[size=150:2iu6t1tf]Out with the Pump and on with the Mains Water - hopefully!

Finally our water pump for the well has been sold after many hours of gathering information from other members on Our Bulgaria Forum and installing it all last year. It's not often that I throw in the towel and give up on something, but with the water level in the well going up and down like a fiddlers elbow and only owning a nine metre pump which was no good for the job, enough was enough?

The alternative was to buy a 11 metre pump at great expense and for what for I asked myself, well . . . to water the tommies, the peas, the beans and not forgetting the potties. All these veggies in season cost next to nothing, so what am I doing giving myself all this hard work?

So now it is mains water time and the work involved in getting water out of the house! On the face of it you would think that this was an easy thing to achieve, not so! First of all is the two feet three inches wall to penetrate and get to the other side, huh, the DIY shops only sell 18 inches drills, so that is a problem, Screwfix have the extensions, but can't be bothered with waiting for them to come from the UK.

So the 18 inch drill is inserted into the wall and comes to stop when the wall gets to the chuck. Having achieved this momentous task, next is to cut a quarter inch piece of steel rod and insert this in the pre drilled hole and attack the steel rod with a bolster hammer and guess what . . . it goes all the way through and out the other side leaving a small hole on the outside of the wall.

So that's it so far whilst I search for plumbing attachments for the pipe and tap and gate valve. The plumbing accessories here in BG leave much to be desired because none of their taps have brackets to attach them to the outside wall and the gate valves have no brackets to screw them to the inside wall.

So there we are, another insight into the DIY goings on that I struggle with whilst straightening the house out and doing things in the garden.

Don't forget to put a internal stop-cock (tap/gate valve) for either when the winter arrives or if you ever away from the property for any length of time, might just save on a huge water bill as no-doubt you are on a meter.

Also even though you will probably turn it off for the winter, I would still be inclined to get a anti-freeze cover to help stop any further damage with water left in the pipe and not forgetting the tap should be left open in the winter so frost is kept to the minimum.

I appreciate your problems Itchyfeet but for the life of me I can't understand why Brits insist on trying to do things the British way! I don't mean to be rude but the Bulgarians have survived and grown beautiful veggies for centuries without all the mod cons of today's western way of life. Give yourseld a break Itchy and relax! Enjoy the summer and the fruits of your labours with or without the conveniences you desire.

Yes Phil - gate valves have been fitted inside the house and I will leave the outside tap open to empty the residue of water, so that nothing freezes in the winter. Using the well like the BG's would have been preferable, but the head height was going up and down like a yo-yo and half the time our pump couldn't cope with it. Using a bucket was out of the question, you want to see the size or our garden?

So now I turn the outside tap on for mains water and all the watering is done in a very short time compared with using the well.


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My Bulgarian neighbour has about 3000 sqft of garden and its all vegetables and fruit and he waters his garden only from his well, he has a pump in the garden which brings up the water he switches it on and just leaves it for as long as it takes, I asked him how long he has done this for and he told me his day use to do it before he died which was 12 years ago and he had been doing it ever since. These guys really know their stuff when it comes to how to with your garden, maybe speak to you neighbour itchy.

Andy wrote:

My Bulgarian neighbour has about 3000 sqft of garden and its all vegetables and fruit and he waters his garden only from his well, he has a pump in the garden which brings up the water he switches it on and just leaves it for as long as it takes, I asked him how long he has done this for and he told me his day use to do it before he died which was 12 years ago and he had been doing it ever since. These guys really know their stuff when it comes to how to with your garden, maybe speak to you neighbour itchy.

Why try and fix something if it works? you don't need any fan dangle tech stuff just do as the Bulgarian's do and you will be amazed.

Andy wrote:

My Bulgarian neighbour has about 3000 sqft of garden and its all vegetables and fruit and he waters his garden only from his well, he has a pump in the garden which brings up the water he switches it on and just leaves it for as long as it takes, I asked him how long he has done this for and he told me his day use to do it before he died which was 12 years ago and he had been doing it ever since. These guys really know their stuff when it comes to how to with your garden, maybe speak to you neighbour itchy.

???
That's what he's trying to do, just that his water pump is not good enough.

Itchy,
If you have the space would it be possible to fit a storage tank on the property, preferably at the highest point to allow for gravity when being used.

That way the pump could be used when the well is at a good working height to fill the storage tank.

It's either that or as said before you need to bite the bullet and invest in the biggest pump you can possibly find to allow for when the water level drops.
Another thought would be to monitor the levels to see if there is a pattern to it, as it might be that someone nearby is using quite a lot just before you decide to use it. Then you can either wait or jump in early.

I would love to water the garden the BG way, but at the end of the day after much thought, it was just not possible with the head height altering 3 or 4 metres in depth every other day. The cost of the electric to use the pump is no difference to paying for the extra water I use with mains now. It is far easier and faster with the mains water and I can spray a larger area if needed.