Watering Problem Partly Solved

[edcramer]

Hi to all, Since I am only allowed to carry 10 lbs. Watering has been a problem. Our nearby guest bathroom can't be used. The other bathroom is the only altermative. I was looking in Charley's Greenhouse catalog and it finally dawned on me how I might solve this problem. I purchased a faucet adapter and a 'Y' fitting with shut-offs for each branch, a coiled 50 ft. hose and a 24" watering wand. This allows me to use the bathroom faucet for washing, shaving, etc., and also watering my plants. To make it even easier, I got one of those quick connect fittings. This allows me to mist and water. I use gallon plastic milk containers to mix fertilizer. I put the milk jcontainers on my special "walker cart" platform. I can fully flush the s/h pots due to the depth of the trays the plants are sitting in. When finished I use an aquarium siphon to drain the water in the trays back into the milk containers. I then wheel the cart to the bathroom and empty the drained water. My only problem is that the bottom shelf of my Flora Cart is too low to siphon. I realize that some of you might alreading be using something like this. To me this is a real revalation! Any suggestions will be gladly received. Good Growing, Ed

[LJA]

Ed, that sounds great. To get the water out of the lowest tray, you can use a "Power Head" pump normally sold for aquarium undergravel filtration. They're not expensive, and I bet you could rig something up where you'd be able to pump out all but the last millimeter of standing water in your tray.

[edcramer]

Hi Louis, thanks so far you have helped me with two problems that I could not figure out by myself. Your continued help is really appreiciated. Good Growing, Ed

[uncasteeb]

Ed, that sounds great. To get the water out of the lowest tray, you can use a "Power Head" pump normally sold for aquarium undergravel filtration. They're not expensive, and I bet you could rig something up where you'd be able to pump out all but the last millimeter of standing water in your tray.

Most of the PowerHead pumps i,ve seen need to be submerged to work(maybe i haven,t seen enough) but maybe a stirrup pump would do the job.

Nice setup by the way Ed

[LJA]

Uncasteeb, you're right about them needing to be submerged--I was thinking of a setup where a hole was drilled in the bottom of the tray and a short length of plastic tubing flanged in. The other end would be hose-clamped to the powerhead's intake which would sit lower than the tray. You'd still be able to gravity-feed into the pump, even if there wasn't enough room between the tray and the floor to get a siphon going. Might be too involved of a process though...

[edcramer]

Hi in light of what you guys have just said. I will have to noodle this around for a while. I do so appreciate the information. Good Growing, Ed

[LJA]

Ed, if you look at slipperhead's post, 9 messages up from the bottom of the first page here: http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...ead.php?t=1155

that's the kind of fitting you could install in the bottom of your lowest tray to act as a drain. Tadd's drain system (his pics 7 posts down from the top) work the same way. A piece of plastic hose attached to one of those drains, with the other end attached to the intake of a powerhead that sits beneath the tray would solve your problem, I think. A longer hose could be attached to the output side of the powerhead and routed to the bathroom--into a shower or bathtub to drain away.

I don't know how "involved" you'd like this to get, but it would provide one solution, anyway.

[edcramer]

Hi Louis, I just thought of something each of the trays in the flora cart has a plug. I know that there used to be a kit offered with the cart that had rubber grommets and white tubing to be used to drain individual selves. The grommet fits into the drain hole and the tubing extends up into the tray. I wonder if this would work for the bottim tray?! Ed

[LJA]

Hard to tell without actually seeing it, but from the way you describe it, may be exactly what you could use to get the drain pump to work on that lowest tray. Wish you had a digital camera...

[edcramer]

Yes, I wish I had a digital camera!!! Ed