I haven't seen anything about this topic yet. I've been thinking of setting something up to collect and store rain water. I've seen some things on instructables where people have made some. I'm wondering if anyone here has ever done this.
One of the more interesting things I saw was someone had a marine battery hooked up to a little pump and solar charger. The first thing I thought of is if you had a decent enough filter/purifier you might be able to drink that water in an emergency.
So the first question would be: Do/Would you use a RWC for an emergency drinking water supply or for other purposes (gardening most likely)?
If you're collecting water with any of the setups I've seen before, the most likely delivery method is going to be gravity. Setting up the solar pump system may be more trouble than it's worth and a lot more expensive. And since the water will most likely be coming off of your roof into your gutters and then down into the barrel(s), how do you filter this?
I figure the first step is some kind of gutter protector (gutter guard, gutter helmet, etc...) to keep large pieces of debris and animals out of the gutter. Would really suck to have this nice RWC set up and then have a squirrel build a nest in your down spout. But even with the gutter covers you'll get bits of shingle in the gutter and then in your RWC. And on top of that, how long can the water sit in the barrels before it stagnates?
But before you even have to worry about that stuff, how do you even get the material needed to build one without spending a ton of money? In one of the instructables, the guy says he got the barrels cheap from a friend. That's great for him but I haven't seen any 50 gallon plastic barrels online for less than $50. His setup used 4 of these. That's over $200 with shipping just for barrels. The plumbing can be had for pretty cheap and you can get lumber relatively inexpensively.
Is there some way to get 50+ gallon water barrels for less than $50? $20 each would be easier to swallow. I know guys with barrels but they've had toxic chemicals in them (chlorine, oil, etc) so I definitely wouldn't be drinking water out of those, or spraying them on my lawn for that matter.
Is there an alternative to the plastic water barrels? Or maybe a better way to store the water than in a barrel?
And another consideration, if you have a basement you likely have a sump pump to keep your basement dry. Think there's a way to recycle that water instead of just pumping it out?
What do you all think? Worth the time, money and effort to make a RWC?
One of the more interesting things I saw was someone had a marine battery hooked up to a little pump and solar charger. The first thing I thought of is if you had a decent enough filter/purifier you might be able to drink that water in an emergency.
So the first question would be: Do/Would you use a RWC for an emergency drinking water supply or for other purposes (gardening most likely)?
If you're collecting water with any of the setups I've seen before, the most likely delivery method is going to be gravity. Setting up the solar pump system may be more trouble than it's worth and a lot more expensive. And since the water will most likely be coming off of your roof into your gutters and then down into the barrel(s), how do you filter this?
I figure the first step is some kind of gutter protector (gutter guard, gutter helmet, etc...) to keep large pieces of debris and animals out of the gutter. Would really suck to have this nice RWC set up and then have a squirrel build a nest in your down spout. But even with the gutter covers you'll get bits of shingle in the gutter and then in your RWC. And on top of that, how long can the water sit in the barrels before it stagnates?
But before you even have to worry about that stuff, how do you even get the material needed to build one without spending a ton of money? In one of the instructables, the guy says he got the barrels cheap from a friend. That's great for him but I haven't seen any 50 gallon plastic barrels online for less than $50. His setup used 4 of these. That's over $200 with shipping just for barrels. The plumbing can be had for pretty cheap and you can get lumber relatively inexpensively.
Is there some way to get 50+ gallon water barrels for less than $50? $20 each would be easier to swallow. I know guys with barrels but they've had toxic chemicals in them (chlorine, oil, etc) so I definitely wouldn't be drinking water out of those, or spraying them on my lawn for that matter.
Is there an alternative to the plastic water barrels? Or maybe a better way to store the water than in a barrel?
And another consideration, if you have a basement you likely have a sump pump to keep your basement dry. Think there's a way to recycle that water instead of just pumping it out?
What do you all think? Worth the time, money and effort to make a RWC?
