This would be for implementing next spring. But I've been thinking a lot recently about trying to harvest water from my downspouts and saving it in something, which then could also automatically release it into my garden.
What considerations are there for a base system? Size of storage vessel, how to integrate to the downspout (any control needed to redirect water to the regular downspout if storage happens to be full?), water is heavy, what do you put it on, how do you get water from the vessel to the garden, protect system from freezing in winter, etc
What are the 'cool features' I could add in dreamland? Use an arduino to water automatically based on weather data? Send me an email when the storage tank is low or empty?
I have about 500-600 sqft of roof that all comes down through one single 3x4 downspout that is nearly perfectly located for where I'd store the water. The water storage vessel would be 'well hidden' so neighbors shouldn't be an issue, and I don't think our municipality has an issues with us storing rain water for garden use - in fact I think they'd appreciate us buffering the storm sewers just a tad, but it's not like my storage would even make a dent when we get the heavy rain that overruns their capacity.
Basically anything goes. GO!
Well, the leader in drip irrigation tubing is Netafim. They've got some awesome products. To go this route, you'll need a pump to pull water out of your basin, as the emitters need around 35-45 psi to work properly. Don't skimp on the filter as tiny debris will clog the emitters.
If you don't want to reinvent the wheel, the Hunter Pro-C controller paired with a SolarSync sensor will handle the scheduling & running basis weather conditions. You could probably wire a normally closed float switch into the rain sensor location to kick it off if the float detects low liquid level in your reservoir.
Of course, these solutions aren't very GRM, but sometimes the developed products are worth not going through the hassle of figuring it out yourself.
I have a backyard nursery and collect rainwater to reduce running the dedicated shallow well pump that only feeds the irrigation system or buying city water that I'll also be paying a lot of other "use" taxes on based on gallons. I collect 200+ gallons each rainfall and use it over the following 2-3 days if no rain. I'm going to add another 100 gallons or so storage to help out more during our dry season in winter. Here in S FL we get a lot of thunderstorms this time of year so I can pretty much just use collected water till Oct/Nov.
I use large plastic barrels (15-55 gallon) and then carry the water to plants. I thought about using a gravity feed hose system but I'm supposed to walk a lot for health reasons to help avoid a stroke (already had heart attacks and stents etc.). So carrying the water to the plants is good exercise without a lot of weight.
Be aware you need to clean the storage containers occasionally or they end up full of nasty mold. If they have open tops you have to completely empty them regularly unless you want to start breeding mosquitoes. Also if they have open tops animals can smell the water and you'll have various types of wildlife coming to visit any time they can't easily find other places to get a drink.
I've been considering this also. So far the size of our garden doesn't really justify it, but what I have been daydreaming is using those square 275 gallon totes for collection, they are usually for sale used for around $50 each. Then making a pallet fork setup for the three point hitch on my tractor to transport them. From there I could either use gravity or a PTO pump to get the water from the tank to the plants.
We have a small garden but I use water collection with the 60 gallon container elevated and gravity feed a hose with holes poked in it. It's as simple as walking out, opening the valve and shutting it off before coming back inside
try to make sure your containers are food grade.
dropstep said:
We have a small garden but I use water collection with the 60 gallon container elevated and gravity feed a hose with holes poked in it. It's as simple as walking out, opening the valve and shutting it off before coming back inside
try to make sure your containers are food grade.
Curious why you think it should be a "food grade" container. The water that comes off the roof isn't clean at all.
preach
Reader
8/21/20 4:15 p.m.
When I lived on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico we would lose the public water frequently. Our first house had a few of those blue plastic 55gal drums at the corners of the house it provided us with plenty of non-potable (forgive boiling etc.) water for flushing toilets and even had one up higher so we had a gravity fed outdoor shower.
The second place we rented had a 1500gal filtered cistern. That was sweet!
I use a 300 gallon or so tank to harvest rain water from one of my downspouts. I’ve had it for one winter/rainy season. It’s great! Can’t remember the brand, but it has a screen on the inlet to keep out bugs/debris. It’s amazing how quickly it fills. Maybe two or three storms. When it overfills, there is a drain at the top where excess water comes out. I just fill my watering can from the spout. It doesn’t last long though, I was surprised.
I made a very simple system with downspout extensions to rout the water in. Nothing fancy. Some people make something more “engineered.”
The one I have was a gift from a neighbor and is around 800$ new. If I do another, I’ll probably use an IBC tote, preferably something food grade and not filled with something nasty. Note, I’m pretty sure you need to make them opaque to avoid algae.
I also use a gray water system for shower and washing machine water. Between the two, and mostly from gray water, I never use water from the spigot. And we have a big garden.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
You seem to be as interested in making this a slick setup vs. something quick/cheap/easy that works. So based on FooBag's comments about needing a pump for that particular irrigation system here's a thought:
Rather than a barrel or other above-ground container, could you bury something in the spot you're planning to locate it? If so, and if you can put it below the frost line, then you wouldn't have to worry about winterizing it/animals(or likely mosquitos). If you control it via an arduino like you mentioned, then you could program it not to pump below a certain temperature threshold. Or you could have a diverter/dump valve so it could tower the water level if it's nearly full & there's a chance of rain.
CyberEric said:
I use a 300 gallon or so tank to harvest rain water from one of my downspouts. I’ve had it for one winter/rainy season. It’s great! Can’t remember the brand, but it has a screen on the inlet to keep out bugs/debris. It’s amazing how quickly it fills. Maybe two or three storms. When it overfills, there is a drain at the top where excess water comes out. I just fill my watering can from the spout. It doesn’t last long though, I was surprised.
I made a very simple system with downspout extensions to rout the water in. Nothing fancy. Some people make something more “engineered.”
The one I have was a gift from a neighbor and is around 800$ new. If I do another, I’ll probably use an IBC tote, preferably something food grade and not filled with something nasty. Note, I’m pretty sure you need to make them opaque to avoid algae.
I also use a gray water system for shower and washing machine water. Between the two, and mostly from gray water, I never use water from the spigot. And we have a big garden.
If I were to do it again, I would also start with those- but I have 4 55 gal drums that I use. Cheap, easy to get. One is on it's own, the other three are part of my rain gutter grow system- where the water is put into 3" PVC, and it's soaked up to soil via net baskets into 3 or 5 gal buckets. It works really well, and I've tuned it to not leak or lose water. The pipes are kept full by small floats.
This fall, I'm converting much of my garden to a single raised bed that is still watered from underneath.
I also have played with hydroponics, and have learned KISS is the way to go. And that a degree of robustness needs to be included- the system I use dies quickly if any single part fails- as water needs to be dripped on the roots constnatly. I'm changing that also this fall.
I've also thought about doing arduino sensing and watering. And apparently I'm a crappy coder, as I could never figure out why other people's projects didn't compile for me. I'm sure you will do better than me.
Here is a quick drawing of what I did at my old house. It worked great for about three years, but then failed for reasons I'll explain in a moment.
This worked great for three years. If we had a long period of no rain, I would just open the spigot for several hours. It took a pretty serious drought to use water faster than the barrel filled. The fail I had was that the soaker hose has a limited life. They're made for residential pressure. 50 psi or so of water from a faucet will keep them flowing. Without that pressure, they still work, just much slower. The problem is, as normal rains happen, water can actually soak IN to the hose carrying dirt with it which mostly clogs the pores in the hose. I found that I had to disconnect the PVC from the spigot on the barrel and hook up my garden hose to it for a while to unclog the soaker hose. Basically blast the dirt out of it periodically.
Something like this you could automate pretty easily. Soil hygrometer, solenoid valve instead of a spigot. Maybe an SLA battery with a solar panel to keep it charged.
NOT A TA said:
dropstep said:
We have a small garden but I use water collection with the 60 gallon container elevated and gravity feed a hose with holes poked in it. It's as simple as walking out, opening the valve and shutting it off before coming back inside
try to make sure your containers are food grade.
Curious why you think it should be a "food grade" container. The water that comes off the roof isn't clean at all.
A lot of what ships in those containers and even the chemical compound of some of the containers contain toxins. I just figured I would rather be safe and it was recommended by an old farmer I know.
Look at kits like these and reverse engineer to meet your needs.
https://rainwatermanagement.com/collections/packages-designs/products/500-gallon-rainwater-kit
As said above, Filtration is key. There should be some filtration at the input and again at the output, especially if you are thinking about drip irrigation. Drip heads clog easily with small debris.
go as big as you can on the tank, a couple dry weeks can quickly drain your supply.
