Hi,
I am planning on planting a large garden that is 100~ feet away from the house spigot. My hose will reach, however, the water pressure is too low. What type of pump can I add to the house hose spigot to add more pressure?

If it matters, I am on a well system with a pressure tank in the house that supplies the house spigot/bib. Someone had mentioned to look to see if it would cavitate the house system.

 

Just a guess, it's more likely a flow issue not really a pressure issue.
EG: a 3/4" hose will have close to double the available flow of a 1/2" hose.
Low flow = low pressure

 

Id say the issue is in the well pump/system.

I have a well, I regularly water my lawn with 150' of hose without any issue!

 

Yes, a hundred feet is a long way for a garden hose especially if you are going uphill. There are garden hose and irrigation booster pumps made specifically to do what you want to do. You will need GFCI protected power for the pump. If you are serious about irrigation I would consider burying a larger diameter line between your house and a hydrant spigot at the garden.

 

Hose diameter is your problem.
100 feet of 3/4" ID hose would deliver about the same pressure as what is at the spigot.
A 3/4" hose is pretty big and fairly costly but less expensive than a booster pump.
Maybe it would be practical for you to bury a poly pipe to the garden.
You could bury it at a shallow depth and blow it out is frost is a problem or put it below the frost line to a hydrant.

 

Burrying could be a little difficult, the ground is flat, then it dips down 5', then it goes up about 10-15' in elevation to to garden... I like the idea but is it still possible? How do you blow out the water?

Right now I'm using a Gilmour Flexogen Hose 5/8"; I admit, I do need to re-measure the line, etc. I will test again today.

 

Just an update, I hooked up about 100' of Gilmour Flexogen Hose 5/8" hose, and the pressure was actually pretty decent. Not sure what the problem was before. I re-measured, I need about 200' of hose to get to the garden.

 

Shallow burying of a water line is the least expensive and a relatively simple diy project.;
It would require a small trencher to a shallow depth.
If you have freezing winter temps you would tum off the water supply in the house, hook up an air compressor at a hose bib, pressurize the water line with air then open tap(s) one at a time to blow out water..........or, roll out a garden hose when you need it.


Anecdotal story warning!
I trenched in two directions from house for water, power, phone and coax (cat 5 was not a thing then ) to a future shop and garden area when we first bought this rural property,.
Each fall it takes about twenty minutes to blow out several hundred feet of shallow water line.
.

 

The dips do not matter, water under pressure has no problem going uphill.
The pressure drop for water that goes up is about 1/2 psi per foot of rise but I don't think you need to worry about that.

You can easily blow out the line by making an adapter that will connect a quick coupling from an air compressor to the spigot at the house.
My water lines connect to a small manifold at the house that has a couple of taps.
The buried line connects to a faucet at the house.
If you turn off the water at the house, drain water pressure at the house, connect air line to other tap at house, turn up pressure to 60 psi and pressurize the buried line.
Go to the end of the buried line and open tap.
Air pressure will blow out the water.
Once the pressure drops close end of line valve, let pressure build and repeat a couple of times.

Sounds like a bit of a process but after you get set up it would not take 20 min to do it next time.

 

I'm starting to like the idea of running a line, I know there's one area with some ledge but I may be able to work around that. I don't like the idea of using PVC with water (Just hate plastic). What size PVC should I use? Is there a special glue that I use or just standard? Would I connect it to a yard hydrant? In New England, we get a lot of snow, does it matter the depth that I burry the line? I don't plan on using it during the winter but would a ditch witch dig to 4'?

If I go through all of this and the pressure is low, what options are there?

 

I would use HDPE pipe. It's usually black and sold in coils. The higher the psi rating the thicker the walls of the pipe making it more resistant to punctures. I normally use the 160 psi rated pipe. I'd run 1" and with the restrictions in the fittings you'll have close to an honest 3/4" for good flow to feed a garden hose with minimal pressure loss. If you want to move more water I'd go to a larger size.

 

Use a 1" pipe and then down to 3/4 will be fine for the pressure? Is it because you're forcing it through a smaller size?

 

For gardening, you CAN trade time for pressure,

Just need to run a hose up the hill to a rain barrel, add a shut off valve.


Just open the spigot little bit, and the hose will maintain pressure, and you'll have water, even up hill..

 

so how do you water sprinkler, soaker hose some form of irrigation tape or line with emitters should try to figure out the flow rate you need to run what you want to use for starting point I imagine the flow rate through 200 ft of hose would be very low and may not have enough to run a sprinkler or soaker hose.

 

What's your well pressure set to? If you're at 30-50, consider bumping it up to 40-60. Make sure you adjust the tank pressure accordingly as well. That will give you a little boost in pressure for watering.

 

Hi, The pressure tank is set to 40 / 60 right now.

 

BLOWING OUT A LINE: I took a metal hose bib cap and drilled a hole in the center of it large enough to pop in a tubeless tire shraeder valve. To blow out the line, I screw on the cap/shrader valve assembly and take a portable air tank to the spigot and blow the water out. Very easy.