Gather the water from the AC condensate drip into a basin. Use a small fountain pump to feed a micro irrigation system.
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Texas has been under a 3 year drought, but has a reasonable level of humidity on most days. The AC unit produces several gallons of water each day and that is more than enough to supply a micro-irrigation system. All the parts simply fit together and the total cost is under $90.00.
| Timer | 17.88 |
| Pump | 21.98 |
| Adapter | 3.66 |
| Irrigation kit | 34.87 |
| Larvacide | 9.97 |
| Total | 88.36 |
Never thought about the idea of Legionella and other airborne bacteria, but I could see how it might be an issue. As to the demineralized issue, I may have inadvertently overcome that. The random tree duff and leaf bits small enough to get thought the hardware cloth tends to make the water acidic. To counter that and give the small birds that use the water pan a perch and the frogs shelter from our cats, I placed a few limestone rocks in the basin both below and above the hardware cloth. The Edwards plateau is rich in limestone and my yard yields a steady crop each spring.
We are so strapped for water, I have accepted the Ph as is with the belief I can adjust the "end product" with either mulch and/or limestone.
Plan look good, but this water would most likely be demineralized and there for not the best for plants. Search a little on our friend google and found this:
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/01/15/air-conditioning-condensate-recovery/
Are there any issue with using essentially distilled water? Is the Ph similar to rain water? Thanks!
joelaud
Kyle Gabriel
Michael Hamilton
MechaTweak
ogdento
1500 Sqft in S. Florida creates about 1.5 -2 gal per day w/AC set on 78 F based on relative humidity