The Gorrilla Water Collar

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Have you tried this with a open top(non-sealed container) reservoir? If so, does it use water faster?

 

[Guest]

The guy that installed it in his plot used a 55 gallon drum without a top BC. It did use water at a faster rate than a jug. The grower believes that the larger the rez, the more pressure there is on the down stream system, forcing water out at a faster rate with gravity feed. I think he's trying to add a siphon component but Im not sure.

blynx, Ive just started considering the possibilities. The only real understanding I have is that the basic concept works. If I could solve the problem of stability, the single pronged design seems to work as well as the double and is cheaper to make. It has trouble holding up the bottle without the T shape of the collar.

Bigger pvc pipe and or smaller or bigger holes would affect the rate of water dispersion I believe. The bed on which the collar is placed is significant and can be modfied with water crystals to increase the efficiency even further.

Planting depth may need to be considered. Im not sure 3" is optimum.

 

[blynx]

You could make cheap simple wood braces to hold them upright. Drill a bunch of holes in the wood the size of the pvc pipe, carry them out with the tubes and install on site.

Here's what I had in mind.

 

[wisco61]

I think a green 2-liter slightly scuffed with fine grit sandpaper would help with stealth. Also, a little molasses will make the water/nutes a nice brown color.

I had to look up the weight of 2-liters of water, its 4.4 lbs. So for my purposes, I would be carrying 8-2 liters, which is 35.2 lbs. Or if I were to use 3 liters, which I am considering, it would be 6.6 each or ~53 lbs for 8. With our midwest summers, half the time I will just be carrying out 32 oz gatorade bottles of nutes. Thats 16 lbs

Thanks for this Silverback, I'm off to the hardware store to make another round of purchases. Projects such as these are great for the long winter days

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

The guy that installed it in his plot used a 55 gallon drum without a top BC. It did use water at a faster rate than a jug. The grower believes that the larger the rez, the more pressure there is on the down stream system, forcing water out at a faster rate with gravity feed.

Nope, nope......take a gander at this again.

Notice that the reservoir is a bottle, a container with only one exit, it is connected to the collar, which is buried several inches below the soil. This creates a potentially airtight situation, when the soil around the collar is wet, no air can infiltrate the collar and the reservoir, and since the reservoir is a bottle(and not a open top container) a vacuum is created and no water can drain from the bottle.
When the soil dries enough, air will filter into the soil around the collar, and will enter the collar and then push up into the bottle, replacing a measure of water in the bottle, allowing the water to drop into the collar and into the soil. As the soil soaks up the water, the exchange of air for water will stop, until the soil dries again.

..... the primary reason it uses more water is because a open top container won't allow the vacuum to be created like in the 2 liter bottle. With the open top container, the collar works works more like a soaker hose, releasing water at a more or less steady rate, whether it is needed in the soil or not.

I don't like the idea of using this collar with the open top container, it takes away the effect I like so much about this idea, that being the wet/dry cycle the vacuum creates, and the resulting water efficiency.

I'm going to try making a couple airtight reservoirs for my collars this season, I'm working on a few ideas.....

 

[That Girl]

What a great thought silverback! Looks like adds TONS more efficency to guerrilla watering. I wonder how many backs you just saved from hauling water this next summer.
Awsome thread.


That Girl

 

[chongsbuddy]

could you use 3/4" hose instead of pvc pipe?easier to lug in the bush,salot cheaper to buy.just make a U like the ultimate water collar.cut the hose at ythe arc of the U and put a 3/4 pvc 3 way splitter.for a 2 liter bottle just make the tube coming out of the container pvc pipe to support the weight oif the bottle,but for a rez i think you could just have the hose coming right out of the soil.

 

[Guest]

Im with you BC, its the jug leaching that attracts me. Just a little info. With the first design, i used a piece of rubber tubing to screw the bottle into. It made the connectiong so tight that it took forever for the jug to leach and it was completely collapsed at the end. I worried it might stop leaching, but it may be worth testing.

blynx, ive been leaning toward the single prong but the stability problem had stopped me. I think you just solved that with your idea. I think I will try plumbers strap instead of wood. It already has holes in it and i could put it on before heading out.


Hey Wisco61. My wife suggested making some burlap slips to cover the bottles. Keep in mind however, that because the jug is located under the plant, it cant be seen from above, it can only be seen from ground level.

CAUTION: THE BOTTLES CAN BE FINGERPRINTED

Thanks That Girl, My back is at the top of the list!!


Yeah cb, in fact i first looked at vinyl tubing but it was more expensive. The answer to your question however is yes, any material will work as long as its not offensive to roots.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

I'm thinking I'll try 3 of these(maybe more) with "bottles" made with 5 gallon buckets, got a good area in mind to put them, just gotta get some drier weather so I can get the holes dug and filled and mellowing and ready for summer.

 

[blynx]

blynx, ive been leaning toward the single prong but the stability problem had stopped me. I think you just solved that with your idea. I think I will try plumbers strap instead of wood. It already has holes in it and i could put it on before heading out.

If the plumber's tape isn't sturdy enough by itself, you could always screw the tape to sticks/branches found on-site and then bury it.

 

[PazVerdeRadical]

silverback, as i said, this is a great idea... i am still concerned about the bottle if not treated somehow to make it stealth... i know the choppers will not see a single plant surrounded by other green vegetation, but they can sure spot a plastic bottle up-side down in the middle of vegetation, it is an object that is simply out of place, plus, the plastic reflects back some of the sun-light it receives...

so as long as every single part that is above ground of this water collar is properly made stealth, then this is a very good idea for sure.

much peace

 

[libby]

These ideas do work, as iv'e had similar setups to water my tomatoes, albeit on a smaller scale, when we go away in the summer. My system was shop bought, and consisted of a small floppy pvs bag, which is hung up in the greenhouse, with numerous small flexi tubings coming from the bag.

Slightly off topic, someone mentioned earlier, diapers, or nappies as we call them.

The disposable type, yes, these are filled with a certain amount of water crystals, to absord the babies urine, i used to hang the used wet ones up in my garage to dry out.(they do not NEED to be dried out. then mix with my soil/medium.

They work great, EXACTLY the same as shop bought crystal, except you have the advantage of using the babys urine as fertiliser, which will last a good few weeks, whilst in veg, never had a problem in 2 gall pots for toms, so cannot see a problems for use wth MJ in the ground.

 

[Guest]

Hey libby. Thanks for the diaper info. Those crystals are expensive.

Paz, i think they make a spray paint now just for plastic. A can of brown and a can of dull green might doctor up quite a few bottles with camo. As I mentioned earlier, my wife told me that with some fabric glue and burlap, I could make a little slip cover for the bottle. Burlap, which is the color of dried vegetation would be less stark in the enviroment.

Im trying to figure out a consistent way to keep my fingerprints off of them.

 

[BELOW FRIGID]

I also was wondering what about capping the ends. It probably needs these open to suck air in from the soil. I think a better item for rapping the tubes instead of paper towels would be the fabric they use to cover the rock/gravel in drainage systems.

Have you experimented with more or less holes?

How about cloth rags, burlap or other materials besides paper towels?

Capping the ends with endcaps vs sponge?

You could run this pretty darned stealthy to multiple plants from one water source. Octopus multiple buried lines from the water source to these water collars. Heck even the collars could even be underground if they were well connected.

As Silverback stated, the key is to let gravity do the work for us. Just make sure your water source is at a higher elevation than your collar, be a few inches (2 liter bottle) or many feet (buried line to reservoir).

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

I think the ends should be solidly capped, or else a full loop should be made, the holes in the pipe are where the air/water exchange happens.

 

[Guest]

What are your thoughts on how deep the device should be planted BC? I like the idea of completing the loop, but i wondered whether that would require much geater care in the placement of the device. What would the circumstance be if it were placed out or level considerably, as water always seeks level?.

I know what you're talking about BF, the silt sleeve that goes over drain tile. The reason I recommended using something absorbent is that it would create a sphere of moisture all the way around the pipe. The silt sleeve would prevent silt from filling the leach holes but it wouldnt absorb and distribute any water, or at least thats my thinking.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

I think about 3" would be about right, maybe 4", but who knows until we try it.

I personally think care should be taken to make the collar sit level, if you don't trust your eye, a short carpenters level could be used. Having the collar unlevel could lead to uneven water distribution I think, but who knows, maybe thats not a much of a concern either.

I started trying to figure out what would be the optimum length(surface area total) for the device, but I'm not sure how to judge that. Short? Long??? At any rate, I think the one you showed is a good place to start.

I figure I'll make each of my 3 this year as different as possible, if one seems to not be working well, I'll install anew one with a different configuration along side it.

 

[scaramanga]

Absolutely inspired. Awesome idea. If anyone is looking for paint specifically made for plastics there is one made by KRYLON and another made by Dupont. You might also be able to use dashboard paint; also made specifically for plastic.

Silverback in your tests what was the average weight difference between soaked and non soaked plants? Thanks.

 

[Guest]

High scaramanga

You may have to clarify "weight" difference for me, but if you mean yeild weight, it was significant. I only had 1 plant treated with the device, a MLI. I had 4 others that didn't have the collar and my yield was double for the single treated plant. Really, the difference was that the treated plant matured properly and fully while the others didn't.. The buds never hardened and thickened like they should on the plants that didn't recieve enough water.

The differences in its effect became very clear from the 1 commercial grower in our little group. There are no jobs here in these hills and this is the only way he has to support his family so his incentive to find a solution was great. He installed the device on one plot of 10 plants. He grows KC mango clones from a mother he's had for a while. His average harvest per mango plant has been around 19 ozs . The drought reduced that yield to 7 ozs per plant, and that was with a summer full of back breaking work.

He had 3 mango plots in total. The treated plot produced more smoke than the combined total weight of the other 2 plots. More over, with 1/2 the work and 1/2 the water. This result astounded us and left us trying to figure out how to retrofit the device. No way.

 

[Guest]

Chongsbuddy's thoughts sparked some ideas in my mind. Im hoping for your thoughts and considerations about this line of reasoning?






Consider the design above in the same light as the collar, with the bottom jug burried until its neck is even with the surface of the soil. This design doubles the water supplied at a visit, to that of the 1 gal in the in-ground leach chamber,(jug), and the 1 gallon supply jug. The leaching holes would be drilled in the lower jug.

The vaccum effect with this design is much greater because the system is completely closed. When pouring water into the lower, leaching jug, you have to pour a small stream because air is escaping from the same hole you are pouring in. Although its untested, im sure the top jug will collapse slowly and completely because the jug tops fit securely into a 1" pvc coupling to the point that they screwed in. Airtight.

Is there any reason their cant be a leaching reservoir under the soil? Would it offend the roots in anyway placed approximately 1' from the plant?

The parts/ cost has dropped dramatically with this design to 48 cents for the 1" pvc coupling.

Work required for this design is reduced to minutes. Just screw the coupling onto 1 bottle, and then the other into it.

With this design, the bottom of the lower, leaching jug is about 10" deep when set. Is that too low?

Do the holes in the lower jug have to be in the bottom and lower sides of the jug? Could they be 2" from the bottom with some type of wick leading into the soil?

Any thoughts?