I wish it would rain again. I’m down to my last 220 gallons of rainwater!
All kidding aside, the rain tank has been nicely supplying water for our landscaping and vegetable garden. I’ve been taking 5 gallon buckets of water around to the various plants around the yard. While carting buckets does the job, what I’ve really needed is a pump to distribute the water.
This afternoon I got what I needed. My pump arrived from Northern Tool and Equipment, a Wayne Stainless Steel Sprinkler Pump. Its got a full horsepower for running sprinkler heads or for watering through long stretches of hose. I can probably run more than one sprinkler on it if I wanted to.
I also wanted a continuous-duty pump. Many I had seen were rated to cool for 30 minutes for every 15 minutes they ran. That might be good for some uses but I wanted something a little sturdier. Supposing I get a bigger tank someday, like a 1200 gallon tank, I want a pump that can drain it dry without missing a beat. This pump might be the one.
Of course, even a 330 gallon rain tank is not enough to water the yard with on a regular basis. This pump can push 720 gallons each hour, so it will drain my tank in short order. What I hope to do, though, is give the grass an occasional sip during dry spells. And if things work out I can add a bigger tank later.
Now all I need is for the suction hose to arrive and I’ll be able to run the sprinklers or wash my car with water from my tank.