[xxArbUtusxx]

I have a question about installing a 'Filtrific' auto fill float valve into a Filltriffic 75 gal holding tank. I have some experience with irrigation but am just getting familiar with water features. Recently I have aquired a client from a friend who has moved. He had originally installed the water feature(less than 200 gal.) and put in two 2.5 gal/hr spray heads into the tanks that would turn on when the irrigation system turned on. Being in Washington the irrigation system is not on during the Fall and Winter. This sight is exposed to wind and we do get some evaporation during the winter months. The home owner has expressed that she has seen some water at times blowing out of the pond. I don't know if this is accurate. They do not want to have to top off the tank when needed. Completely self sufficient.
Anyway, my question with the auto fill valve is , at what depth do you mount it in the tank? I have brainstormed about this and came up with mounting it at the level the water is when the pump is on(opperating level). This way the water level should not ever drop to the pump level. I assume that these valves are ok completely submerged when the pump turns off and the tanks fill to the top. This valve is going to be connected to the irrigation main line just before the master valve. The DCV does not need to be closed for the winter in this situation. So there will be water available up to the MV.

Does this sound like the best way to go? Thank you in advance for the input.

John

[Stonehenge]

I'm not an irrigation guy, so some of that terminology is lost on me. But in general, you want to keep the water level at a point where the pump will keep functioning, any plant or animal life on the pond will live, and the pond will not overflow. So you should set you autofill level (the range where the water kicks on and shuts off) to achieve those things (are there any issues I missed?).

If there is any kind of waterfall, with a 200gal pond there's going to be a lot of relative evaporation, so your setup will be important. The quick fix your friend installed might work, but doesn't really address the water level at the time the water is turned on. And if there is a spray head in there, it's conceivable that the client saw spray coming from the unit.

Hope that helps - I'm not sure I'm awake yet this monday, so there may be a few things I missed.

[xxArbUtusxx]

Yes, there is a waterfall. I wasn't clear about that. My thought is: When the pump is turned off then all the water drains back into the holding tanks and the tanks are full. Then when the pump is turned on the water is pumped out to the stream, thus lowering the water level in the tanks to approx. 5 inches above the pump. I don't want to install the auto valve(in the tank) at the level the water is when the tank is full(turned off) because when the water is pumped out then the auto valve will "think" the water level is low and begin filling the tank with water it doesn't need. I think I can install it at the water level in the tank when it is turned on. This way if the water level, when the pump is on, drops below the 5 inches above the pump it will open the valve.

I may be over thinking this. After writing this I have more confidence that this is the way to go. Although, I'm still not certain that the auto fill valves are OK completely submerged in the holding tanks when the system is turned off. More input is appreciated.

[LandArts]

Does the waterfall supply have a check valve on it to prevent water draining back when the pump is off? Could the waterfall be re-worked a bit to reducing splashing outside the feature? We install about 15 pondless waterfalls per year and we have not needed auto-fill on any of them. If it's too cold to run the irrigation system how will you keep the supply line from freezing?

[xxArbUtusxx]

I don't believe it has a check valve. There is no pond or reservoir at the top of the falls. There is a pond at the bottom with a skimmer that has a 1/2 inch drain hole on the side to allow the pond to drain completely into the holding tanks. The falls are more of a stream and there really isn't much splash. I did noticed on my first visit that where the water came into the stream was not engineered very well and there was a bit of water splashing out there. I reworked that and now there is no splash and looks more natural, not a small geyser. This may have been the reason for water loss all along. My initial thought was with all the rain we get during the Fall and Winter how could we lose any water. Especially enough to cause a problem. I hope that the reconfiguration helped. Now, should I wait for awhile to see if it is fixed ? The homeowner expressed that she does not want to have to keep dealing with it and would like it to be done with. I worded that a little harsh, she actually is really nice.

The irrigation gets turned off for the winter because the plants do not need supplemental watering. The ground does not freeze deep enough to cause problems to the main line. Everything was installed at or below 15 inches. The spray heads that fill the tanks now are attached to a garden bed zone. It would have made sense to give it it's own zone, that way we could leave that on through the winter.
LandArts: You don't have evaporation issues during the summer? Or do you have clients that don't mind adding water when needed? lol

[LandArts]

We do the same as you-have the irrigation guy stick drip emitters in the water feature.

[xxArbUtusxx]

So this has worked for you. Good, I hope the issue was where the water entered the stream. I would rather not add another fill to this small water feature.

LandArts: Nice website and field work. Water features always intrigue me.


Thank you for your input.

[LandArts]

The last one we did I noticed there was a 3/4" drain pipe coming off the house that was dripping maybe 15 gallons a day, so we connected onto it with flex pvc and ran it into the pond. If the water feature is down hill from the house and the customer doesn't have irrigation we've used a rainbarrel as a water source (with a fill valve in the feature).

[xxArbUtusxx]

Was the 3/4" drain pipe for some sort of condensation collection, maybe from a air conditioning unit or furnace, or ? Just wondering what was coming out of the pipe.

Great idea with the rain barrel. I assume the barrel is connected to the down spouts?

[LandArts]

There was so much water coming out of that pipe I assumed it couldn't be from condensation but I wasn't factoring in the size of the house.

The rain barrel is connected to the downspout. Only problem is with the drought we've had it's nowhere near big enough. I'm looking at bumping it up from 50 gallons to 550

[xxArbUtusxx]

It's always nice to have the extra water when you need it. At one of my clients estates we have a 2200 gal. reserve tank for 21 stations. they are on a well and it can't handle an entire cycle.

I did install the auto fill into the second holding tank (without the pump) and put it at the water level when operating. It works great and now after doing it, my original question seems easy. Sometimes I tend to over think things. But I guess that's how you solve issues that you don't know. Along with all the help I get from you guys/gals I feel more confident going into work like this.

Thanks