New member here, some of y'all may recognize me from the TBN site.
Anyway, did a search and found an old post (03) on rain water harvesting. This is something I am interested in if only to water the yard, wash the vehicles, etc. Has anyone out there actually done this, or is it mainly one of those "Gee, if I had the time and $$$ I would...." type projects? I think I could build most of the stuff I would need. Or is there some commercially available products out there?
thanks in advance
We have`nt done it but are concidering adding a system to a Jerry Baker green house we will buy this summer. The supplys are sold by garden supply stores. Building will be cheaper but you can get some ideas on the store pages. Heres a page on how to do one yourself.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gardening/article/0,1785,HGTV_3546_2165903,00.html
you`ll have to type the last part of url your self the link goes to their home page
Some households in South East Alaska depend on stored rainwater.
From what little I saw they used about 250 barrel?? tanks and collected from their building roofs.
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Hello all; I've been on TBN for a year and a half and finally decided to take a look at CBN.
I will be required to have a rainwater catchment system for the house I plan to build in New Mexico (county zoning regulations), so I hope to learn some good stuff from this thread.
What I am really looking for is the Adapt-a-Kit I thought I saw one time that basically hooked to the end of a shortened downspout and had a regular 3/4" garden hose spigot on it. Although after looking at the problem a bit more, I would think I would want something w/ a bit more flow. Like having the downspout come right into the top of the tank/barrel/cistern. Also, thoughts on pre flushing and filtering (who knows, might have to drink the stuff one day) [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
We have a number of rain catchment systems in our area. I have treated quite a few for different purposes from strictly utility water to household water intended for consumption.
In Seneca Co, in Ohio there are many such systems adapted from century old farms where that was the only source of water as well weren't dug and water deliveries weren't available. Some of these old farmers are convinced this is the ONLY way to have water.
There is a double-edged sword when working with rain water. On one hand hardness levels are quite low n the range of 2-5 grains per gallon but rather high in acidity with a pH of around 6.0. Nitrate/nitrites levels can be high. Bird dirt, road dust, animal carcasses and a whole slew of other unmentionables can enter your water reserve via it 'natural' distribution system.
Furthermore, it depends on how you 'collect' the rain water. Do you use steel (painted or unpainted) roofing material, asphalt shingles, do you use 'gutter helmet' on your eves, do you use a diverter valve, what material is the catchment basin made of and what capacity? There are as many different systems as there are treatments for those systems.
Acid neutralizing and disinfection are two key considerations even if used 'mostly' for utility work. Regardless, it will be a bit of a baby-sitting job to make sure the water remains consistent and your water treatment system functions properly.
Don't take shortcuts or you will be cut short on quality and satisfaction. Describe more of your intentions and I may be able to share some of our installations.
Andy
I can't seem to find the article I looked at before...grr.
Anyhow, I think it was either mother earth news or homepower magazine, one gentleman had a system with multiple large tanks tied together and filled from his guttering system that provided all his water needs.
A box is used that the water runs into from the guttering that acts as a sort of setling basin for leaves, whatever to settle out in or be strained out, then the water flows out an exit that is a few inches higher than the bottom of the box and then into the storage tanks. He had a normal pressure tank fed by a jet pump I think it was to provide pressurized water to his house.
I'm not sure what they did for purification or filtration.
Now I don't know anything about harvesting rain water, but I do remember in the early '50s when we were lucky, I guess; had a good well and windmill with plenty of water and cooked and heated with propane, but our nearest neighbor still cooked and heated with wood. And their only source of water was a cistern, I remember the rain water off the roof ran through a big charcoal filter but I don't remember exactly how big and don't know how often the charcoal was replaced. And during dry spells they sometimes had to haul water from town.
I would like to start out just capturing enough to take care of watering a small garden (no more than an acre or so) and keeping the lawn from completely drying out. Currently we live in a 60x40 metal bldg on our property (currently 55 acres)w/ a 15' shed down one 60' side. I have noticed quite a bit of water being shed on just cool mornings from condensation. When we eventually build a house on this same property(ICF and metal roof), I would like to upgrade my capacity to at least include flushing the toilets w/ harvested water, if not a whole house system w/ filtration. right now, I really want to stay away from any config that requires a pump. But in the future that will probably be a necessity to provide ample pressure.
Ultimate goal, being as far off the grid as possible.
The farm where my mom was born and raised (near Bray, OK) had a concrete cistern large enough for her dad to get inside and clean it annually with clorox bleach. They let the rain water wash the roof for a while before opening a little door in the porch wall and reaching out to move the downspout over to the cistern input. Mom nearly got hit by lightning while reaching out to move the downspout. Just a good zap not a big direct hit. They also would collect clean snow and shovel it into the cistern in winter.
Fast forward to the present day with lots of polutants in the air. Acid rain? I'd be looking for a lot more than an activated charcoal filter to process rain water before drinking it these days. Bird flu can be transmitted through bird droppings. Bird droppings have a way of ending up on roofs. How long would a prudent man wait when it was raining before collecting water with avian flu virus in it? Hmmm, I wonder what a prudent man would use to filter the rain water prior to drinking it.
I guess there is more than one way to be GREEN.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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