automated watering system for the guerrilla grower

Has anybody attempted an automated water system for your guerrilla garden?

Here is my thought after looking around for some supplies:

12v 35amp battery
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200337579_200337579

11w Solar panel
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200306865_200306865

Solar charge controller
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200265524_200265524

water pump (3gpm)
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_527_527


Also needed:

Tarp to collect rain water into a large drum or rubber maid container for the reservoir

timer, 1/2" tubing and fittings.

Ambitious I know, but doable? probably....just wonder if its ever been attempted by anyone before. This system would probably run around $400 but let me know if you think it would work.

It absolutely will work. You'll need to add a digital timer in there so to control when and how much is dispersed.

yes I did recognize in my first post i would need a timer, although im still looking for something that is in my price range. This is what i have in mind as of now:
http://www.allsecurityequipment.com/proddetail.asp?prod=ASE-12-Volt-Weekly-Timer

43 views and 1 reply??? if I could get some more feedback here i would appreciate it....I wont be able to visit my grow more than 1-2x every 2 weeks or so that's why I'm seriously thinking about doing this.

Look at it this way.... no one has come on and said ur crazy...

It sounds good!

Walmart has a water timer,$20.00

Very doo able, my advice is a, dig a 4+4+4hole b, put a tarp in there,
C, carry tha hole fa away,

A tarp is bad u can c it easily on the ground and in the air,
Id set up on a hill, or u could get a submersible pump and 500ft of. Black poly pipeing,just turn it on and u got water,bay has gas powered pumps $100=50+GPM

Good looks on the timer, although i couldn't find the one you are talking about when i searched walmart.com. And yeah, i thought about the tarps visibility from overhead. I suppose it would still stick out if it was brown/green. My issue with filling the reservoir is that this spot sits up on a mountain and not too close to a water source, hence rain water collection. Perhaps digging a hole and lining it with a tarp or some sort of poly would be better to collect rainwater. Submersible pumps for hydro are AC though correct? can you wire one of these to a DC system? Gas powered is something i want to avoid as they are too loud and this is going to be a solar powered automated system.

I have also pondered the idea of having a valve on a timer that releases water under pressure ( like a line attached to the bottom of a drum) but not sure where one would get the said valve to connect to a 1/2" line.

Umm,yeah my walmart gots them next to the gardens stuff,
Yeah another good idea would be to dig a Y shape ditch to ur resicor,if ur wanting to use
Tha tarp idea put it under a tree or cut some limbs, cops will notice a flat 2demntion serface way b4,

Tha y idea is perfect tho it will all flow down hill ull collect 100gallons easy in my opinion
Dif tha ditch like 1ft deep 1ft wide or less, 20-30ft <that way 20-30 >that way 5-10foot down
Man I feel smart I should make a business to solve problems....lol..cause I swear I always have a good answer,
Make sure u carry the soil out and it'll be invisable to air due to growth

yeah that is very doable, you outdoor growers are much more ambitious then the average indoor guy in my opinion. All the effort that would go down with setting that up and maintaining a big crop like that should be applauded. I will stick with the simple task of slightly adjusting my pH and making sure I don't have any light leaks! but not everyone can grow a ton of weed indoors, so i see why you came up with the idea. I may have to steal the concept if I ever go outdoors

you know, having someone stumble upon your grow is always a possibility. adding all of these other components, just increases the risk of the grow being discovered.

They sell camo spray paint. Maybe that would work for the tarps visibility issue.

could replace the battery with a marine deep cycle battery they got almost 4 times as much amps but half the voltage so double the power and just buy a inverter for all for the same price.therefore decreasing how much you use up and getting you battery to last alot longer. personally i 'm not a fan of outdoor pumps since the investment involved.But they do give your plants water for the season.i find it simpler to plant near streams and rivers ,where the soil stays moist even at peak of summer.But add places to grow with a pump,or do the trench method.

Buy a camo net and tie it above the tarp. That should cover you from the air.

Beware of running pipes long distances on top of the soil or just under as they look like viens on the ground when viewed from over head with thermal imaging they have to be at least dug in 1 ft. to not give tell tale signs from overhead; thats one of the ways LEO used to catch the mountain growers was to use thermal imagery to find the piping in the ground, the danged pictures well they took looked like road maps to my crop. Your idea will definately work I like the auto irrigation timers that are available out there for the big systems there's a few that run on 12 volt and if you do have a way to keep your res. above your grow zone you can gravity feed your plants with the purchase of a simple valve, or you can go with a pump switch, they cost about $20-$30. Do a web search on automatic irrigation I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with all the options you can use once you've got some power.

Instead of buying the tarp... why not just dig a hole and bury the 50 gallon drum or even two of them? and running a splitter or something. A tarp I think would be too much of a hassle. I see those 50 gallon drums going for like 20 bucks on craigslist. Then you wouldnt have to worry about camo'ing it out haha.

crossouttheiis said:

Instead of buying the tarp... why not just dig a hole and bury the 50 gallon drum or even two of them? and running a splitter or something. A tarp I think would be too much of a hassle. I see those 50 gallon drums going for like 20 bucks on craigslist. Then you wouldnt have to worry about camo'ing it out haha.

Click to expand...

He has a drum. He is using the tarp as a rain gatherer/funnel for the drum...