How to build springbox?

[NM_Shooter]

Okay... somebody please throw a clue in my direction.  Bonus points for using simple words!

I need to construct a springbox.  I have a year round spring uphill from my cabin location.  Great for water, crappy for mosquito issues.  This spring seeps through a swampy area and eventually becomes a stream downhill from my build location.  My site is on a dry knoll that deflects this small "stream".  I'm guessing it flows at about 1GPM, maybe a little more than that... but it appears to be year-round as it was flowing last October in a very dry period.

I am planning on bringing a transit to see where I need to be to be uphill of the cabin site.  As mentioned, my cabin will sit on a small dry knoll, and the spring head is fairly far removed from the cabin.  I suspect that I will need 300' to 500' of pex to get the water to a storage tank next to the cabin.  I'll be burying the pex to protect from UV  (does anyone know of a cheap sheathing to use?).  I'll need to get a transit in to find out how far up the meadow I'll need to be.  BTW.. this water for use of washing only... no potable use.

So... how does one actually build a spring box?  Do you cement it all together?  build a sluice way to allow water to pass and then seal it up with a metal gate?  Please keep in mind this is a very remote location.  All material trailered in, no power on site, and can't get large amounts of concrete in. 

Thanks...

Frank

[MountainDon]

(does anyone know of a cheap sheathing to use?). 

How cheap is cheap? The only thing that comes to my mind is PVC electrical conduit, but then I'm stuck in PV solar power cable mode.  ???It's UV resistant. I'll be using 300 feet of it to encase my #2 cables.

[MountainDon]

BTW.. this water for use of washing only... no potable use.

With the right filtration device it could be used for potable water too.

http://www.jamesfilter.com/

http://doultonusa.com/

If I had a running stream/spring I'd look into these.

[NM_Shooter]

Is PVC conduit UV proof?  I'm mostly worried about UV, but rodents / porcupines are an issue too.

If I could get something to sheath the pex for $0.20 a foot or replace it entirely I'd be happy.  I'd like to just run it on the ground, but the burying is easy.

-f-

[MountainDon]

The grey electrical PVC conduit has UV inhibitors in it. I've had some exposed to bright sunlight here for a couple decades.

I have used it as "covering" for steel pipe ladder rungs on playground equipment; it doesn't get hot like the metal does in the desert sun.

[cholland]

you can build a spring box out of almost anything.  I have used PT wood (redwood or cedar wooks too).  I have also used 2 1/2 foot sections of culvert turned verticle, with an outlet welded on.  You can drill holes in the uphill side to let in water.
Basically anything that functions as a small type of dam to collect the water and get it into a pipe.
If you have any short rises in the downhill run make sure you put in a riser so you can let air out or you will get air lock.
In my experience working with springs, you'll want 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch pipe.  it sounds big but because you are working with low pressure and outside elements it is easier to unclog than say 1/2 pipe!
It is not unusul to find a frog, chuncks of moss or something else stuck in the pipe, and believe me its easier to blow a frog out of 1 1/2 inch pipe than 1/2 inch.  Compressed air works well for clearing spring pipes.
Check around on the net or possibly your local County Ag Dept.  They would have plans for different type of spring boxes.

[NM_Shooter]

Thanks...

Tell me more about this riser.  I think that what you are telling me is this...

Say my springbox is at 20' of elevation to start, and my cabin is at zero.  As I head downhill from the box, the absolute elevation of the lay of the pipe goes as follows:

Box
20'
18'
16'
10'
15'
10'
6'
3'
Cabin

At the local maximum point (15') I should put a tube that extends slightly above the elevation of the springbox... right?  I'm guessing this allows the air to burp out?

I guess I don't understand the air lock problem.. It seems to me that as long as the end point of the pipe is lower than the inlet, as long as water is present at the inlet, pressure will force water to the outlet.  What am I missing in this theory?

In thinking about this some more, I suspect that I also want to make the box dark to keep algae out of the inlet. 

Funny you should say something about a frog in the pipe.  One of the guys had a mouse in his.  That would put some funk into your coffee.

Thanks!

-f-

[Redoverfarm]

Frank this is something I ran across.

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/well/resources/technical-briefs/34-protecting-springs.pdf

This is the site for the actually design and construction

http://www.google.com/search?q=building+a+spring+box&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLF

[glenn kangiser]

My spring box was built by cowboys I assume for cow water.  It is as high on the spring as could be dug out.   It is rocks cemented with mortar and a pipe coming out the bottom.  It has a steel cover sitting on mortar to seal it well and prevent runoff from the surface from getting into it.  We drink from it all the time.

[NM_Shooter]

Um, no offense Glenn, but have you noticed that you are a Troglodyte?  Do you find that your palette might be slightly less sensitive to coliforms, heavy metals, and misc. rodents?   

[glenn kangiser]

True Frank, but a male nurse and some others have also successfully consumed water from the spring of life.

[OldDog]

My friend dug his out and set 24" well tile in the hole and backfilled with loose gravel.

He also had a "New" 1000 gal septic tank set downhill for a holding tank.

You might be able to do the same thing with 2 more 24" tiles and some mortar?

Just my niclkel!

[benevolance]

I like the gravel idea...Something like 2 inch clear stone...