Rainwater Collectors

here's the initial hook up



still needs tweeking, but it seems like it's gonna work ok. i need to put them up on some cinder blocks i think. right now one has to fill before the second one does. we haven't had enough rain to see if that will happen, but if it doesn't work well enough i can add a valve at the bottom to fill the second one that way. where both would fill together.

really didn't take much rain to get the first near full. if you're local in louisville, the water in the first tank is just from the rain sunday and overnight (3/21). i thought two of these would be overkill, but if the tank transfer works good the second one will come into play with a good rain. i may even have to hook up an overflow if the 2nd one fills. i might hook up the third one, but right now i'm thinking of letting it work on it's own on the other side of the garage.

the pvc tube on the right is my try at making a "first flush" thing. it seems to work, but i think maybe it's a little too small compared to the overall setup. i added a piece of screen just after it to catch some of what it misses, and i saw some kind of micro screen filter i may try to get. i'm not trying to come up with drinking water, but i do want it to not look like a couple of tanks of scummy water in my backyard.

another small benefit i think, the yard doesn't seem as soggy as usual, but it wasn't a real heavy rain so i need to see what happens when heavier spring rains come. still that's about 200 gallons that didn't spill out into the yard.

i couldn't truthfully tell you what was in them originally. i got them off the local craigslist and i think the seller had cleaned them out some. they had a little soapy water in them. i'm thinking (hoping anyway) once they've had enough water in them it will dilute any of the soapyness that was left in them.

edit while i'm responding: finally got enough rain for the second one the start filling. a lot of leaking from the plastic elbow on top 'cause i didn't want to glue it on. i need a rubber elbow like on the first tank. my first flush needs work too. it uses a little ball that rises up and plugs the first flush, but i can't find a good ball for it. i found a solid-ish rubber ball and i guess it's gotten waterlogged and expanded so it get's stuck in one spot.

here's the third tank. much simpler and i got the bricks under it first this time



i used a diverter i got of ebay pretty cheap, and the output is just a hose leading to my pond project to help keep it full bettween rains. that was really why i wanted the tank in the first place so i'll be setting up some splitters and valves so the other tanks can feed the pond project too, or water a garden or whatever i need it for



the back of my garage. if i do a garden i'll probaly put it bettween the tanks. it would be easy to water if needed.

being the first year i'm trying them i'm seeing things i need to change. raise the main two obviously, and i'm still not happy with the filtering of the main two tanks. i'll have to keep reading up on this and maybe make some changes come fall/winter for next spring.

Those composite blocks do not have much strength when loaded that way. The consequences of a collapse would be serious. Rotate them the way they are used in a wall, and level the ground under each first.

We have a large 1000 gallon tank in our back yard that is fed from the rain spouts. We have a crude net filter on it to keep the pine needles and leafs out. I have to clean that out pretty regularly. Inside the tank is a small sump pump that runs to a pvc pipe where I have a 3 way split. From there I have 3 raised beds where we grow food. I have drip irrigation set up on each bed. The tank has never run dry on us. Even during the hot Texas summer it always has enough to water our plants.

My sister has been looking for a rain barrel collection system, love the setup Philphine! I will forwarding this onto her