I am beginning the installation of a rainwater collection system to water my little garden. I already picked up a cool old galvanized 2000 gallon tank and I have some questions:

1) The tank has a few pin holes in the bottom and I'm thinking I need some sort of sealer to coat the bottom and sides inside the tank. The old (I assume original) coating is peeling off and I plan to scrub it off with a wire brush and then re-coat. My question is what to use that would be safe? The water will only be used to water the garden so, technically, it doesn't need to be potable, but it does need to be relatively safe. I can get a gallon can of rubberized roof patch stuff for about $15 but I'm concerned with the chemicals and all. The main component of this stuff appears to be asphalt... Any suggestions?

2) I'm already preparing for a fight with the HOA. The tank is 8' tall and it would be visible from the street if I put it where I want it. I think I'm supposed to submit some sort of plan to the HOA architecture committee and, if I don't hear back from them in 45 days, I can consider it approved. In my neighborhood almost every yard has something that can be seen from the street - a swing set, a storage shed, etc. Anyone have any experience dealing with HOA's on issues like this? Of course, I think what I am doing will actually look cool and furthers my "green" objectives for my house which hopefully will increase my property value. Anyway, any advice on this issue would also be appreciated.

3) I'll need to install a significant amount of gutter and it's pretty high up there (2 story house). Is this a DIY job or should I just pay a pro?

Thanks!

Rain?

What are you? Some kind of optimist?

A 2,000 gallon container will weigh about 17,000 lbs if full. I would get a professional to help you.

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What are you? Some kind of optimist?

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With the rain we've had over the last week, I would have easily filled the tank. I'm trying to get it in collection mode asap so I can store some of the spring rain.

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A 2,000 gallon container will weigh about 17,000 lbs if full. I would get a professional to help you.

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The tank is made to sit flat on the ground which is what I'm planning to do. I just need to level a spot and set it in place. My soil is caliche (under the sod) so I shouldn't have stability issues.

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I'm already preparing for a fight with the HOA. The tank is 8' tall and it would be visible from the street...almost every yard has something that can be seen from the street - a swing set, a storage shed, etc

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If they refuse you, just get a permit for a storage shed. Place they tank where you want, then put a shed over it.

I worry a little about your tank. If it has pin holes, the galvanized coating is pierced and I think you may get rust, then bigger leaks. For coating, I wonder if you can use one of the pickup bed liner coatings. Those things are darn near bulletproof.

I'd also pour a concrete pad to set it on. Don't forget to tie it down. When full, it's not going anywhere, but if it gets empty and you get a big wind....



[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 1/31/2012 5:53p).]

Yeah, there is some rust where one of the holes is - a small patch anyway. The holes and rust are all on the bottom but I figured I might as well coat the interior sides for good measure. Also figured I would coat the bottom on the outside as well to deal with and end the rust problem spots.

Something like truck bed liner would be perfect because that would have some strength to it as well. Just not sure what's in that stuff and if it would be safe to use for this.

Tremco makes an assortment of water-based waterproofing materials. As does other chemical manufacturers (I.E. BASF). But you have to get this from a supply house, like SSI. Those store reps are very knowledgeable about waterproofing. But make sure you do something to stop the rusting.

And you'll have to file with the HOA so, see what they say. If they disprove, build a shed as mentioned.

Get someone to install gutter. It's no walk in the park without proper equipment and tools.

[This message has been edited by TdoubleH (edited 1/31/2012 7:29p).]

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I would have easily filled the tank

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Yep. 1" of rain on 1K sq ft will give you 600+ gallons.

I wouldn't want to be putting the polyurethanes and liquid resins that they use in those bed liners on my edibles. Silicone is low toxicity but I'm not sure if that's a good idea either.

I agree that silicone might be the best value choice here. I'm thinking I could use 100% silicone in the tube and target my pin holes with a dab of that on the inside. Then I could coat the outside with a heavy rubber coating - something like the bed liner stuff. That would add some strength and corrosion protection on the bottom without the risk of contaminating the water. Then set the tank on a smooth concrete pad. It seems pretty low tech but it just might work. Thoughts?

I think your worry of contamination is overblown. Bedliners and such may gas off some chemicals when first applied, but I'm going to bet they will be pretty darn stable/non-toxic after curing.

Besides, you're putting it on plants. Any volatile compounds will gas off to the atmosphere. And unless you're using arsenic to coat the tank, no worries.

Heck, the zinc in the galvanizing material is probably your biggest contaminant.

Why not just line the inside with plastic sheeting like you would a pond? Not sure the demension you would need but I am sure you can get it made.

Probably 90% of the pipe used to supply potable water is lined with asphalt. It's not going to hurt anything.

Bedliner would be a great liner - especially for the interior.

Depending on where you are located, there are a couple of companies I know of that would line both the interior and exterior of the tank with some really awesome stuff for probably not much money.

Don't get all that concerned with contaminates. Unless you are using something with a high lead content, you are generally just fine. If you can find something with an NSF approval, that would be optimal, but for rainwater/irrigation, it's not a concern so long as you aren't introducing something that will transfer from the water to the plant to you (lead, mercury, other heavy metals, etc.).

I understand that for people who are collecting rainwater for consumption generally discard the first water that comes off the roof in a rain.

If you're concerned about it, you could do the same.

Here's an example of how you could do it:

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I'm already preparing for a fight with the HOA. The tank is 8' tall and it would be visible from the street if I put it where I want it

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Assuming it's behind a 6' privacy fence, couldn't you just set it a couple feet into the ground?

we have a 21,000 gallon collection tank for water. 1 inch of rain on our 4,000 roof provides 3,000 gallons of water. We have a metal roof, rain gutters, a basket filtering system to keep scorpions, leaves, bugs, etc out of the system. When the water is pumped to the house it goes through 2 carbon filters and 1 UV light.

This provides us all of our household water, and during the most intense part of the 2011 drought, when we recorded 8" of rain in 8 months, we never had less than 9,000 gallons in the tank.

Where is the valve located on the tank? You might actually need a small stand(4-6"to elevate the tank so when your water level gets lower, the gravity can help feed the remainder.

Btw, I just got an estimate for gutters. I am having the seamless gutters installed for $4.50/ft. I'm installing on 2/3 of my roof line (3400 sq.ft. single story) and the total bill was $1500. This obviously accounts for eaves and such. The guys says that you would be amazed at how much water you catch. I have 2-500 gallon and 2-250 gallon poly tanks. He said one good .75-1" rain would almost fill all of them.

ABATTBQ87 - You, sir, are my hero!

ABATTBQ87...Very impressive.

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ABATTBQ87...Very impressive.

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My wife and I were talking about this last night. Do you have a valve or switch to change over to well or county water if you need to? Also, what did your system cost if you don't mind me asking? Tank, filters, all in.

Also, how would you run a sprinkler system on a tank system like this? Would you have to install an online pump to increase water pressure?

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Do you have a valve or switch to change over to well or county water if you need to?

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No valve; this is our only water source. There is no county water out where we live.

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Also, how would you run a sprinkler system on a tank system like this? Would you have to install an online pump to increase water pressure?

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Water pressure is fine at the house. Again since this is our only water supply we don't worry about watering outside.

I would recommend to anyone moving to a lot of 3+ acres to go rainwater collection, and also capture your gray water for watering. We use about 3,000 gallons of water a month and about 75% would be considered gray water. It's a waste for it all to go to our aerobic septic system.

How do you prevent mosquito infestation?

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How do you prevent mosquito infestation?

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good question; I've never looked in the cistern to see if there are mosquito larvae swimming around; and we've never had a large volume of mosquitos, but of course we have a lot of bats flying around at night.

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How do you prevent mosquito infestation?

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As I understand it, in a lot of cisterns, the trash floats on top while you pull the water out from underneath the top.

And, of course, the UV system and filters would help a lot, too.

Thats cool Abatt...where'd you buy that system?

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Thats cool Abatt...where'd you buy that system?

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There is a guy in Wimberley who builds them.

Our tank is made out of 2x6 red cedar T&G and the inside has a 40mL NSF 61 PVC liner and chaffer.

Thanks for all the replies. ABATT - that's a very impressive system you have there.

The roof patch stuff that I was looking at this weekend is mostly made of asphalt. I was thinking that would be a "safe" material to use as asphalt is pretty stable and is made of the sludge that comes off the bottom of the fracking tower - which means that all the volatile compounds have been cooked out of it. There will be some other distillates in there used as thinners, but those will off-gas as it drys. I probably still wouldn't coat a potable water tank with that but I'm thinking it should be fine for the garden.

The valve that's on the tank is mounted on the side at the bottom and it's a regular 3/4" hose bib. I'll need to elevate the tank some in order to be able to get the last 6" or so of water out of it, but I'm not too concerned with this. The valve location does mean it would be much more difficult to set the tank in the ground a few feet to solve the visibility issue. I've had hell digging post holes much more than 18" in our soil, I can't imagine trying to dig a hole 7' in diameter 3' down.

So is $4.50 a foot a pretty good estimate for having gutters installed? That should put me around $200 for what I want done which makes it hard to justify doing it myself. I'll spend $150 in materials and renting a ladder for the weekend. Then factor in the insurance deductible for the emergency room...

So no info on the price of a system like this? I'm not anti green but it has to make at least some sense.

I don't know if they make sense economically in a city setting. If you are in ABATT's situation, they are priceless. If I lived in the country, I'd have a system like his, even if I had well water.

The OP is getting the tank free, so it's not really costing a lot. He saves a little on his water bill, and gets to feel good about conserving water. Side benefits include having a reserve supply of water in case the city water goes out.

Rainwater is also "soft" water. Lots of folks like soft water for bathing, hair washing, etc.

Here are a couple of websites that will answer some of your questions:

http://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/
RWH basics, collection & storage, calculators, etc.

http://www.cstx.gov/Index.aspx?page=2875
A list, certainly not exhaustive, of RWH suppliers.

Regarding the "water pipe lined with asphalt" comment...where in the world did you get that information? No way is drinking water pipe lined with asphalt. Concrete yes, but asphalt - no. If you're irrigating food crops with the rainwater, use food-grade materials.

[This message has been edited by egret (edited 2/2/2012 11:02a).]

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So no info on the price of a system like this? I'm not anti green but it has to make at least some sense

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to build our tank today would cost $35,000, which includes all piping and pump unit. gutters are extra.

We live on 25 acres 12 miles from San Marcos and 8 miles from Wimberley, so there is only one other option for water, and that is a well. We decided against that due to the salt water treatment and the harshness of well water. Plus some of our neighbors have wells and they had to adapt to the sulpher in the water.

We will be building in the country. County water (MUD) is available and we could also drill a well. Just light thinking on it has me leaning toward doing rainwater collection for the house and using well water for lawn irrigation. We aren't way out in the middle of nowhere and I know my wife will want a lawn of some kind.

The MUD would put a water meter in close to the county road and then I'd have to run 2" (??) pipe about 1/3 mile to the homesite. Membership in the MUD costs $1500 and then pay for water monthly. I'm sure the rainwater collection would cost more up front but not paying for water and conserving water is very appealing.

To me, the $4.50 is well worth it to have it done right and to keep me off of a ladder. I'm only 33 but the less time I spend on a ladder the better.

The overall cost of the water systems is only going up as the population of Texas increases and the water issues across the state are not showing significant improvement. I just moved from Boerne back to Lubbock where we live on 3 acres. It was scary during this past summer watching the farmers turn off their irrigation on the cotton because A) they simply could not water it enough to battle the 100 degree days and/or B) they didn't have enough water there to begin with. I know that the city of Lubbock has a flat fee of $50/month before you even turn on a faucet. They also just bought the rights to pump out of Lake Alan Henry. Eventually, they will pump it dry unless we get 100 year rain.
I guess I have a little doomsday in me but water seems to be the next necessity that you will pay an arm and leg for. Not to mention that I just don't think there is enough of it to support our growing popualtion with current methods.
Sorry for the ramble...

you can buy like a 3,000 gallon poly tank for about $800 and a pump will run about $800. Piping will vary according to size and how you want to collect the water and what you want to water. System can be set up to collect gutter run off and also have a float/fill valve. This could help if tank runs low the valve could allow city water to keep tanks from going below a certain level and keep your pump from burning up. Please insulate your pump with a dog house or pump house.

If using the system to water your yard I would recommend a system that can collect 5x what your system uses during 1 run time. That will enable you to water the lawn 5 times before it runs out. You can also add extra tanks and connect them together as you can afford to.

I personally believe these systems will be more affordable as municipalities raise their rates for water. Invest sooner rather than later.
Systems also can be installed with underground poly tanks so you don't have to look at tanks and HOA won't cause a stir.

If you like the galvanized for the look, just put a pvc liner inside of it.

Would a gas tank sealer work? It depends on the pin hols and how thin the material is. I like the liner idea though.