I bought one of these several years ago, and it has been a mixed bag. On the one hand, I really love the way it looks and the sound it makes on our deck. On the other hand, it has been somewhat fragile. I have broken or cracked two of the bowls (although I was sent free replacements), and we have found the solar panel somewhat fragile. After havuing it for a while, I decided I'd rather have it plug in, so it would work in the shade or twilight. That works better for me, and now I plug it in in the morning and unplug it after dark. This year, though, when I set it up, the pump wouldn't work and I think it needs to be cleaned, but I don't know how. I'm waiting for my father to come over to look at it and hopefully show me how to do it. It might seem like this is a lot of bother, but even with all the annoyances, I'd still buy it again, and it's so annoying partly because I like it so much that I hate to be without it. I surround it with potted plants, and it's just a lovely thing.

Hi squid, It is a good thing for the barrels to be at the same height and linked to act as one large reservoir. Your barrel are about 4 feet high that empty to within 18" of the bottom. That gives you 33 gallons per barrel for 132 total gallons. The pressure in psi is equal to approximately 1/2 the height elevation difference (in Ft) of water. Your closest run would have 2.5 psi of average pressure and with level tape run. Your longest run has 3 psi with about 1 psi gain along the run. The ideal run of drip tube to keep pressure even along the run is about 1.5% slope. Your longest run has 18" drop over 24 feet that is about 6% slope which should make the last part of the tape push more water that the beginning. For drip tape higher pressure would be better for uniformity and use of water. Something in the 2 gpm or 120 gph range would be a hobby or aquarium pump by Eheim. They have In-Line pumps that can be used as submersibles as well. I have never used these pumps but found them on Google. It would take you about 66 minutes to use up your 132 gal supply. Remember to filter. Be careful about supplementing Municipal water to your barrels chlorine would kill your fish. Thanks for the added info that made the picture clear. Aloha.

Ask ten people what your watering schedule's should be and you will probably get ten different answers. Thing is each growers situation is unique, and that's really something each grower figures out whats best for their plants through trial and error. But for that type of system where the roots will be hanging in mid air I don't think I would want them to go more than 15 min between watering. If it were me I would get a timer with 15 minute increments and start with 15 on/15 off, and go from their. As for connecting the flexibly hose to the 1/2 in pvc, in the irrigation section of most hardware stores they sell connectors that are barbed on one end (for the flexible hose), and threaded (to connect to the pvc) on the other end. I find here Lowe's has the best selection. Unfortunately I can't post pictures in this forum without going through too many hoops but I have pictures of the ones I used in another forum here: Third system (scroll down a little to see the images, and you can click on them to see the full size image) "I'm not sure of the terminology but i plan on flooding the top of the pipe and letting it drain back down to the resevoir. should i do this once evey hour and one time at night? " I'm not sure how you can flood the top of a vertical tube, but it sounds like if it truly is a vertical tube, you plan to use sprayers at the top, and let it rain down through the tube watering the roots on the way down. If so the 15 on/15 off cycle is what I would start with. It wouldn't need to be on for 15 minuets, but you will be limited to the timers settings. You may find a cycle timer online that you can set a particular on and off cycle (like 5 min on, and 15/20 min off), but I doubt you'll find them in any local stores. Digital timers have customizable settings, but most likely wont have enough settings to last through the day. At 3 on/off cycles per hour (5 on/15 off) that's 6 settings per hour. In a 18 hour period that's 108 settings. I have a digital timer that was supposed to have 144 settings, but I found out is over a 7 day period (and includes sunset and sunrise settings). Bottom line is it really only has 14 settings per day. 7 on and 7 off. So be careful and ask questions before you settle on a digital timer. At least be sure you can take it back (mine was on clearance so I couldn't).

Hi Gary, IÂm not so sure that the pump energy is not factored into the COP in some fashion, where closed loops may be concerned. I would suggest doing a Google search of ÂARI/ISO/ASHRAE 13256-1Â. I could not find the appropriate link to include, so here are the pertinent excerpts: About ARI/ISO/ASHRAE 13256-1 The performance standard ARI/ASHRAE/ISO 13256-1 became effective January 1, 2000 and replaces ARI Standards 320, 325, and 330. This new standard has three major categories: Water Loop (comparable to ARI 320), Ground Water (ARI 325), and Ground Loop (ARI 330). Although these standards are similar there are some differences: Pump Power Correction Within each model, only one water flow rate is specified for all three groups and pumping Watts are calculated using the following formula. This additional power is added onto the existing power consumption.  Pump power correction = (gpm x 0.0631) x (Press Drop x 2990) / 300 Where Âgpm is waterflow in gpm and ÂPress Drop is the pressure drop through the unit heat exchanger at rated water flow in feet of head. ISO Capacity and Efficiency Equations The following equations illustrate cooling calculations:  ISO Cooling Capacity = Cooling Capacity (Btuh) + (Fan Power Correction (Watts) x 3.412)  ISO EER Efficiency (W/W) = ISO Cooling Capacity (Btuh) x 3.412 / [Power Input (Watts) - Fan Power Correction (Watts) + Pump Power Correction (Watt)] The following equations illustrate heating calculations:  ISO Heating Capacity = Heating Capacity (Btuh) - (Fan Power Correction (Watts) x 3.412)  ISO COP Efficiency (W/W) = ISO Heating Capacity (Btuh) x 3.412 / [Power Input (Watts) - Fan Power Correction (Watts) + Pump Power Correction (Watt)] I would second the rest of your commentary. Steve