Looking for a good cistern thread

Started by grover, July 23, 2013, 09:22:26 PM

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grover

I have been doing some searches here but I haven't been able to find exactly what I need.  I would like to know if anyone has documented the installation of a cistern and more importantly the proper treatment of the water for human consumption.  We can have it hauled in but I would like to stay away from that is possible.   

Squirl



grover

I have another thread going on cisterns and septics now.  This will be for water hauled in.  Most people I have talked to have discouraged trying to catch and treat rainwater off the roof.

Dave Sparks

Maybe you are talking to the wrong people or maybe your rainwater is downwind from a coal burning plant or large cow ranch.

Short of these two reasons, Why not at least give it a second thought?
You can treat it with UV, RO, chlorine, bromine, hydrogen peroxide, and others. Some do nothing but drink it and pray for more rain.

Nice aspects of rainwater are washing a car in the sun and letting it air-dry without spots.
Water appliances that seem to last forever.
glass shower walls that are easy, and I mean easy to keep clear.
Water that tastes very, very good!
Not having to pay for a well, power to run it. and money to repair it.

Bad aspects are when you have a drought, or a leak....  Good Luck!
"we go where the power lines don't"

grover

I haven't totally eliminated that possibility but I've got to worry about getting the tank in the ground first.


MountainDon

Yes, as was mentioned we have a spherical in ground poly tank; 325 gallons. We haul water from home using a 100 gal poly tank in truck or trailer. 

We would really like to use rainfall. The reason we do not is that we have a genuine winter season in the mountains where the cabin is. Above ground tanks would have a freeze problem. Underground with a capacity large enough to carry us through the dry times would cost too much. So we haul water.

But this is a part time residence. If it was our full time I would invest in the necessary volume of underground cistern storage. Probably in several units. That would beat a drilled well or hauling. A drilled well would likely be 600 feet deep and the last quote I heard about was $33 a foot. And no guarantee. I'd rather put that into cisterns and a rainwater collection system. I might even erect a special rain catchment "roof" or build another outbuilding to increase collection capacity. I think I would also look into having some above ground plastic tankage that would be for planned use between the July-Aug rains and December ???

As Dave mentioned rainwater has many advantages. I would really like to get away from the high mineral content of the in town water. Wells near us in the mountains are deep and expensive and some are also very hard. The hard water is "hard" on things that use hot water. The shower takes almost more time to clean that it takes to have a shower. The sinks get crud build up unless we take time to dry everything down all the time. Rainwater avoids all that. Not to mention needing more solar to operate a deep pump. I don't like generators.

As it is we use an RO filtration system for water we cook and drink. That would be perfect for rainwater purification too. That's at home too; same uses.


Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Squirl

I'm with Dave.  I'll assume based on your description this is for a cabin and not a full time residence.  Even still, hauling water can get expensive quickly. The average person can use 100 gallons a day. At 8.3 pounds per gallon, 100 gallons weighs 830 lbs.  That is a lot of fuel.  If you have to pay for the water, they charge per gallon which includes the time and effort to get it to you.  If you do it yourself you have to expend time and effort almost every time you use your cabin.  It can become a pita quickly.

With hauling water your usuage is probably going to be low.  With a 1 micron filter and a UV purifier you could have NSF rated potable water.  Since you are already having a cistern and metal roofing (painted not bare galvanized right?), you would need gutters and the filtration system.  It could cost as little as $400, and is highly likely to be cheaper in the long run.

http://www.amazon.com/Watts-270154-4-Inch-110-Volt-Disinfection/dp/B0018N0WT2/ref=pd_cp_hi_1

Rainwater catchment can have a negative view by some people because it is dependent upon the weather and it is limited in quantity.  In my experiance, most people don't do the research or have experiance in things.  You might be talking to the wrong people.

astidham

I have a above ground cistern 1500 gallons, a 1/2hp shallow well jet pump and a 25 gallon pressure tank hooked to my cabin.
I haul all my water.
I live about 5 miles from a water station, and have a 550 gallon tank I put on a 12' tandum trailer.
it cost me 2.50 to fill it up, and I have a gas powered transfer pump to transfer it to the cistern.
I have been hauling water for a little over a year now, and it is just part of our routine.
other than the eyesore the cistern tank is, its not that big of a deal to haul water, and it is about half the monthly cost the water district charges after my fuel cost.
"Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice"
— Henry Ford

grover

It is not a full time residence, at least not for now.  Reverse osmosis and uv filtering sound very interesting.  It will take a lot more research but I use the experiences of all of you to help.

harvesth2o looks like a good place for info.


Jimbo Ricketts

why not just bury a new concrete 1000 -2000 -5000gal septic tankand bury for a sistern . uv it then ro for drinking water, septic tanks much cheaper than those overpriced plastic 1's. just my thought .
no mam that's not the crack of my *$$ , its a plumbers pencil holder

grover

The cistern plan right now is a 1600 gallon concrete tank and the price is about $1400 placed in the hole.

Dave Sparks

#11
Do you need to line the concrete tank or will it be guaranteed leakproof? The price sounds too good with digging and burial. Out here a 2600 gallon UV stable plastic for drinking is about $900 delivered (rolled off the truck).
"we go where the power lines don't"

grover

$1400 is just for the tank and delivery.  The excavation is another bill.  It is guaranteed to be leakproof for a year I think.  That is if you meet a few requirements.  1) Level bottom  2) At least 6 inches of sand in the bottom of the hole 3) The backhoe has to be there to backfill so they can seal a seam in the tank. I guess if you backfill later it could move the top part and cause a leak.

operose

Check these out for UV filters... It is nice to have sediment filters before the UV because you want to filter everything out that might "shade" the bacteria in the water before it gets blasted w/ UV. They even have nice low power DC models that I plan to use with my offgrid PV setup.

http://www.safh2ouv.com/