Setting up a seepy-hose irrigation system from a large water butt can be much easier than you think. Think of it as: big butt, quiet solar pump, press a few buttons, and your plants get on with growing.
1. Pick and position your water butt
- The butt should be substatial, like over 1000Ls
- This can take an hour to fill up but last 2-3 weeks
2. Add a quiet, solar-powered pump
- Use a solar-powered pump and controller so you do not need mains power or complicated wiring.
- Look for kits with a submersible pump which keeps the noise down
- Fix the solar panel in a sunny spot (balcony rail, wall, shed roof), plug it into the controller, and that is your power sorted.
3. Connect butt → seepy hose
- Typically kit comes with a solid pipe to transfer to growing space, and then seepy hose
4. Size your setup to your butt (bigger is better)
- More plants mean more water per hour, so a bigger butt buys you more “set and forget” days.
- Once it is full and connected, the system quietly draws what it needs while you get on with life.
5. Quiet water-level awareness (no annoying sounds)
- Some kits beep when the butt runs low, which you should turn off as not the end of the world if it runs out
6. Set it and forget it
- Use the simple timer options on your controller: for example, water once in the morning and once in the evening, or every few hours in very hot weather.
- After that, the system just turns itself on and off, taking water from your nice big butt and delivering it straight to the plants without you lifting a watering can.
City Dripper 
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