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thanks to prompting from Harry Chickpea, I did the math on the amount of rainwater that can be generated by my new roof-to-be, and quickly saw that the 2 55-gallon rain barrels proposed by my contractor would be woefully inadequate. Sooooo, I'm buying a 1000 gallon concrete cistern from a local septic company, but am finding the necessary piping equipment rather on the pricey side. Any ideas on how to cut some $ here, or is there a way to just put in the cistern, run a stub pipe to the surface and wait a little bit until I can afford to put in the proper pump? TIA,
Do you mean the piping to get the water into the cistern or to pump it out?
As far as input: My 70 yr. old cistern has the gutter downspouts (with diverts) running into PVC pipes #40 IIRC (replaced old cast iron) that run into the side wall about 3/4 the way up and empty in.
The downspout diverts are not cheap. However, you do not want the first part of the rain going in the cistern, you want the roof to wash and then divert the clean rainwater into the cistern.
Not to be a smart pants here but there are many questions that you need to ask ,and understand, before you put any money into a rainwater harvesting system.
This page is mostly from the Australian view since water there is a real issue so they know how to install & use rain water very well...... how to install rain water tank - Google Search
To go on the cheap for anything one needs to replace money with a deep knowledge of what it is that want to do. So the more YOU know the less it's likely to cost you.
Last edited by Grandpa Pipes; 04-01-2010 at 03:01 PM..
thanks to prompting from Harry Chickpea, I did the math on the amount of rainwater that can be generated by my new roof-to-be, and quickly saw that the 2 55-gallon rain barrels proposed by my contractor would be woefully inadequate. Sooooo, I'm buying a 1000 gallon concrete cistern from a local septic company, but am finding the necessary piping equipment rather on the pricey side. Any ideas on how to cut some $ here, or is there a way to just put in the cistern, run a stub pipe to the surface and wait a little bit until I can afford to put in the proper pump? TIA,
Gatti
What, exactly, are you wanting to do with this rainwater? I'm probably missing something that you already wrote, but it seems to me that your intended purpose makes quite a difference.
Also, are you sure that in your area you're allowed to "harvest" rainwater? There are states that don't allow it.
Years ago I buried a 1,500 gallon poly tank on our acreage. We had a "weak" well that was less than stellar in the dry summer months. When necessary I'd haul water from town, fill the tank and just use it like a well. Plumbing it in was really not difficult at all.
hi all, and tks for the comments. I had already done some homework on this subjject, and am familiar with the sites recommended, and I own a copy of the book cited.
To clarify, I do plan to have buried cistern(s), so need the downspouts with diverters for input, and something to pump it out. Rainwater harvesting is perfectly legal and encouraged in NC, though graywater systems are not. The harvested water will only be used for drip irrigation and car washing, nit for drinking, unless there's a catastrophe. Then, I have all my water purifying supplies, but that is another topic altogether.
You know, since many people on Hawaii only have catchment systems for all water (drinking, bathing, cleaning, gp) since County water is not availale in large areas, you can try asking a general question on the Hawaii board ablout catchement and I know there are several people who have provided info in the past to these questions. Also, the state of hawaii has lots of information on may of their websites because its so common place.
You can walk into some of their home improvement stores and you can pick up a DIY catchment tank and all the fittings including the First Flush systems right off a shelf. When I was on hawaii the home didn't have county water for almost a year and a half and the company had a catchment system installed. When county water became available, I still used the catchement tank for almost 90% of the needs, the county water was only used when the tank was being cleaned.
I find whenever people are looking for answers or info on alternatve living, going to where it's considered normal and not alternative gets a whole bunch of good ideas. heck there are people on Hawaii who live off grid simply because there is no untility services available, and they live as normal as anyone else.
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