Any Body Specialise In Rain Water Harvesting ?

[LDhiman]

Hello guys.

Do any of you guys specialise in rain water harvesting ?

is it cost effective?

what, if any regular problems ?

is there a demand for these sort of systems ?

basically i have been toying with the idea of MAYBE some day building a business around them although it is nothing but a thought at the moment so please don't shoot me down too fast

 

[AWheating]

fitted some, very problematic from my experience and seems a limited market place.

most of the rwh systems that my old company fitted on new builds got turned off and re plumbed to mains after a year or two due to the number of problems and call backs the landlords got fed up with them.

 

[Ermintrude]

fitted some, very problematic from my experience and seems a limited market place.

most of the rwh systems that my old company fitted on new builds got turned off and re plumbed to mains after a year or two due to the number of problems and call backs the landlords got fed up with them.

Grey water is a brown area. It's poo! Schools ect have had the fitted but as said its a freakin disaster. Far better getting involved in storage and rainwater / retention accumulators and flow restriction / hydro blocks. With new developments on old sewers the Sw needs to be slowed down as run off time too quick and needs to be managed!

 

[basildog]

Makes me laugh it is talked about as though it is some kind of new technology ?
Many old houses saved rainwater back a couple of hundred years ago !
The systems are only as complicated as the designer makes them !
My old mate used to service water rams which I know nothing about but as I understand it they are powerless pumps that work on weight of the water and gravity ?
We do like to make things complicated these days for no good reason ?

 

[IND_Nick]

I have fitted a few and no problems at all. They are difficult to retro fit but on big refurbishments and new build no major issues. As with most things get the manufacturer to sort out the specifics and follow the MI's. On a side note all the installs I have done have been large properties that have been fully re plumbed, not sure it would work on a 3 bed semi retro fit if that makes sense.

 

[Ermintrude]

I have fitted a few and no problems at all. They are difficult to retro fit but on big refurbishments and new build no major issues. As with most things get the manufacturer to sort out the specifics and follow the MI's. On a side note all the installs I have done have been large properties that have been fully re plumbed, not sure it would work on a 3 bed semi retro fit if that makes sense.

Osma systems ok below ground but used for irrigation systems on massive greenhouses

 

[LDhiman]

Thanks for all the input. My thoughts mainly take me too being able to sell some sort of package deal. to joe bloggs. as has been said my main stumbling block is cost of retro fitting them

 

[Worcester]

Joe Bloggs isn't going to buy it, - he doesn't even bother with a downpipe diverter.
You market place is Mr and Mrs Aspirational Grand-Design

 

[lame plumber]

Makes me laugh it is talked about as though it is some kind of new technology ?
Many old houses saved rainwater back a couple of hundred years ago !
The systems are only as complicated as the designer makes them !
My old mate used to service water rams which I know nothing about but as I understand it they are powerless pumps that work on weight of the water and gravity ?
We do like to make things complicated these days for no good reason ?

we had a ram on the old mans farm in cornwall, simple but clever little device, water runs fm a spring down a hill and then it pushes it up to a holding tank at the top of the hill to run all the troughs for animals, used to fed the house as well.

Alsso I run 2 loos in the house here from tanks on a flat roof, fed from gutters, just means i flush for free and dont pay sewage rates

 

[brummieplumber]

I've fitted a few, but as Worcester said your average customer isn't interested. It's only those with a bit to spend and who enjoy telling the neighbours about their eco credentials who would get in touch!

 

[LDhiman]

I see where your coming from. still something im pretty interested in. still plenty of time to toy with the idea.

 

[Centralheatking]

Hiya we did alot with Rainwater Harvesting inthe 1990's and there are plenty of published articles about what we did under Aquarius Rainwater and Aquarius Water Eng - in self build mag, build it , building for a future etc.

Bluntly mains water is still too cheap as supplied to private homes - we ended up doing
supermarkets/nursing homes etc pm me if you want more info - quite happy to help

Centralheatking

Hello guys.

Do any of you guys specialise in rain water harvesting ?

is it cost effective?

what, if any regular problems ?

is there a demand for these sort of systems ?

basically i have been toying with the idea of MAYBE some day building a business around them although it is nothing but a thought at the moment so please don't shoot me down too fast

 

[buffy27]

in ireland we are goin to start paying for our water next year..there is a huge push on at the moment to install meter boxes...people will be interested in saving money ..and to have a standard set up to accommodate the average household for harvesting could be a clever move..!!!! i have researched this before but there seems to be a rain cloud[pardon the pun] over the idea for this type of application..???? regards buf

 

[LDhiman]

in ireland we are goin to start paying for our water next year..there is a huge push on at the moment to install meter boxes...people will be interested in saving money ..and to have a standard set up to accommodate the average household for harvesting could be a clever move..!!!! i have researched this before but there seems to be a rain cloud[pardon the pun] over the idea for this type of application..???? regards buf

i was thinking along the same lines. tbh tho im miles off actually doing anything. not even started working as a plumber yet lol

 

[LDhiman]

Hiya we did alot with Rainwater Harvesting inthe 1990's and there are plenty of published articles about what we did under Aquarius Rainwater and Aquarius Water Eng - in self build mag, build it , building for a future etc.

Bluntly mains water is still too cheap as supplied to private homes - we ended up doing
supermarkets/nursing homes etc pm me if you want more info - quite happy to help

Centralheatking

brilliant thank you. will see if i can find the articels

 

[Centralheatking]

I think we have some held electronically - so private msg me you email and I will get our
business mgr to put a package together - there is plenty to discuss CHK

brilliant thank you. will see if i can find the articels

 

[Centralheatking]

To esp the men from the free state - regarding water meters read on.

No-one has produced an effluent meter yet - so your utility will base all it charges around
clean water consumed at your water meter - NOT how much poo you discharge.

So all the mains water you can save at your meter will pay dividends as here your poo disposal is
calculated and charged as 95% of mains water consumed and charged. Use rainwater for loads of things and then flush it away and they will not charge you - Easy Centralheatking

 

[Koogatubac]

Is this very similar to spring water systems?

Surely u have filters inc a UV filter and a mains pump?

Would be interested in some knowledge on this is any1 can share a diagram on a basic layout?

 

[Worcester]

You have seperate supply systems in the house, you only use the rain water for grey water systems e.g. flush toilets, water gardens and sometimes feed washing machines.

see here: Environment Agency - Re-using and harvesting water

However, for UK homes, it is more cost effective to save water than to reuse rainwater or greywater. Doing this will save energy and reduce CO[SUB]2[/SUB] emissions, whereas greywater and rainwater systems often increase the total amount of energy and emissions.

 

[Centralheatking]

No prob Kooga - pm me CHK

Is this very similar to spring water systems?

Surely u have filters inc a UV filter and a mains pump?

Would be interested in some knowledge on this is any1 can share a diagram on a basic layout?

 

[Centralheatking]

This a confused explaination - I am an expert on this ask me CHK

You have seperate supply systems in the house, you only use the rain water for grey water systems e.g. flush toilets, water gardens and sometimes feed washing machines.

see here: Environment Agency - Re-using and harvesting water

 

[mtpipe]

Hi . Yes its a good idea but as mains is about £1.65 per 1000 litres , it seems too cheap to bother with. All the renewable energy stuff is great , providing jo customer understands it, ie the rainwater filters need regular cleaning to actually allow water to deposit where its required. Cant see Lord and Lady Muck, let alone the "handy man" doing it.
I have used those Milton Rings, 1050 mm diameter x 2 metres deep/tall , on a concrete base, black jacked the inside, biscuit lid, submersible pump via a mercury switch float in loft on 1st tank, gravity feeding to larger 100gal tank, works a treat, and our annual water bills are less than £100, that for a family of 3.

 

[Ermintrude]

Use the jointing compound between rings and get ones with out step irons. Stantonbona cheap. Wrap with 100mm concrete and she's water tight. Just make sure it's a lockable lid ..... 2.4 children can rapidly become 1.4 !

 

[cushlow]

I built my own RW system - no mains near me. Put gutters on a large corrugated iron shed (112m2 catch) with RW downpipes to a single 3600 litre black potable tank. Then boosted to the house. I put in a basic prefilter before the tank and intend installing a cartridge filter after the pump, but so far happy days, no chloride no fluoride just sweet rain. Nicest tasting water ever and no water charges! Whole system cost about £1500

 

[Worcester]

I built my own RW system - no mains near me. Put gutters on a large corrugated iron shed (112m2 catch) with RW downpipes to a single 3600 litre black potable tank. Then boosted to the house. I put in a basic prefilter before the tank and intend installing a cartridge filter after the pump, but so far happy days, no chloride no fluoride just sweet rain. Nicest tasting water ever and no water charges! Whole system cost about £1500

Works fine so long as the dead pidgeon and the dead mouse that the crow dropped on the roof and their guts have now washed down into the tank and are nicely festering don't cause a problem..

In Australia and NZ rain water capturing is common practice (my brother has it on his farm in NZ and my sister has one on her outback ranch in Australia, dead animal (small) and washed in bird poo are the biggest contaminants, so the water needs to be cleaned to potable standards before drinking.