NO, gravity will constantly force the water thru the tubing unless you place stoppers on the tubing but this defeats the purpose.

No. You'll have too much head and it will force its way into the soil and over until empty. Place lower and wick water up with a cotton rope as a wick wrapped in foil/plastic bag where it contacts air.

Dan

Hm, both good points. That's why I asked. I can't think of everything, but your collective knowledge sure can. You guys are amazing. Guess I'll rethink, try the wick idea, maybe.

My late gramma used to use the wick all the time on her houseplants when they did their annual trip to northern Michigan. Never lost a one. Narrow-neck bottle to lessen evap. and stick rope well into soil, then down to bottom of bottle.

Good luck!

Dan

If you take a squirt ketchup or mustard bottle & turn it over, initially a little water that has separated from the bottle will exit the hole in the little spout, but then, no product comes through the spout unless you squeeze. Right? The reason is that the products tendency to stick to itself (cohesion) and the container (adhesion) is stronger than the gravitational downward pull. Why can't you apply that principle to your self-watering soda water?

We know that water will not exit a container when a hole in it is very small - unless air can get into the container or you squeeze it. If you take your soda bottle and insert a very small diameter tube (1/16 ID) through the cap and seal it so no air can enter except through the end of the tube, and tip the container upside down, a little water will exit the tube initially, but the vacuum formed in the bottle will soon stop water flow. It seems you're at an impasse, with no way to get water to exit the bottle now, but what about temperature? As the water and air in the bottle warms and expands, as it does on most mornings, a pressure builds that forces water through the tube, and it drips into the soil. At night, as the water and air cools, it forms a vacuum in the bottle that sucks the water back up into the tube and 'burps' the tube as air follows the water upward into the bottle until the pressure is equalized. The next AM, the air and water expand again, and force more water from the container - and it repeats until the container is emptied. The key isn't to arrange a timed dripping by employing a bunch of hardware, but to employ temperature flux to do your work.

This is the reason it's not wise (per manufactures' suggestion) to hang our upside-down hummingbird tube feeders in the sun. The temperature flux quickly empties them in the same manner I just described.

I'm not saying it's the best way to deliver water evenly over long periods, but it can be made to work to ease watering duties with minimal tinkering. It would probably work best when the bottle is getting some daily sun. Varying between a colored material and clear would also have some effect on the amount of water delivered.

Just a thought. ;o)

Al

In the first line above, I meant to say "... initially a little water that has separated from the product will exit the hole in the little spout ..."

Sorry.

Al

Wow! How do you know all this stuff? Your knowledge never ceases to amaze me. My next thought was, that sounds kind of like a hamster waterer, minus the rodent and the little ball in the tube (LOL).

This is interesting. I'm sure either way would work, and I think I may just try the wick and the vacuum in separate containers, and see what happens.

Thanks again, guys. I'm so glad I found this place.