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Mar 23, 2009 15:03:14 GMT
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This one not even remotely related to cars/bikes/pc etc. We're on a water meter now, saving a fortune as water company rates must have been based on 58 occupancy all bathing twice a day! In a green moment I decided to install a rainwater toilet system on the downstairs loo, which handily has a downpipe running on the wall outside it. Step one, was refitting loo anyway so fitted a couple of valves and a non-return valve so I couldn't contaminate the header tank with dirty rainwater. Mains on top, lower one is the rainwater.  Tank position. The main garden path runs along side of house, so as much as I wanted to stick a great big 1000l IBC next to the house it would have been a pain, so made it wall mounted:  Fixed up in place and filled:  After a few test runs it works well, so clad to hide it away, and added a hinged lid:  All done and working well. In summer we have to switch back to mains but in winter the 150l in the tank does something like 22 full flushes or 40+ mini flushes so has rarely run out due to our climate. This was all done as a bit of an experiment really. If it didn't work I also fitted a hose connection on the drain leg so can just use as a high mouted rain butt for watering garden. If I keep it long term I may consider burying an IBC in the lawn and a solar pump and a couple of switches to keep it filled up. |
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Mar 23, 2009 16:50:43 GMT
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Thats cool
I watch, Its not easy being green, on BBC2. The Major from Scrapheap Challenge does this sort of thing.
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Mar 23, 2009 16:51:42 GMT
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Excellent house mod. I have committed this to memory  So it's just a manual switchover then, no clever valves in there to automatically use the mains when the tank runs out? What do you do about filtering the silt out the rainwater and how does it fill off that downpipe? |
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Mar 23, 2009 17:23:45 GMT
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Rainwater connection is via a simple dowpipe connector that comes with most water butt kitts, it very basically has a hole in the middle for the big bits to fall through, and only collects the water that tends to run down the side of the pipe. You can get far more clever filters for more cash that can get the water clean enough to wash with etc. For the purposed of flushing away last nights curry this one does fine! I made the connection to the downpipe level with almost the top of the header tank, so when the tank is full, the collector thing gets full as well and the water overflows from the connector back into the downpipe. Phase 2 may have a ball valve to fill off mains when nearly completely empty. I'm still tempted to divert the path away from the house, and have an IBC (1m3 of water or 1000l) raised up off the deck just enough to give a head to fill the toilet then I reckon it would never need filling. Could clad that as well so it just looks like a low and very square shed.  If you have one of those old terrace houses with the bathroom in a flat roofed single storey extension at the back, you could just stick a massive tank on the roof (support the weight of course!) filled by the gutters on the first floor roof and it would be simple to install. Bear in mind type of toilet, old one's can be as much as 20l so even with a 1000l tank you'd be talking 50 flushes to empty. |
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Mar 23, 2009 19:28:34 GMT
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Top work, Its great to see people doing these sorts of things
I want to do this next with my place, but its a little more difficult given the layout of my house!
Lewis
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and those big 1000litre above ground tanks can be picked up for next to nothing in the farmers trader mags look in the back ..
underground tanks are realy expensive but those ones are deffo cheap enough
when our house is finished over in ireland we wont have a mains water supply (because we are a mile from the closest mains water the other side of the peat bog so it will cost loads to get connected) but out area has a metre of rainfall a year and with our roof area we are looking at over 100 cubic metres of water 100,000 litres roughly it will be used for the washing machine and the bath showers and toilets and the kitchen sink but our drinking water will be from the spring 100yds from the front door its going to be a very green house as the heating will be taken care of in two sections there will be permenant solar powered underfloor heating even when we arent there to take the edge off (dry stone walls so no dpc) and the main heating will be run off the solid fuel range that will burn peat from the garden and logs from the sustainable woodland on he other side of the hill we are also looking to get some wind turbines but that wont be for a little while and we will have a mains electricity connection but only because we need a macerating toilet upstairs and a washing machine and dryer
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Mar 24, 2009 11:05:21 GMT
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Holy punctuation Batman ;D
Interesting read though, I like your plans. Does the spring water need purification at all or is it good to go?
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Mar 24, 2009 11:10:43 GMT
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ooh like this idea.....even if the whole "green" thing don't interest me, its nice to see some thought went into this, and covering it up with the cladding looks good too... as for messinjah's punctuation, haha fookin ha lol |
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Mar 24, 2009 11:31:32 GMT
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yeah punctuation has never been a strong suit of mine never known where its meant to go  ... its a dyslexia thing |
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Mar 24, 2009 13:04:44 GMT
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Don't think of it as a 'green' move, think of it as a 'money-saving' move, it makes far more sense!  |
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Mar 24, 2009 15:26:07 GMT
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are you gonna clad the tank and pipe with insulation?
So they don't freeze in the winter.
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Mar 24, 2009 16:40:09 GMT
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Yeah I can often get IBCs free from work if I could find away of getting them home (massive roofrack?!) so was tempted.
They didn't freeze this winter, was planning on sticking loft insulation around the tank behind the cladding but never got around to it!
Like the plans messenjah. Relatives have a place in Ireland with well in garden (good enough for everything except drinking, but once filtered is fine). From a green point of view I'd question the peat burning though, I know very common in Ireland but not viewed that highly in terms of destruction of habitat and the carbon cycle. Peat burning releases carbon that has been stored for many many years a bit like coal/oil etc - increasing the carbon in the atmosphere. Sustained wood burning is a short carbon cycle so you're just releasing what the tree has taken in the last 5 years, and assuming another is planted this is absorbed back so no net increase.
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dubwarrior2
Part of things
"Open up, its the filth"
Posts: 576
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Mar 24, 2009 21:37:09 GMT
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Very clever idea mate and very well executed. My only concern would be the wooden structure holding nearly 1/2 a ton of water over the window. That could be a nasty surprise if it ever gave way |
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filmidget
East Midlands
Mostly Lurking
Posts: 1,652
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Mar 24, 2009 22:16:26 GMT
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Half a tonne? Surely 150 litres is 150kg?
Got me looking at all this stuff, very interesting...
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'79 MG Midget 1500 - Still patiently awaiting attention
'02 Vauxhall Astra 1.8 Elegance(!) - Better than you might think
'03 Mazda MX5 - All new and shiny looking (thanks to Antony at Rust Republic)
'09 Renault Clio - Needs to go.
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Mar 24, 2009 22:29:32 GMT
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The weight issue ruled out the IBC at head level I'll give you that! Was considering basically a metal reinforced arbour arrangement that had you walk under 1 tonne of rainwater but ruled it out for time being!
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Mar 25, 2009 14:32:01 GMT
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Yeah I can often get IBCs free from work if I could find away of getting them home (massive roofrack?!) so was tempted. They didn't freeze this winter, was planning on sticking loft insulation around the tank behind the cladding but never got around to it! Like the plans messenjah. Relatives have a place in Ireland with well in garden (good enough for everything except drinking, but once filtered is fine). From a green point of view I'd question the peat burning though, I know very common in Ireland but not viewed that highly in terms of destruction of habitat and the carbon cycle. Peat burning releases carbon that has been stored for many many years a bit like coal/oil etc - increasing the carbon in the atmosphere. Sustained wood burning is a short carbon cycle so you're just releasing what the tree has taken in the last 5 years, and assuming another is planted this is absorbed back so no net increase. well burning the peat may not be very environmentally friendly then but its free and when you think about the transport costs of ettign any other fuel to the place and the emissions form that its gotta coem fairly close to being back to neutral as its just a case of digging it out the garden and letting it dry and weve used all locally sourced materials including hand cut roofing slates from the local quarry and dry stone walls have been rebuilt as far as possible with the concrete blocks coming from a local supplier and all the materials have to be taken in by us in our veg oil landy lol it cant be too bad in the grand scheme of things |
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Mar 25, 2009 22:32:59 GMT
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well done. i have very distant future plans for some eco friendly projects here, but i already am pretty frugal on energy, I only heat my bedroom, and only at night, and I use a woodburner in my lounge which only really gets lit when I have company. And since getting a dog, I cycle every day which has done wonders for my fitness apart from anything else!
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75 Range Rover 2 door 82 Range Rover 4 door
84 Range Rover 4 door 78 Datsun 120Y 2 door
78 Datsun 620 Pickup 81 Datsun Urvan E23 86 Datsun Vanette van
98 Electric Citroen Berlingo 00 Electric Peugeot Partner 02 Electric Citroen Berlingo
04 Berlingo Multispace petrol 07 Land Rover 130 15 Nissan E-NV200 15 Fiat Ducato
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Mar 26, 2009 14:54:51 GMT
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Peat burning releases carbon that has been stored for many many years a bit like coal/oil etc - increasing the carbon in the atmosphere. But the carbon was in the atmosphere in the first place, before the trees absorbed it, so you're only restoring the balance by releasing it back into the atmosphere, que non? |
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Mar 27, 2009 21:11:07 GMT
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Peat burning releases carbon that has been stored for many many years a bit like coal/oil etc - increasing the carbon in the atmosphere. But the carbon was in the atmosphere in the first place, before the trees absorbed it, so you're only restoring the balance by releasing it back into the atmosphere, que non? Yes but long long time ago, and coupled with all burning of coal, petrol etc we're managing to release thousands of years worth of captured carbon into the last 50 years of mass polution! Peat is admittedly a small part and most greenies are more worried about the habitat loss than the carbon. |
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Mar 27, 2009 22:01:02 GMT
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oooooh all this talk of carbon release makes me want to sell my freshly built 305 chevy v8 engine and buy a eco friendly green spaz mobile NOT. lol.
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... its a dyslexia thing 
