Wonder's DIY 55 gallon Drum Watering System $25

Hi,
I built this great watering system just the other day. Right now I use a hose run off the cold water faucet of my washing machine to fill my 55 gallon drum, stationary in the grow room.
There are not instructions because everything is fairly common sense.
Materials:
(1) 55 gallon Plastic Drum (Free; See below)
(1) Sump Pump w/ 1" hose/ garden hose attachment($6 @ a used supply store)
(1) 20 foot section of garden hose(washer to drum) (came with pump)
(1) Watering Wand; adjustable $10
(1) Coil type 25 ft garden hose; $10

*Links are examples of similar products; Do not reflect what I spent on this project*

55 Gallon Plastic Drum:

First, Cut the top off if there is no removable lid. Put in a location where it will not have to be moved or on wheels if neccesary. Clean the drum adequately. i used water, bleach, then water, then soap, the water, even more water, and then finally Flora Kleen.

Check locally for free 55 gallon plastic drums. I picked this one up at a brewery. Food grade drums are the best regardless of your cleaning skills. Can be purchased online as well.
http://www.bayteccontainers.com/

Sump Pump:

Clean the sump pump thoroughly. Soak it in distilled water and run water through it. Then place in bottom of 55 gallon drum.
http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBwQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers

Watering Wand and Coil type hose:
Attach coil type hose onto watering wand and onto pump. I manually plug my pump into an extension cord every time I use it.
Wand: http://www.amazon.com/Toro-53908-36...f=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1260939368&sr=1-20
Coil Hose:http://www.amazon.com/Orbit-27891-G...f=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1260939409&sr=1-23


I also keep air stones in my drum to keep my water oxygenated and aid the distillation process.

I take the watering wand off when I fill 5 gallon containers in the grow room.

I could easily automate this system by putting 1gph or 2gph drip lines or soaker hoses off the pump and put the timer on the pump. I like watering manually, and this is the easiest method I have found yet.
Thanks for reading and hope this helps many of you.

Pictures:
1. Filling the plastic drum in its position via the cold water faucet of washing machine
2. Filling
3. Finally Full!
4. Setup with my chose watering wand: adjustable nozzle, 7 patterns, foam grip, 36" length, and even a over all flow control. Of course trigger activated.
5. Different angle (you can see the head is in a different position' 90 degrees)
6. Coil type hose, wand, and drum.

damn, thats sick man

It does the trick!

Bump.............

Looks good

Thank You!

I should have really updated earlier with the additions to the system which let me mix nutrients in a seperate res, so the 55 gallon is basically used for storing and dechlorinating water. Here it is

Additional materials:
-20 gallon sump pump basin (Home Depot $20)
-small submersible pump
-3/4" tubing

I moved the sump pump into the 20 gallon sump pump basin. I then put the small submersible pump into the 55 gallon drum and ran the 3/4" tubing from the submersible into the 20 gallon res. I marked the 20 gallon res with gallon lines, so I can fill to desired level, mix nutrients and spray. When I water with plain water I have 2 choices. Fill the 20 gallon res(submersible pump) to desired level and then spray or move the sump pump to the 55 gallon drum and directly spray. I tend to measure with the 20 gallon res so I can control what they get a little better

Very cool setup...

Who said weed make you dumb???

I don't believe I said or implied that...... but now I just invited it in the door......

your welcome by the way...

My sprayer for this setup clogs ridiculously. Maybe the Fox Farm Nutrients, but I soaked in vinegar and baking soda over night and it cleaned up and worked great, and then within 5 minutes of spraying it clogged again.