Another way off topic build....

[Larwyn]

Just to show that I have not been completely idle lately, I decided I might show a few of the off topic projects that I have been working on. Here's one that consisted of many different smaller projects. I think it came out okay.

My mother in law wanted to collect a little rainwater for here plants.

She already had gutters, and came up with a 550 gallon tank.

Here's what I did with that and a bunch of 4 inch pvc pipe, and paint and scrap metal and........



I needed to support the 4 inch pvc from the "first wash" tank to the main tank, so I fabricated this Armillary Globe and Arrow instead of using something more simple (and ugly) such as cable or chain.

[Mightydog]

Something like this would be a lay-awake-at-night-for-a-couple-of-weeks design. You know what you want to do, it's the exact engineering that you need to work out.

It looks nice! Swing by my house. I have a few projects like this you can work on too!

[rebapuck]

How long a rain would it take to fill up 550gals? And do you get rain?

[Larwyn]

How long a rain would it take to fill up 550gals? And do you get rain?

It filled a couple of weeks ago. We had almost a half inch of rain overnight and the tank was near full. A couple of days latter we got over 2 inches of rain. That's why the overflow pipe is the same size as the feed pipe. It reverts to a simple downspout. She needs a bigger tank!

Actually we knew the tank was under sized, but it was free and much larger than the rain barrels that are so popular here in the Texas Hill Country, all the plumbing to fill it is exactly what it would take to fill a much larger tank. There is 1000 square feet of roof feeding the tank. A 5000 gallon tank would not be out of the question in our area. The average annual rainfall here is about 32.5 inches. The rest of the roof (more than half) is still draining onto the ground. This little tank is likely just a preliminary step in the testing before a much larger system, employing most of the roof will be built. Only time will tell. At the present time water is so cheap that payoff on a system like this is many many years unless you scrounge material and do all the work yourself....

[S. Heisley]

[BILLYL]

Can you come to my house and help me build one of those????????

Thanks

Bill

[Larwyn]

Something like this would be a lay-awake-at-night-for-a-couple-of-weeks design. You know what you want to do, it's the exact engineering that you need to work out.

It looks nice! Swing by my house. I have a few projects like this you can work on too!

You are right about that. If you want to build a odorous mosquito and algae farm, all you have to do is drop a downspout into a tank. If it's just a barrel that is very close to what is done in many cases, as the barrel gets emptied often it stays relatively clean. Excluding contaminates and insects is more important on the larger tanks where the storage is more long term. That's where a bit of research pays off in the long run.

I am considering a rain barrel at my house but am thinking of applying a few of the bigger system features on a smaller scale.

[boomboomtulum]

That water is probably better than your tap water there in Kerrville isnt it?

[Larwyn]

That water is probably better than your tap water there in Kerrville isnt it?

Yes but it is recommended that it should need to pass through a particulate filter and a UV filter (and of course tested) before it would be considered safe to drink it. Once filtered the rainwater is crystal clear and has no flavor of it's own. Ice cubes made from it are perfectly clear.

[Tadlan]

Awesome! Some day I want something like this for my cabin...once I have a cabin.

[Larwyn]

Here's a related project. In fact this one may not be all that off topic if you find yourself dispensing some liquid from a 5 gallon bucket in the course of building your TD.

When it came time to paint the rainwater harvesting system, the primer which makes the paint stick to the plastic was purchased in a 5 gallon bucket. I am not a painter and was a bit curious as to how I was going to dispense the paint into a smaller container for use without wasting half the bucket of primer.

About that time someone on one of the welding groups posted a picture of his version of a "bucket tipper" for just that purpose. I did not know that such a thing existed, but it looked like a good idea to me. The tipper allows you to pour paint from a 5 gallon bucket with one hand, and very easily. The one I built is not as fancy as his, it is based more closely on those which are available commercially. It worked well and never spilled a drop after I went back to the store to get the pouring spout to fit the paint bucket.

I also welded up a little stand to hold my 1/2" Milwaukee Magnum Hole Shooter with a paint mixing attachment on it. I built that one tall enough to work with a 5 gallon bucket while still in the bucket tipper. It too proved to be a worthwhile project and I even used it when mixing the paint in a 1 gallon pail. Also the drill adapter that I made simply bolts to the short bit of receiver tube that allow for height adjustment. That means I can build adapters for other tools if such a need arises, or even a holder for a bottle of Guinness....

The bucket tipper;

The mixer stand;

[glassgrasshopper]

You have to watch what in the air . It will wash in to your water.

[kerryd]

Larwyn , are sure that's not a still ? K

[zipz71]

It's not Guinness, but it does have it's own stand



Texas mickey bottle