How to stop rainwater going bad?

[johnfrog]

Hi,

I'm thinking of installing a rainwater harvesting system for my home to flush toilets etc.

I'm considering an above ground tank, but I was wondering how do you stop the water from going bad in the summer when it gets warm?
Do you drop a chlorine tablet in (like the ones you use for swimming pools) or while this fill the bathroom with chlorine when I flush the loo!?

And in the winter how do you prevent freezing?

Or should I get an underground tank which stays at a steady cool temperature all year round? the only problem being that an undergound tank is much more expensive!

Does anyone have any comments on this?

Cheers,

Johnfrog

[billi]

I was thinking of an ozone air bubbler in my tank

Billi

[johnfrog]

Thanks Billi,

That's an interesting idea.... I shall do some research now!

Cheers,

Johnfrog

[dhaslam]

Because there is constant movement of water the water will stay fresh.   If there is no rain for a period in summer the tank will just empty.    A large tank of water cannot freeze to the bottom in our climate but the water pipes could freeze if there is water in them.

[Hugo]

I am just in the process of ordering a 1200 litre tank from fleebay and am bidding on a 2400 litre one.
As I live in a bungalow and my front garden is raised I'm hoping gravity will be enough to supply my toilet.
Not sure of what to do in when it freezes.
I could wrap loft insulation around and cover the with some trellis to make it look better.
I'd be interested what others say about keeping the water safe.

[rogeriko]

Here in greece it only rains in the winter and every house has a concrete water tank underneath to store water for the summer. Mine is over 100 tons of winter collected water either rain or groundwater pumped in when the wells fill up. One swimming pool tablet thrown in every couple of months keeps it crystal clear and you cant taste it or smell it at all.

[petertc]

we have a 1250L tank, that is out side,
it is against the house wall, the tank did not freeze up last year and the pipe work was ok this is 15 mm speedfit pipe with 25 mm thk foam insulation, this was then wrapped in a foil insulation and taped up.
this was then boxed in to stop the water getting to it.
i did try and go in under the foundations of the house but that was too hard so just went through the wall.

Water quality seemed OK the washing did not smell to bad  ( we are using eco balls so no perfumes) we do now add a little bit of essential oil to the washer to give a little bit of fragrance.

[johnfrog]

I was planning on putting the tank up against the house wall.
Very handy to know it is unlikely to freeze there.
Even though the house is well insulated, some heat escapes through the wall, in this case that would be useful!

I think I'll leave the water untreated (along as I get a good downpipe filter and pump filters), if I notice it going horrid I can always chuck a chlorine tablet in it.

I had a quick look at the ozone bubblers, they look good, but I'm concerned about the amount of energy they use...

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I'll post up my rainwater system when I've installed it all.... might be a while before I complete it!

[iann41]

 ( we are using eco balls so no perfumes) we do now add a little bit of essential oil to the washer to give a little bit of fragrance.

Ive not heard of this. How do you do it. I assume just add to the rinse cycle but how much? what are the best  fragrances?

[Moxi]

In the water industry they often oxygenate to remove odour, with regard to collected water from hard run off I would think that a bottom flush  to remove any sediment from the tank would be the first step to retaining good quality water - a close fitting lid and a tank that doesn't allow sunlight to penetrate will also assist in preventing algal blooms etc. 

In terms of easy ways to disinfect the water supply the use of an ultraviolet tube mounted in the discharge line works well.  The flow or number of tubes (or tube power) needs to be regulated to ensure the correct residence time for this to work but the actual net effect is in my opinion better than resorting to chlorination, ozonation or other sterilisation process which often leaves a taint in the water (again the strength of taint is dependant on your house position relative to the potable water treatment works as they treat to ensure the longest supply leg is still potable at delivery).

Moxi

[Hugo]

At last I got round to installing my 1200 ltr water tank, it looks the same as your one petertc, except mine is black.
Will show some pictures as soon as I get a new digital camera.
Mrs Hugo said she did not want any insects getting in like we had in Dartmoor once (lots of beetles in all taps) so am at first only using for car washing and the garden, it looks a good install to me, I'm well pleased.

[10sheds]

Hi, I've been flushing my loo with rainwater now for quite a few years, occasionally it would get a bit niffy and I would throw a blue loo in the tank but I recently had a conversation with an elderly lady who only had rain water for the first 17 years of her life. She told me her mother put coal and limestone in the water butts to keep them pure and they all drank this water with no ill effects. Certainly I've no smell in the water since I've tried it, but I'm happy to pay for the water I drink as mywater bills are seriously small

[peater]

Have a review of my system which was posted last year http://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/index.php/topic,4404.0.htmlHere you will see my success with an ozone generator. Only uses 12watts and used on a timer as it produces more ozone that is required. I have had no issues with bacterial growth issues in any of the 4wc's installed in the house. The outside tanks (burried under the patio, and before ya ask, yep just the tanks burried there) have input connections for 'shock' treatment is so required (chlorine etc) however havn't need to use that yet, but would only use that in the winter anyway as we have a hanging basket irragation system supplied by this water. Mrs S wasn't too happy when I forgot about this option,   it killed of most of of her precious plants! Ozone alone no issue for plant life, however if you plan to supply a fish, the water has to be 'splashed' to release the contained ozone.
Thanks Peater