Gutters?

[jbowen9]

kathyinmo you can use a window screen on top of the barrel but around here i went to the farm store and got one barrel and sometimes pepsi plants or places like that has food grade barrels

 

[kathyinmo]

Post # 958
jbowen9, thanks for the info. A window screen, of course, that makes logical sense! We have a Budweiser place here, maybe I could check with them. OOOOOooooohhhhh, I am excited about making one of these up!

Great, another project to add to my list of many! I don't have my homemade water heaters done yet!

 

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
i found a guy on Craigslist (how did we ever survive before Craigslist?) that salvages them from lots of businesses and then sells them on. i know Earthfare (organic grocery store) carries them around here, and i'm sure many other places do to.

i'm sure cheesecloth would work just fine if you aren't in an area that gets heavy rain. if you get a downpour, i would just worry that it would take too long for the water to filter through the thicker fabric and it might overflow. you can usually buy big rolls of hardware cloth for about $6, though. and yes, window screen should work fine if you have it laying around handy (hardware cloth might actually be what they use for window screens... it's all wire mesh).

there are instructions all over the internet on rain water collection systems that are more detailed than mine and might also have suggestions where to find collection tanks.

also, gray water (which is what rainwater is called in building terms) can be used to water your plants, wash your car, fill the kids swimming pool, and TONS of other things. you can even do a little bit more work and run your gray water system into the house to flush your toilet (this requires a pump, though). it saves you money, cuts down on the water that needs to be sanitized by your county, and helps your property from getting waterlogged. you will be amazed at how much water you can collect off the roof!

 

[MusicMan]

My dad worked in a plant one time, and got two 500 gallon containers for like 10 bucks a piece. They're made to like keep like Koo-laid or something in at the plants. They are white and translucent and are not very heavy at all. When we build chicken coop I plan on using one of those to collect rain water, and hopefully use it good enough that the water won't become nasty before it is used.


MusicMan

 

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
OH MY GOD!

i want one so bad!! i'm about to start building my cottage and we've just been planning to make a collection tank out of concrete, but if i found a 500 gallon container for $10, i'd probably buy 5! lucky you!

 

[MusicMan]

i'm about to start building my cottage and we've just been planning to make a collection tank out of concrete, but if i found a 500 gallon container for $10, i'd probably buy 5! lucky you!

That sounds neat. Could you give me a link to some plans or something, I am curious as to how you would keep the water in, as water will seep through just concrete.




Thanks,
MusicMan​

 

[bibliophile birds]

sorry, i don't have any links for the concrete cistern. a friend of mine who has built several before is helping me with it, so i don't know all the logistics. concrete does leak, so the tank has to be sealed (i believe we've decided to do a pourable polypropylene liner), but it's the easiest way to get a tank to your dimensions and they last the longest.

 

[CityChook]

Quote:
I am a believer in gray water and collect it for watering my flower gardens and washing my car.

Be careful and do a little homework before you consider using it for animal water, vegetable gardens, kids pools, etc. Many asphalt roofs contain asbestos and other nasty chemicals that you don't really want to ingest.

 

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
yeah, i was just going to mention this. all our roofs are aluminum or tin, so we're totally safe as long as we periodically spray wash them (couple times a year).

 

[Bantimna]

Thanks everyon it helped.