Some basic plumbing help

[elight]

Yes, the faucet looks like this:


There is no aerator.

Stvrob's description is what I was thinking, and since it doesn't involve soldering or cutting anything (which I would do in my own house, but not in an apartment), I'm very tempted to give it a try. The point about making sure the end of the hose is not submerged in water to avoid backflow is a good one.

If that doesn't seem like it will work, I think the submersible pump is probably the next best bet. The drill pump is interesting, but the reviews of them are almost entirely negative, and most say that it requires the line being primed--a colossal pain.

Thank you everyone for your input! If anyone else has any ideas, by all means let me know. I'll report back in a couple months with the results!

[Redbaron]

You can also replumb from under the sink for an extra line. It is easy if you are experienced, but I recommend a plumber do it though, if you don't know what you are doing.

[Cole_Robbie]

With the pump idea, you have to either be very patient with a small pump, or you have to buy a larger pump like a sump pump.

The materials cost of chopping into your supply line under the sink to put in a tee, valve, and hose connection would be less than the cost of a sump pump. I would estimate the labor at less than an hour. You could just ask your landlord about it. He or she will have a plumber that they use. You'd be asking to make a minor improvement to their property and pay for it all yourself, so it's not that unreasonable of a request.

[elight]

Robbie, does it definitely involve cutting? Can't I just unscrew the hose that connects to the shutoff and put the T there? Since my landlord is a large management company (this is a big complex) I don't see them allowing me to make any permanent changes.

[Cole_Robbie]

Can't I just unscrew the hose that connects to the shutoff and put the T there?

In theory, yes. You may end up with an awkward hodgepodge of fittings, though. If you have an Ace hardware, or an old-time hardware store that will help you, then you can just ask them what fittings you need. Have them lay out on the counter what you need, and see how big it ends up being. Don't forget the valve for your hose connection. It may end up looking like modern art by the time you're done. That by itself is no big deal, but the important part is securely mounting your new T and valve so that you don't break anything when you use it. Otherwise, it can become one big lever; a little tug on the hose can then snap your pvc supply line and create a catastrophic leak.

If you do end up with an awkward fitting, you can leave the hose attached and then secure the hose itself near the valve. Clamp it or mount it to something inside the cabinet so that if you accidentally yank on the hose, it doesn't put pressure on your new fitting.

[Doug9345]

If I went that way what I'd do is make up a short hose that I could anchor it the way Cole Robbie suggests. I could then take my longer hose off the short one without messing with the T and valve. I'm talking some like 3 ft long.

[elight]

Thanks, guys. This is sounding more and more complicated (especially for what will be a one-year solution, as I will most certainly be moving prior to Summer 2014)... which makes me think that the water pump is the way to go.

[JamesL]

elight,
How are you doing?
Solid advice (as usual) from everybody here but if you aren't comfortable messing with the plumbing, don't!
I would not waste my money on the $4 pump.
I saw a cheapo $12 hand pump that would probably work, but here is a $30 version that gets largely good reviews. I think spending an xtra $20 in this case is probably worth it.
http://www.amazon.com/Beckson-109PC-...m_cr_pr_sims_t
As you wrote earlier, fill the sink and pump it to the outside.
Better than carrying that 5 gallon bucket!

[elight]

Hi James! Good to hear from you again. How did you fare last summer? I was in the process of moving at the end of the summer, and had to wrap everything up pretty quickly, but overall my automatic watering system ended up working pretty well (with the exception of two clogs, one of which unfortunately occurred when I was out of town). I'm now in the Boston area.

So with the siphon pump, I would essentially be using it to extract the air from the hose (pulling the water through in its place) to form a siphon, which will then move the water through the hose via the laws of atmospheric pressure, until the water levels on the two ends of the siphon are the same (or I cut it off), correct?

Based on my experience using a similar system last year, I wonder if this will take too long. I'd like to get my reservoir (a 32-gallon Rubbermaid garbage can) filled in a matter of minutes, since the process involves hose through the living room with the porch door open. What do you think about a pump like this:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=21413

[Stvrob]

If your not comfortable with adding the tee under the sink see if you can find a fitting that will screw into your faucet fixture. Is yours the kind with that pulls out of the fixture with a hose sprayer? It looks like it from the picture. If so, maybe you can connect to the hose behind the faucet. That would be easy

[elight]

Yes, Rob, that is the situation. Here's what the hose connection to the faucet looks like:



You think I can just unscrew the faucet?

[JamesL]

Boston eh? Good for you! The one nice thing about apartment living - no shoveling during the blizzard!
Last summer everything went better than expected. Chomping at the bit to get going on this season.
That one I listed is a siphon pump, I like the one you found better. It claims 185 gph, and you only need to move about 30 gal at a time. You don't have to submerge it either.

[elight]

Well... I still had to dig my car out. =)

If I were to get that pump, I think I'd actually go for the 320 gph one, which could fill the trash can in about 5 minutes (although the output will go down as the hose is raised up). I like that it has suction cups, so I can just suction it to the bottom of the sink (or use it in-line and use something to hose the other end of the hose down).

Thanks for the great ideas, everyone - I'll let everyone knows what ends up happening so that hopefully others can benefit from this information in the future.

[dpurdy]

elight,
Don't forget to pick up some of the 1/2 inch tubing that they have on the opposite page. I'm not sure but I don't think a garden hose has a 1/2 inch I.D.. The clear tubing they have is less than $12 dollars for 25 feet, cheaper if you don't have to pump your water that far. I'm sure the pump idea will work just fine.
DP

[Doug9345]

I suspect that you Faucet can't supply 180 gph let along 320gph> Once you pump the 3 or 4 gallons out of the sink you are down to what the faucet can supply.