Rainwater Catchment System Project

[PrimitiveTim]

I live in a rainy place and it just seemed like something I ought to do.  I'm planning to hook it up to a drip system out to the garden, and hook a solar pump up to it for easy outdoor showers and maybe a fish cleaning station.  I learned a lot on the project; pouring concrete, anchoring a structure to a slab, structures, and here soon some plumbing.  A rough calculation suggests that it will fill up with one inch of rain so that's basically an average of 55 free refills a year, granted early summer will rain way more than the rest of the year.

  I'm posting this now in case anyone wants to give me some good ideas on what else to use it for. 

[Del the cat]

Have you got an overflow running back to the drain?
I have 3 small water collection barrels, one of 'em overflows to the garden pond and keeps that topped up.
The fish in the pond are the progeny of fish that me n my brothers caught when we were kids
Del
PS hand place to store the watering can beneath the tank.

[Chief RID]

Way to go, Tim. That is high speed.

[osage outlaw]

Nice work.  That should help out with a nice garden.  Is there anyway to avoid the dip in your pipe going from the gutter to the tank?  That might be the only thing I would change.  Make it a straight shot so it flows better during a heavy rain.  What kind of set up do you have for getting the water out of the tote?

[Del the cat]

... What kind of set up do you have for getting the water out of the tote?

He has arrows
Del

[Ranasp]

If you don't have an overflow, you'll want to put one in asap.  Those things get filled faster than you'd ever think and the excess needs somewhere to go.  I use my rain barrel for watering my garden, giving water to my chickens, and for general watery purposes like getting the chicken crap off the driveway when I let them free-range. 

[riverrat]

here in Toledo we have "water issues" , so i have a rain water set up that fills several barrels and on the main collection barrel theres a "down spout" that runs from it thats above the level of the fill hose for all the other barrels. if it fills up everything, it works like a normal gutter / downspout system at that point. i have a water "purifier" not a water "filter"  in the house. i use that water when our city water has issues. i water my garden, wash my laundry { have a pump system lol} , even have a hook up to run it to the bathtub if need be { we sometimes have very bad issues where they dont want you to even touch the water}. anyways im kind of a prepper. have to have all bases covered. i sleep much easier like that you have a nice set up. Tony

[wildman]

You need to come back up and checkout our system. At the end of this month we go off grid fully. Nice work.

[JacksonCash]

I've been looking at doing something like this since the spring. Mostly because a couple of my gutters drain too close to the house, which gives me slight basement issues. I just have no idea about piping it in to use for laundry or toilets or whatever else.
Also, living close to Flint, MI has made me think that maybe I do want some alternative source of water- even if I do need to boil and purify it.

[riverrat]

Jackson, get a big berkey with black carbon filters. they take out lead as well as just about anything else you could ever think of.its a gravity filter/purifier. just pour it in the top, out the bottom comes pure water. i dont trust our city. they keep changing whats acceptable. what would cause harm 3 years ago now is acceptable. its just a way of not having to spend the money to fix the problem. i run any and all drinking water through my berkey.even the tap water. i cant risk waiting for the fed govt or the state govt telling the city govt they need to inform the public 3 months after the problem.i use a 12 vdc pump from harbor frieght coupled to a bank of  rv batteries coupled to a number of solar panels on the garage.i even have a hand pump in case all else fails lol. i sit around thinking what if? and i make sure i have what if covered.