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Old 04-30-09, 10:59 AM   #28
bennelson
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: SE Wisconsin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Otto View Post
Why not use a branched-drain greywater system?
They are great for new construction, but not for my situation. I would need to do a lots of retro-fit plumbing work, I already have drainage issues on my property, my house is already practically on the lot line, I would have greywater pipes crossing buries power and cable TV lines, etc.

Also, winter is a major consideration. Pipes need to be buried deep to prevent freezing, but near the surface to dissipate water.

By just reusing water inside the house, I don't have to deal with winter (It's a year-round system) I don't have to dig up my yard, and I don't have to deal with the neighbors, zoning and permitting, etc.

In Hugh Jim Bissel's drawings, the first one is more or less what I plan on doing next.

So far the system has worked well, with the exception of of toilet use driving when we do the laundry!

Also, my wife wakes up about an hour before I do. One morning I woke up to hear the greywater pump running. I asked her how long it was making that noise, and she said "I don't know...maybe an hour?"

The pump was hot to the touch. I'm lucky it didn't burn itself out. It turns out that the garden hose used as the pump inlet pipe wiggled enough loose to be still in the 30 gallon garbage can, but NOT down in the water - so the pump just ran and ran and ran and ran.....

In the long run, I would like to connect the shower drain to the greywater system, but I would need a really good filter system and overflow on it. Also, having only about 26" of vertical space in the crawlspace makes it difficult to design for filters and all the other things needed for a "pimped-out" system.

I think the next step is to upgrade to a waterbed mattress holding tank in the crawlspace (on some sort of a basic angled platform to create a low point) and design a combination filter/overflow in the laundry room.

I would like to design that with a 5-gallon bucket for size, cost, and simplicity. I would need to make sure that a filter could handle the speed/volume of water that comes out of the washing machine.

Does anyone have a suggestion for filter design? I need something that can be easily washed/replaced (preferably NOT just thrown away though) catch the lint, and NOT get clogged up too quickly.

If that doesn't work well with just a 5-gallon bucket on the counter, I could use the 30 gallon trash can, but it would be harder to design the overflow, and is big enough that I sure can't just set it on my counter!

My blackwater holding tank alarm just went off this morning. It's a 2000 gallon tank. When we first moved in the house, the tank needed emptying about every 5 weeks. When we got the front-loading washer and dryer, it went to 6 weeks. Now, using the front-loaders, and the homebrew greywater toilet system, it has been 50 days since the last holding tank pumping.

In my area, it costs $90 for a sanitation company to come pump out the 2000 gallon tank.
5 weeks = 10.4 times per year
6 weeks = 8.6
7 = 7.43

10.4 times $90 = $936
7.43 x $90 = $668.7
Annual Savings = $267.30

I paid $150 for the used washer and dryer, and about $180 for the pump, pressure tank, PEX line, and all other parts.

That's roughly a 15 month time period for a return on investment if we are purely talking money. If you also have concerns about how much water we pull out of the ground, that's just a bonus!

I figure that electric use will be nearly identical. Every watt that I saved from my well pump running is now running the greywater pump instead.

While the pump which I purchased (NEW) was not inexpensive, and at this point, a bit overkill, it does carry a warranty, and allows for expansion of the system in the future.

I have a nice brass "pump-T" on the pump which has additional plumbing connections available on it. To add an outdoor spigot to a garden hose would be a simple job.

If I eventually connected the shower waste drain to the greywater system, I would consider adding a series of "filtering plants" outside, which could be watered with the excess water. These would be "rain garden" type plants, and again, only useful in the non-freezing months of the year.
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