diy rain water harvesting system

turbodiesel

ponddigger wrote: »

hi all,digging a hole tomorrow for 2 1000l tanks.so the water dont freeze over winter,:Dponddigger:D

Well done. I'm in a 3 bed semi in dublin so don't have the room for a 1000 litre water tank but was thinking of a smaller 200 litre one at some stage soon.

But looking at peoples options and specifially to the gardening usage,

If you don't have an electricity supply for a pump would a 12v battery and a car fuel pump from a car breakers do the job.

Maybe using a small 12 v solar charger like this one...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Solar-Battery-Charger-ideal-Caravans/dp/B000R0UBT8

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powered-12v-2.4w-battery-trickle-charger-223251

or here's a hand pump http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Barrel-Pump-Paraffin-Diesel-Fuel-Oil-NEW-/280489728984?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item414e7d9bd8 if you wanted to pump into a bucket/container.

Bit i think the car fuel pump would work well with something like this http://cgi.ebay.ie/GARDEN-WATER-WATERING-DRIP-PLANT-IRRIGATION-SYSTEM-KIT-/130479926268

Pataman

ponddigger wrote: »

hi all,digging a hole tomorrow for 2 1000l tanks.so the water dont freeze over winter,:Dponddigger:D

what way are you reinforcing the holes, so the weight of the clay doesnt crush the tanks? Are you covering them in earth or what?

Thinking of doing something similar
Cheers
Pat

ponddigger

hi pat,i used marine plywoodaround the tanks olso on top of tanks:Dponddigger:D

spatchco

am living in north dublin ,glasnevin can any one tell me where i can buy 2 pieces of marine 2x2 to cover top of water butts,tops were cut off origional barrels and grand children on the scene now so hence the covers,and also to keep water clean

Pataman

spatchco wrote: »

am living in north dublin ,glasnevin can any one tell me where i can buy 2 pieces of marine 2x2 to cover top of water butts,tops were cut off origional barrels and grand children on the scene now so hence the covers,and also to keep water clean

It would be cheaper to buy a full sheet and cut it. Woodies or chadwicks.

fiacha

spatchco wrote: »

am living in north dublin ,glasnevin can any one tell me where i can buy 2 pieces of marine 2x2 to cover top of water butts,tops were cut off origional barrels and grand children on the scene now so hence the covers,and also to keep water clean

Goslins in Cabra will have 18mm shuttering ply which will last for a good while if you treat it.

I have only bought it in 8'x4' sheets, but I have seen smaller cuts in the timber store.

fiacha

turbodiesel wrote: »

Well done. I'm in a 3 bed semi in dublin so don't have the room for a 1000 litre water tank but was thinking of a smaller 200 litre one at some stage soon.

You'll be surprised how quickly the 200l tank will fill. I connected a 350l water butt to my garage guttering on Monday afternoon, by Tuesday morning it was almost full !

I have to dig a soakaway in the garden for the butt overflow, so I was thinking about burying a 1000l IBC while I had the spade out How deep would it need to be buried to avoid frost damage to the tank / pump ?

Thanks.

ponddigger

hi fiacha,here is a photo of a 1000l tank,taken guring last winter:Dponddigger

35x

HI Ponddigger

Really appreciate your accounts of your progress. Setting up myself, but in a shed with a pressure pump for present.
Looking for about 6m of approx 2.5" to 3.5" or 65 - 85 mm diameter flexible plastic pipe to get water from eavechute to tank, but no local store in Portumna, Athenry or Loughrea can me. Anybody help??

dathi

hi ponddigger i have an ibc buried in back garden what i did was i took it of its timber pallet put about 2" of lean mix concrete in the base of hole, filled the ibc up with water and then more concrete around the metal cage. finally four 4foot concrete lintels on the top two each side of the plastic cap, concreted over that and added a small manhole cover . i have water coming off the shed roof into a first flush and filter then from there i use 1.5" waste pipe to bring it to the tank. the pump is similar to the lidl one except it has a pressure switch so that when the tap is opened the pump turns on. i also have a float switch in the ibc tank which will turn off the pump if i run out of water .so that it doesn't run dry. i also have a 5 micron filter on the supply side of the pump to make sure there is no silt or large dirt in it . just using it for garden at the moment next project is to hook up the toilets.

ponddigger

hi dathi,well done ,great idea about the concrete of the tank.some photos about the diy stystem would be nice.:Dponddigger:D

ponddigger

hi all,a friend of mine is thinking of building a rainwater harvesting system using plastic water blocks and epdm rubber liner,i keep ye posted:Dponddigger:D

ponddigger

hi photo of plastic water block:Dponddigger

CamperMan

rainwater is all we use, we have no well or mains water, we store most of it in 4 x 1000 L IBC containers, these are inside, then we have 6 x 210 L water tanks collecting the rain from various roof tops around the property.. the water from the 4 IBC tanks is pumped into the house and passes through one of those UV lights to kill the algae..

one good downpour will fill the tanks to 50% capacity in just over an hour..

for drinking, we put the water through a British Berkfeld water purifier, this takes 99.999% of crap from the water

ponddigger

hi cm, any more photos of your system,great job:Dponddigger:D

CamperMan

ponddigger wrote: »

hi cm, any more photos of your system,great job:Dponddigger:D

it's a simple system, the 4 IBC tanks are lined up in the garage, collecting rain water from the roof of the house, the overflow goes into the storm drain, the other tanks are outside and collect water from the extension and 2 external sheds, we also have a 30ft by 12ft garden house to collect rain water from, we have not set this up yet to collect water but will do soon.

We don't use much water, many people waste large amounts of water flushing it down the toilet, we use a seperating loo, the urine goes outside into the ground and the solids stay in a bucket to be composted later..., this saves loads of water!

Raiser

ponddigger wrote: »

hi cm, any more photos of your system,great job:Dponddigger:D

+1 Would be interested to see a pile of photos of this CM if you ever get some free time please?

Pataman

Inspired by this thread, I have just finished my contribution. This is for filling the toilets.
tank.JPG
600L IBC:
This catches the rainwater through a 2" flexi pipe.
pump.JPG
Lidl's finest for €30:
press vessel.JPG
Pressure Vessel, this maintains the pressure in the system, along with a standard non return valve.
pressure switch.JPG
This was bought off ebay for €15 and it switches the pump on/off as necessary.
filter.JPG
Finally the most advanced of kit, a popsock(clean and not mine) to filter the rainwater.
Happy Days

ponddigger

hi pat, great job,have you a overflow from the ibc tank:Dponddigger

Pataman

Yep a 1.5" marley into the multiwick on the toilet

ponddigger

hi pat,sorry i do not understand,could you please explain.:Dponddigger:D

Pataman

Have alook at this:
http://www.multikwik.com/product/39/130/90-bend-incl-40mm-compression-boss.html
I replaced the standard toilet connector with this and my overflow connects to it

Pataman

The only part I am waiting on is a filler connection for when there isnt enough rain(it filled last night all 600L):
http://www.sturdyproducts.com/_product_47272/Sturdy_External_Float_Valve

ponddigger

hi all put in a ibs tank inside a garage for a couple to day:Dponddigger:D

Pataman

Where is the overflow?

ponddigger

hi pm,here are a few photos fo the overflow going through the wall:Dponddigger:D

ponddigger

hi all.here is a diy rainwater harvesting system i built 3 years ago.it is built with a ibc tank underground,connected to a hand pump.i was back last week to fix the hand pump.the ibc tank is under the stone slabs:Dponddigger:D

CamperMan

looks great ponddigger!

we had an idea to bury 2 IBC tanks underground to collect the rain water, but we found that the water table is at just 2.5 metres down so we put a sandpoint well in..

the IBC tanks are in the garage collecting all the rain water, the well in the ground is a backup

Macy0161

Really interesting thread. We've a well, so I don't think I'd bother for the house but I do want to do something for the veg patch. With that in mind, can I just ask - what's the range of liquids originally stored in the ibc tanks? I try to be organic what residue would I potentially be adding, and/or what'd be a way of cleaning them out?

paddy147

Can I ask if the IBC tanks are suitable for being put underground,with regards them being crushed by the surrrounding earth or leaking over time????