Piwoslaw's rain water system (underground tank)

Piwoslaw · 01-02-21, 04:38 PM

Since April '20 we finally have a new rainwater system, much more permanent than the plastic barrels we've had for the last decade

We had a concrete septic tank buried in the yard behind our house:

Its volume is 8 cubic meters (8000 liters), but usable is around 6500-7000 liters.
The gutters have a course filter to catch larger leaves, next year I plan to invest in something more, as dust and "shingle sand" from the roof still make their way into the tank.

Overflow from the tank goes to an old well.

While digging up the yard, we also had a pipe go through the basement wall. There, we installed an on-demand pump for watering the garden. Also, I've connected the pump to the toilet downstairs. The upstairs toilet will be connected when we renovate the house's plumbing this year.

Daox · 01-19-21, 03:59 PM

Wow, that is quite the project!

Why did you go with such a large capacity?

Piwoslaw · 01-21-21, 03:27 PM

Not really that large! During summer heat waves and droughts, watering the lawn can easily use more than 600 liters per day. And last summer the tank did indeed go dry, so we had to use city water for a few days before we got some rain.

But not having to use potable water for lawn and toilets for the rest of the year is a great feeling!

Elcam84 · 01-28-21, 03:33 PM

Nice. I would love to do that. Plastic direct burial tanks aren't too expensive but digging the hole is.

I ran some numbers and to water our yard once requires about 12k gallons of water. But lets just call it 10K. Now considering we get all of our rain in a few odd storms through the spring and winter and no rainfall at all in the summer we would need a massive storage tank.

So if I wanted water for only 4 months of our summer I would need to store about 320,000 gallons of water to water twice a week. That is an underestimate as much of that time you will have to water more than twice a week due to our extreme heat.

Plastic tanks have a longer lifespan than concrete ones do in a direct burial situation. And a 1500 gallon tank is basically $1500. Larger tanks seem to be priced $1 per gallon usually. So I would need 213 tanks to sustain through 4 months.

For the OP great job and no you can never have too much storage. For me where we live here in Crematoria our option for rainwater collection is to let mother earth collect it for us and store it in the ground and I pump it out as needed. The lake also helps keeps our well decent except when it's over 110*(43c) for weeks on end which does happen.

If I lived somewhere with regular rainfall then I'd be all over rain water storage.

DoctorDoctor · 01-28-21, 05:24 PM

You need a small tank (rainbarrel or half a rainbarrel. Water comes intake on one side and leaves the other. The input and output is at the top. Sand and grit will fall to the bottom. Needs to be big enough so as there is not too much turbulence. Need to have access to clean out.

Piwoslaw · 02-07-21, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoctorDoctor

You need a small tank (rainbarrel or half a rainbarrel. Water comes intake on one side and leaves the other. The input and output is at the top. Sand and grit will fall to the bottom. Needs to be big enough so as there is not too much turbulence. Need to have access to clean out.

Yes, I want to add a first flush system on the downpipes. No problem if I have to open the system once a month to clean out the sand and grit, but what worries me is winter. Especially that the standing water will freeze and break the pipe.

I've read that many users either divert (dirty) water straight to the tank, or divert all water for the season into the garden.

I guess I would go with the second option.

WillyP · 02-26-21, 06:54 PM

My local hardware store sells these foam pads that go into the gutters. They are for keeping the downspout from getting clogged. But I bet they would work great as a filter as well.

01-02-21, 04:38 PM	#1
Piwoslaw Super Moderator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 925 Thanks: 176 Thanked 97 Times in 79 Posts	Piwoslaw's rain water system (underground tank) Since April '20 we finally have a new rainwater system, much more permanent than the plastic barrels we've had for the last decade We had a concrete septic tank buried in the yard behind our house: Its volume is 8 cubic meters (8000 liters), but usable is around 6500-7000 liters. The gutters have a course filter to catch larger leaves, next year I plan to invest in something more, as dust and "shingle sand" from the roof still make their way into the tank. Overflow from the tank goes to an old well. While digging up the yard, we also had a pipe go through the basement wall. There, we installed an on-demand pump for watering the garden. Also, I've connected the pump to the toilet downstairs. The upstairs toilet will be connected when we renovate the house's plumbing this year. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.

01-19-21, 03:59 PM	#2
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,471 Thanks: 1,110 Thanked 367 Times in 298 Posts	Wow, that is quite the project! Why did you go with such a large capacity? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-21-21, 03:27 PM	#3
Piwoslaw Super Moderator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 925 Thanks: 176 Thanked 97 Times in 79 Posts	Not really that large! During summer heat waves and droughts, watering the lawn can easily use more than 600 liters per day. And last summer the tank did indeed go dry, so we had to use city water for a few days before we got some rain. But not having to use potable water for lawn and toilets for the rest of the year is a great feeling! __________________ Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.

01-28-21, 05:24 PM	#5
DoctorDoctor Lurking Renovator Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 12 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Keeping sand and other particulate matter (shingle grit) out. You need a small tank (rainbarrel or half a rainbarrel. Water comes intake on one side and leaves the other. The input and output is at the top. Sand and grit will fall to the bottom. Needs to be big enough so as there is not too much turbulence. Need to have access to clean out.

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01-28-21, 03:33 PM	#4
Elcam84 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: TX Posts: 245 Thanks: 1 Thanked 30 Times in 23 Posts	Nice. I would love to do that. Plastic direct burial tanks aren't too expensive but digging the hole is. I ran some numbers and to water our yard once requires about 12k gallons of water. But lets just call it 10K. Now considering we get all of our rain in a few odd storms through the spring and winter and no rainfall at all in the summer we would need a massive storage tank. So if I wanted water for only 4 months of our summer I would need to store about 320,000 gallons of water to water twice a week. That is an underestimate as much of that time you will have to water more than twice a week due to our extreme heat. Plastic tanks have a longer lifespan than concrete ones do in a direct burial situation. And a 1500 gallon tank is basically $1500. Larger tanks seem to be priced $1 per gallon usually. So I would need 213 tanks to sustain through 4 months. For the OP great job and no you can never have too much storage. For me where we live here in Crematoria our option for rainwater collection is to let mother earth collect it for us and store it in the ground and I pump it out as needed. The lake also helps keeps our well decent except when it's over 110*(43c) for weeks on end which does happen. If I lived somewhere with regular rainfall then I'd be all over rain water storage.

02-26-21, 06:54 PM	#7
WillyP Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jul 2020 Location: Virginia Posts: 27 Thanks: 6 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	My local hardware store sells these foam pads that go into the gutters. They are for keeping the downspout from getting clogged. But I bet they would work great as a filter as well.