Ever consider rain water as partial H2O supply? Enter the Think (I mean water) Tank..

[RickM]

I've been tossing the idea around for a while now. I figure that at minimum one could use rain water to flush toilets and water the garden. Yeah, It may sound like a waste of time but if it's something easy to implement why not. At this point just a casual exercise in DIY design. Feel free to brainstorm.

Here's what I've come up with:

- Catch rainwater from leader/gutter system.
- Direct water to either a storage container in the house (or outside for lawn/garden watering)
- Use gravity where ever possible to transport water
- Keep light and air away as much as possible to lessen contamination and growth of unwanted organisms

So, I figure if I catch the water from the gutter and into the attic area. This will properly position a supply for "appliances" below.

To make this worthwhile a water filled centralized container of size will be extremely heavy and not conducive to sitting on roof rafters (even in load bearing areas). Instead I figure "bundling" several lengths of 4" PVC would solve the weight distribution problem and provide a relatively inexpensive container. Also getting into an attic will be easier if one assembles after components are moved up.

Other factors to consider:

- Overflow mechanism...when rain water has completely filled the storage container(s)
- Further considerations for water cleanliness
- Filter setup
- Switch over from utility water to rain water (automatic?)

Simplicity is the name of the game and inexpensive off the shelf is preferred.

[Rot 911]

My house has two cisterns from when it was built (1908) that collect rainwater via the downspouts. They each hold around 200 gallons. I have a small pump that I use to connect a hose to water the yard. Works well. A number of DIY hardware stores like Lowes, HD, etc, now sell barrels for collecting rainwater that have hose connections on them at the lower portion of the barrel. The pressure of the water in the barrel is sufficient to use the hose to water your yard, garden, etc.

[RickM]

Kurt, I have seen the barrel setups. Looks pretty easy to setup.
With your system how is water filtered? If one were to use in the house it would be beneficial to prevent solids from entering the storage system. Don't want to impede flow either.....

[Rot 911]

Because my cisterns are fairly large I keep the intake hose, with a mesh filter, about a foot off the bottom of the cistern. Water looks pretty clear coming out. I wouldn't drink it (although they did in the past, that is what a cistern was for), but it is clean enough for things like flushing toilets.

[Tim Hancock]

My house and shop/hangar gutters all feed our pond which is where we get our water from (after it passes thru an extensive filtration system).

[VINMAN]

I have a bunch of plastic 55 gal drums that my gutter downspouts run directly into. They have hose taps that I installed into the bottom of them. I use that water for watering my plants and shrubs.

[scottmandue]

I believe this is a common practice in Hawaii.

[RickM]

Interesting. Apparently used quite a bit for outside purposes.

[teenerted1]

our city and county resource Dept's. has the barrels for sale that you funnel you downspouts into they have two different taps and the ability to link multiple barrels together. use to water your garden etc.

http://www.seattlerainbarrels.com/page5.html


multiple links below

http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/PI/rainbarrels.htm

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Mmmmm....bird poop. Tasty.

[jyl]

Go to library, find "Homepower Magazine", w/in last year had article on rainwater systems like what you are asking about. Magazine geared for DIYers into alternative energy and sustainable lifestyle. Most articles about home solar, wind, and even hydro. Lots of nuts and bolts info, price lists, etc.

[cstreit]

I would consider a ground or basement level cistern/storage and then invest in a similar system to how a well works. You'd have an on-demand pressure pump in the tank, and then a small pressure bladder after that. Same basic principles. Use a coarse "whole house" filter after that to remove any particulate matter.

Biggest problem would be plumbing. I wonder how many houses have a single line feeding the cold-water sink/toilet whereas you'd have to run seperate lines. I'd investigate this before proceeding. At a minimum maybe you could use it to water your lawn?

[bigchillcar]

yeah..i like the idea of it primarily for watering the lawn/shrubs.
ryan