Rainwater catchment expirimentation pre-filters

[Lowdown3]

As we are getting ready to get a boatload of rain from the Tropical storm coming, I've been experimenting more with rain catchment.

A 120 gallon tank at our 14x12 outbuilding filled in record time yesterday. Maybe a serious 10 minute downpour filled the tank and the overflow chamber.



Note that both sides are tied together with a 4" drain pipe. I may change this to two separate tanks, one for each side of the building at some point in time.

Been experimenting with various pre-filters to cut down on the amount of residual garbage going into the storage tanks.

A lot of people like a first flush type system. I bought a commercial version of this and found it poorly made. The idea being that the first rain hitting the roof and going down the gutters has residual pollen, dust, etc. from the roof and this sort of system will divert that first water so that it does not enter the tank.

Starting the process I added some gutter guards for gross contamination. You'd be surprised how pine needles and large leaves can snake their way into things.



One of the other items I'm experimenting with comes as a simple wire mesh setup in the form of a bulb that is designed to go in the entrance of the downspout.



I decided to add another gross (lol) filter via putting a sock over the wire mesh before inserting the apparatus into the downspout.



And perusing Walmart last night while we were shopping, I noticed a small mesh metal coffee filter basket. Coffee filter? No says I! Final filter for the rain water!



I have no PLANS to drink the rain water however if that ever became necessary these things would accomplish a lot of pre-filtering before we would actually filter the water via a Katadyn TRK drip filter. Never say never, never saw always right?

A lot of water gets wasted running off of a normal size house. For the suburban "prepper" on city water that lacks a well of their own, rain water could prove an essential part of their plans.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

perfect timing for rain water collecting. I have watched this guys vids and he has a very cool way of doing it as well. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...869156CCB7313D

[Rmplstlskn]

Yes, it is surprising how quickly tanks fill up when the surface area of a roof is directed into one collection point.

I have asphalt shingle roofs, so debris in the container is indeed a big problem. Those with metal roofs are ideal. The big problem with asphalt roofs is the ALGAE and MOLD that grows in the rock media, especially in shady roof areas. It can contaminate and turn septic a barrel or tank in weeks, making the water only good for garden watering, if even that. I have had to abandon water collection from shady roof areas. The water I get from sun-baked roof areas is a much better quality and last far longer before getting super-funky. But it will flush toilets (for those with septic tanks), water the garden, and could be filtered for drinking, if it comes to that... But one would hope one would have better water storage solutions for POTABLE water, the kind you can drink.

Yes, the commercial dump before fill devices have not impressed me... I would design one if I thought the demand for such a product was out there, but as we know, few think about such things, as they think their faucets will always flow clear water...

Good ideas! Let us know how that coffee filter works and if it can keep up with the flow rate during rainfall, or does it get overwhelmed and dumps much of the water due to lack of flow capability...

Rmpl

[Lowdown3]

Tank was almost empty before this rain from the hurricane last night and today. 220 gallon tank filled to overfilling really quick.

Evidently the coffee filter strainer did not slow it down. It did catch a boatload of residual crap, mostly shingle residue.



So it seemed to work. I will add that to the other tank in operation and to any others I do.

I think this thing was just a couple bucks at Walmart.

[Bill Foster]

The coffee filter is a great idea, thanks for that. Even if one is concerned with drinking that water, it can be used to flush toilets; something we would all be grateful in the PAW. I suppose rainwater would be great for washing clothes as well. If one is going to boil or at least heat the water up for washing clothes, that would help to remove some nastys as well. As a child, I remember one of my aunts boiling water in an outdoor pot to pre-wash my uncle's and cousin's dirty jeans before taking them to the back porch for a cleaning in the old wringer washer. They had their own well, grew their own food, slaughtered their own pigs, collected eggs and processed their own chickens for dinner. They co-owned a small dairy farm for milk and meat. Fortunately, in their golden years, they sold the farm to developers and they live in a large, modern home. They earned it.