Rainwater collection for the Chicken McMansion (Part 7)

[SandyK]

So glad you are showing how to keep it mosquito proof. I had a rain barrel hooked up to the downspout for gardening and it always had mosquitoes.

Keep the pictures coming.

Thanks

 

[4CiTyCHicHENs]

Quote:
I plan on adding the gutters in the next few weeks. I'm going to use the PVC gutter because it is lighter and smaller than the standard aluminum gutters are.

I will find the link on my laptop for the valve I found for the rainwater and post it here later. It's pretty slick and perfect for keeping a system like this topped off.

I was thinking pvc too!!

OOOO!! Mosquitos!! I didnt even think of those!! awesome!! Thanks! The hubbys gona Love his New project!!! LOL!! : )

 

[Chieftain]

SC, the downspout will probably put the water into my yard. It never seems to get enough water, and the City charges me Sewage based on water usage.

I found the link to that water valve I was talking about, it's called the "Garden Water Saver". Here is the link to their website with ordering information.

http://www.gardenwatersaver.com/1.html

How it works

The average roof sheds 160 gallons of rainwater per hour during a moderate rain fall. The Garden Watersaver is designed to capture some of this water. Rainwater flows from the roof into the gutter downspout and gets captured in the Watersaver reservoir. When the reservoir, fills the water then takes the path of least resistance which is the units lower exit spout that leads, via a hose, to the rain barrel (container). When this barrel is full, back pressure occurs and the water then exits out of the upper exit spout into the normal drainage system. For full back pressuring to occur it requires no openings on the top of the rain barrel. The kits 7 foot hose allows the rain barrel to be moved away from the building & placed in low visibility areas. (for full back pressuring to work it requires a closed top situation)

Note: Will fill 55 gallon rain barrel in 2 to 3 hours during a moderate rainfall.

 

[catdaddy66]

I already have the barrel but am not very mechanical. That being said, I think I could follow the easy instructions and make this work. What an accomplishment!

 

[LizFM]

Paint it black. That will help it heat up in the sun, and you need to keep light from reaching the water so that algae won't grow. Translucent barrels let light in and cause algae. Not so good if you want to use it for something.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:

That would help

 

[Chieftain]

Quote:
That's an excellent idea. I'll have to look around and find a paint that will stick to the barrel though. It's not teflon, but it might as well be the way nothing seems to stick to it. Even silicon caulking won't adhere to it, and that stuff sticks to anything....

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
I just used a stock tank filled from the gutter downspout-----but I put in the cheap goldfish in the tank to eat mosquitoes and algae, works for me. (pics on my BYC page)

 

[Chieftain]

We got another break in the weather, and I got another shot of ambition, so I finished my water collection system today! It's installed and there is fresh water available in the run, 24/7.

I received my Garden Watersaver in the mail yesterday. It's a very simple device with no moving parts.

If you look closely at the picture below, you will see two pencil lines on the device. That shows the relative level of the two outlets. When the water in the watersaver reaches the first outlet, water flows out and to the collection barrel. When the water level raises to the second outlet, it overflows out to the downspout. It's just that simple. There is nothing to wear out, the barrel is vented to atmosphere through the fill tube so no vacuum forms, and there is no way for mosquitoes to access the stored water.

I attached the water saver to the downspout outlet with a single screw. The downspout itself is held in place on the watersaver body with just a piece of galvanized wire. It was fairly sturdy by itself, but the wire makes certain it won't come down.

As you can see, I am still running the coop off of an extension cord, as it has been too sloppy to even consider running permanent wire yet.

Once the device was mounted, it was a simple matter of rounding up a couple of 1/2" x 3/4"gray Schedule 80 PVC fittings to fit the barrel and hose, and some 1/2" funny pipe to hook it all up. Funny pipe is what's used in micro-sprinkler and drip irrigation systems, and is perfect for this application. I also had to carefully drill out the bung caps. They are threaded with 3/4" NPT threads and will accept standard fittings, but if you need to use those threads, you have to open the hole. I used a large drill bit and a box cutter knife, and it worked well. I teflon taped all the threads too, just to ensure there will be no leaks.

Last, it was a stop at the feed store to buy a standard self-filling water bowl and install it. I like this style because it is intended to be hung by the tubing that serves it. I just snipped a hole in the hardware cloth big enough to get the pipe through, and cut it to length to make sure the height is correct. Later I will shorten the pipe and raise it for the adult chooks.

For the newbies in the crowd, that type of waterer has a valve in it that you adjust to provide the level of water you want. As the chooks drink, the bowl gets lighter and opens the valve. As the bowl fills, it shuts the valve back off. Pretty simple, and the only maintainence on the valve is to clean it annually. The red bowl disconnects from the valve for cleaning with a very simply twist fitting. It is tailor made for a gravity feed system like this and the price is minimal. That size bowl should be good enough for many chooks to share, and I am confident that my five will find it most useful.

One more phase of the McMansion is complete. and with chooks in the run again today, they will no doubt be trying it out soon. Future additions will include a drain valve, but for now I can just disconnect the bottom port and let it drain. Pretty simple solution, and I really hope that someone here takes this plan, improves on it, and does the same thing only better!

Cheers!

 

[Chieftain]

Updating....

I made some modifications to the tubing that connects to the barrel. Once the barrel filled halfway, it stopped, and the collector started bypassing. I pulled the tube loose from the barrel and a big WHOOSH of air pressure was released. I needed a cleanout and a way to vent the barrel.

The collector is designed to channel water straight down into the barrel. Going sideways is a bit more tricky, because the water absorbs a lot of air as it travels along, and once it hits the barrel the air is released. If the horizontal hose has any water in it, that back pressure will stop the flow completely.

I added an tee under the collector that changes the direction of the hose without a big loop. I have a piece of funny pipe on the bottom of that tee as a cleanout.

At the barrel, I simply took my micro-drip hole punch tool, and poked an air vent hole in the top of the pipe, right at the barrel. It vents off that excess air pressure and lets the barrel fill. It is such a small hole that once the barrel is full, it will still divert the excess to the downspout, and will barely drip.

A little fine tuning is all this needed, and I have had the chooks on stored rainwater since I let them into the run. It works extremely well and my barrel support construct is still perfectly tight with almost 400 pounds of water sitting on it.

Onward!