My Rainwater Collection System

My prototype rainwater collection system. Two 300 gallon liquid containers purchased off Craigslist, 12 VDC pump and solar charger purchased from Northern Tools, a garden tractor battery from a defunct mower and a little PVC pipe and fittings from Home Depot. I probably have $350 into it counting the gutter system. If you already have a gutter...bonus! It takes about a 1/2" rain to fill one of the containers. I have a couple other ideas I'll be sharing with you on this site as I post them.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• rain water conservation

[jjlien52]

where did you get the solar panel

[duyuhearme]

@jjlien52 Harbor Freight



[duyuhearme]

Go back to the irrigation area in Home Depot where they have the water control valves. This particular item is used as a main housing for a sprinkler water shutoff valve. It's made by Orbit, Model 53212---$19.87. It's also in the irrigation section on the website. Hope this helps.

[MrMarkw36]

@duyuhearme what pump did you use? were can i get one

[duyuhearme]

@MrMarkw36 Northern Tool

[takaaco]

how does the bottom tank hold the weight of the top tank? full that tank has to weigh about 2500 lbs

[duyuhearme]

@takaaco The containers have a metal cage that encases it. They are made to nest on top of each other.

[gsacni]

Very good effort. Be careful though to advertise it....the NWO might not like it that u are not dependent on them for their sabotaged water !!

[jimbob4334]

You can use UniSeals to connect PVC pipes to the tanks. So for overflow you could add another pipe high up on the side of the container where the water would flow out when it was full.

[Jeffipookins]

Inspiring. Really great setup. You probably know this but you can get better flow if you replace the sill cock that has a gate valve with a ball valve version (same $).

I'm still trying to figure out why the top tank is connected via pvc to the bottom tank (where you have a leak). If you just ran the pipe from the top tank down to where the sill cock is you would see the water Unles fill the lower tank. No need to cut a hole in that lower tank. great system, thanks for sharing.

[nikkintwo]

love it! cool guy. wish you were my neighbor. do you have a video on how to put together your solar pump. cost?

[stevescam001]

I have one of those tanks and since you showed me I can stack'em I need another! You prolly figured this out by now but for everyone else, you don't need to connect them with all that pvc the way you did, all you need to do is screw a 1/2" elbow into the top tank the same way you put the hose bib in the bottom. Then put a Tee in the bottom and connect the two with a straight 1/2" tube and then add your hose bib. It'll fill from the bottom up without any prollem. Great vid! I learned a lot.

[peeinginthewind]

Great thanx I found it..... One suggestion I might make is to add a small 12v computer fan to the box to pull out any heat for longer pump life... Nice system