south of Bangkok to pump seawater into salt flats for making of sea salt.

Pumps used for irrigation in Isaan are mostly gas/diesel pumping water from rivers. Not expert on this but small capacity of wind powered pumps and lack of consistent wind likely the reason.

[BillyBobThai]

Google ram pump, they work great.

[jamescollister]

No wind or even a breeze here most of the year.
If you have a 2 wheeled tractor you can fit a pump to the front. They bolt straight on and pump 500 liters a minute. Put in a big concrete ring, fill it when ever and irrigate as per normal. Jim

[DrAndy]

get yourself a donkey or buffalo and rig them up to a walk-around water lifting system

or do it yourself by hand

a decent size Honda pump is the best bet though, but it is IC

[Troy]

Google ram pump, they work great.

Thanks.

I found a good link for making one, with all the necessary calcs here:

Home-made Hydraulic Ram Pump

I need to check on the distance/drop to see if it is practical to use in our area.

[hazz]

Personally I have mains water but no electricity. I use standard 24vac valves with a custom ardinuo controller to manage the value. At 1 hr irrigation per day I get 10 months service per charge from a 12v sealed lead acid battery. 12v is enough to open the valve and I use pwd to reduce the current to 2w to hold the valve open.

As for water rams i saw quite a few water rams in the yorkshire dales lifting tonnes of water per day that had been in service for over 50years with little if any maintenance. They however do need lots of water with quite a reasonable head, but if you have these conditions theres nout better. If I rember rightly water requirements were almost experiential against head

I must however if you cannot get anyone interested in something as simple as a rope pump, your likely to continue banging your head against a brick wall if you go bound either a pv electic pump or deasil. A bit sad really.

[Troy]

Is that a small greenhouse Hazz? I like the idea of playing with ardinuo controllers but not for anything on a large scale. Do you have a spec for the valves? I could find a use for this in some garden veg plots using micro-irrigation and a couple of small pumps. Could probably run the whole lot from a couple of 12V batteries that were charged through solar panels. Definitely for home use rather than farm though.....

[hazz]

I use one for watering the plants outside the house in Dusit and another for 200 sqw just out side bkk, by dong mong airport. It's out in the sticks so don't have any electricity

I don't have any info about the design in electronic format, but if you want to do stuff with 12v I can go through it with you. The valves are just ordinary 24vac irrigation vales, I have used these hunter valves for cost reasons and laziness I just use the standard 24ac selenoid and pump 12dc through it.

If you have access to the mains, this is much more sufisticated than what have done.

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[Mozzbie47]

Wind mills are very common for pumping water in Australia, cant say i've seen them in Thailand.

[jamescollister]

Wind mills are very common for pumping water in Australia, cant say i've seen them in Thailand.

Yes, but they are for drinking water for stock, irrigation you need more water than a slow moving wind mill can pump.
As said, out my way of Issan, a wind milll would not turn for 9 months of the year and when it did you would not want the water as it would be driving rain. Jim

[hazz]

Dosn't sound like there are many practical options in issan for the renewable transport of irrigation quantities of water.

[jamescollister]

Dosn't sound like there are many practical options in issan for the renewable transport of irrigation quantities of water.

Not a lot of irrigation out my way, if you want to water crops most people just dig a big dam [no cost it's free ] let it fill in the wet season and pump water out in the dry season. Seems to work fine, but most locals could not be bothered with doing 2 crops per year. Jim

[Necron99]

I think for Thailand, the reality is that pumps are affordable enough that any clever natural or man powered alternative is just not worth the effort.

[dewokibo]

I watched a Thai TV program last year where there was a group of Issan farmers using wind power to pump water to their crops with some success

[expattaffy]

Just get a three inch delivery Honda pump.

[Troy]

I hadn't seen this rope pump construction before:

http://www.wot.utwente.nl/publicatio...ot-english.pdf

Very simple and easy to add a windmill, engine or electric motor later if you want.

[sranchito]

A windmill is only good for ground water sources of about 30 feet deep plus or minus. It requires a steady source of wind. The tower is about 40 to 50 feet tall with a turbine size of approx 8-10 ft in diameter. Good for watering livestock but, not very practicle for irrigation.

[Mozzbie47]

Ime now interested to take notice of how much wind there is or is'nt when in Lat Yeo next. I think your correct about not enough for irrigation.