up:: Projects MOC
owner:: @Niko
intent: living-doc
llm: update-in-place
scope: team
Solar-powered mini pump + drip irrigation system — the community-facing framing of La Finka's off-grid irrigation work: why it matters, what it's for, how to get involved.
The build detail lives elsewhere. The concrete engineering — pump selection, power budget, flow-test protocol, four-zone manifold — is in Project - Pond to Drip Irrigation System and its two box notes (Project - Irrigation Pump Box, Project - Irrigation Controller Box). This note stays the public "why"; those hold the private "how."
Source difference: this note was originally scoped to the seasonal lake ditch. The pond system is the same architecture drawing from a pond instead — which buffers across the ditch's May–Aug window. Both are the same deployable-module idea.
Ownership corrected 260805: an earlier version of this note said "Led by @Ryan, active 2025 Spring–Fall." Ryan never started it. @Niko owns this.
skills:: #electrical #solar #irrigation
lead:: @Niko
start:: #y/2026/Spring
estimated completion:: #y/2026/Spring
Project - Overview
Drip irrigation or emitters are an efficient way to deliver precise water management to plants around the property. If we could design self contained solar pump system, it would be easy to deploy these around the property to maintain plant life off of the lake ditch irrigation water.
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Additional Docs
Purpose
To design a cheap off grid system to irrigate small to medium sections of the yard with a low cost, self contained solar system feeding off our lake ditch water enhancing water efficiency and sustainability in agriculture at La Finka.
Objectives
- Design & Develop a small system that can be deployed throughout the property for moving water efficiently to where it is needed most.
- To reduce water usage while maintaining optimal plant hydration.
- To educate the community on renewable energy applications in agriculture.
Background Info
Flood irrigation is inefficient in the high desert due to high evaporation rate specifically in the summer. What is more effective is burying drip irrigation lines underneath wood chips to help lock in moisture to encourage soil development. These systems can be off grid and automated due to cheap electronics and clever controls.
Project - Details
Scope
- Solar Powered System
- Solar Cell, Controller, Battery
- Efficient Water Distribution with Drip Emitters
- Trigger system
- Automatic Timer
- Moisture Sensor
- Evaporative measurement
- Bonus: Monitoring System
Milestones
A - Manual System Design
- Sourcing Parts
- Prototyping Solutions
- Evaluating performance
- Different designs for use cases
- Schematic
**B - Automation Design
- Propose different control system types
- Timer
- Sensor
- Float on water basin
C - Installation with Rain Water Capture
- Utilize water from rainbarrels that is further from lake ditch lines
- Pump lake ditch lines into rain barrels when necessary?
D - Evaluation
- Monitor the system's efficiency and impact on water usage.
Tasks
Most of the original research tasks here have been answered by the pond build — see Project - Pond to Drip Irrigation System for live tasks.
Project - Resources
Budget
Estimated Budget:
Materials & Tools
Equipment
- Tools for installation
References / Examples
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfVaDG-ZVdY
- Research - Drip Irrigation Systems — design math, part lists, solar sizing formulas
- Research - Water Systems & Automations — component catalog with cost tiers
Documentation and Media
Photos and Videos
Links or embedded media showing progress or highlights.
Documents
Links to relevant documents, such as plans, blueprints, and research papers.
Technologies
- Valves — Galcon 3/4" DC latching solenoids, pulse-driven, battery-viable
- Controller — Galcon DC series on a 9V battery, no cloud dependency
- Pump — 12VDC and 120VAC candidates; selection by measured Wh-per-gallon
- Power — solar + battery, sized from measured load
Full detail: Project - Pond to Drip Irrigation System § Technologies.
Questions / Unknowns
- Q:: Assessing the optimal layout for solar panel exposure.
- Q:: Long-term maintenance requirements.
- Q:: Should this note and the pond system converge into one project once the pond build proves out, or does the deployable-module framing stay usefully separate?
Collaboration and Participation
How to Get Involved
- Have you built drip irrigation systems before?
- Are you interested in helping with component selection research?
Created: 260811-13:38
Updated: 260811-13:38