[[Image:Kari drum icon.png|right|80px|]][[Image:KARI drum.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Layout of a drum system adapted from Chapin’s bucket kit. Drawing: [http://www.samsamwater.com/library.php?serie=RELMA%20Technical%20Handbook%20Series RELMA.]]]__NOTOC__ <small-title />This is a variation of the [[Chapin]] bucket kit and involves using a drum of about 200-litre capacity or the equivalent of five bucket drip irrigation systems. The development of this adaptation is credited to a farmer in Eldoret in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya who, after working with the bucket drip kits, connected an old drum to supply four drip lines. KARI improved on the drum adaptation by designing themanifold with 4 or 5 openings each serving two drip lines. '''Uses of a drum system'''<br> A drum system covering 5 beds each 1 m wide and 15 m long can be used to grow 250 plants (tomato, egg plant and similar plants requiring a spacing of 60 cm along the plant rows); 500 plants (spinach, cabbage, kale, pepper and similar plants requiring a spacing of 30 cm along the plant rows); or 1,500 plants (onion, carrot and similar plants requiring a spacing of 10 cm). The drum system also offers water storage and control through a control valve, making it possible to fill the drum for irrigating at another time. Six examples are presented: the KARI drum system from Kenya, the Waggon Wheel system from South Africa, the Family, Plastro and Micro-Tal systems from Israel, and the IDE drum used in India. ===Construction, operations and maintenance===The standard drum kit system comprises a drum, control valve, a manifold and drip lines. The drum should be filled with the valve in the closed position. To irrigate it is important to open the valve fully. This allows the water to be distributed quickly through the drip lines and allows for good water distribution. '''System components'''<br> * 200-litre drum with opening at one end or cut open ∫” gate valve (control valve) ∫” x 6 m plastic water pipe * 4 x ∫” PVC tees * 3 x ∫” PVC bends * 5 filter plugs * 10 x 0.5 m lengths of flexible tubing * 10 barb x drip lock fittings * 10 x 15 m drip irrigation tubes * 10 drip tube end closures.
==Construction, operations and maintenance==
'''Assembly instructions'''<br>
# Finally, connect one end of the connector tubing to the filter plug and insert the barb fitting to the other end. Connect the drip tube to the drip lock fitting.
===Costs===
To install a drum system costs about KSh7,500 (US$100) in Kenya.
===Acknowledgements===
* Sijali, Isaya V. [http://www.samsamwater.com/library.php?serie=RELMA%20Technical%20Handbook%20Series DRIP IRRIGATION: Options for smallholder farmers in eastern and southern Africa.] RELMA, 2001.