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Using recycled rainwater...

454K views 218 replies 75 participants last post by  Bazsm 
#1 · (Edited)
For well over 18 months I have been using rainwater as my sole source of car washing water. I have spoken with a few people about it over that time but recent requests made me think I should put up a little thread of my experiences...

Why?

My hose is on a water meter, and after my first year of detailing, with foams and multi bucket washes each week on 3 cars, I was scared to death by a water bill :eek: At the same time I was also already collecting rainwater for all our gardening uses, and was increasingly surprised how clean it was :rolleyes: I also suffer from having a very sunny house with my driveway in full sun most of the day during summer. Coupled with uber hard water, it gave me a nightmare in summer with terrible water spotting :(

How?

Initially I started to experiment using a watering can from my water butts for a final rinse. This worked well, so `i decided to try connecting my PW as well. One thing lead to another and I started to run out of water very quickly as soon as the rain stopped for any period of time. I decided to invest in a bigger tank :D

What I have found is that connecting tanks in 'series' (all water draining into 1 tank, overflowing into the next etc) is the key to success. The first water butt in the 'daisychain' gets pretty dirty and collects 90% of the muck that washes down my roof. The 2nd tank has water that looks pretty clean, but under close inspection has very small amounts of particulate in it sometimes, and my 3rd tank is clear water with NO particle matter in it at all :D

Initially I was paranoid and used extra fine paint filters to filter all water I took from the tank, but after a few months of using this I never once found anything in the filter, which was THE finest paint filter I could buy, so I gave up bothering any more....

So this is what my setup looks like:





All water runs into the front water butt (next to the gate) and then flows through a water butt linking kit at the top, into the next one, and then the 2nd one when full flows into the largest tank. The water butts hold 220L each and the big tank is 1600L IIRC.

Water Pressure

I was initially disappointed with the complete lack of water pressure that comes from a tank like these. I expected gravity to have some impact, but the taps fitted seem to restrict flow to a very low pressure. Add on a standard hose and you barely get a dribble from them....

If using a PW you will either need a machine that will happily draw through a hose put in the top of the water butt, or need to pump the water from the tank. I use a B&Q 'el cheapo' water butt pump like the one below, that cost £29.99 and provides a flow rate of 2200L/min, which is ample to feed even a water-hungry machine like my Kranzle...



Learnings

1. a single water butt of a typical 220L capacity wont feed a PW for very long. You'll be surprised how much water you get through...

2. they fill remarkably quickly when it rains, from even a small roof area, like the small area feeding my tanks - 1 night of rain will usually fill a tank 70% or so, depending on how heavy it falls...

3. if you use a natural gravity filter, as described above, you will get extremely clean water very easily, with minimal need for filtering if you are lucky ;) 3 tanks seem optimal but with a little effort the water from a 2nd tank is usable. Water from my 2nd water butt is certainly no dirtier than a wash bucket once you have dipped a wash mitt in it a few times from a grubby car ;) I wouldnt drink it, but its perfect for washing a car :thumb:

4. rainwater in my area leaves ZERO water spotting even in full sun :cool:

5. I have saved a lot of money in water costs from this setup, as well as being eco-friendly by massively reducing the amount of processed tap water I am using.

6. Shampoo foams MUCH better, and the suds last much longer, with the softer rainwater than tap water

7. The only tap water I now use is for diluting products and ALL washing is done with rainwater :thumb:

Let me know if anyone has any questions....:wave:
 
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#2 ·
I've not used for washing (yet) but have been using a couple of cans to rinse, I am also in a very hard water area, and again my drive is in full sun, but have found after just pouring a couple of cans over, ther is no need to dry, certainly not at this time of year, maybe in summer when I want the car to be spotless I will, but the car lives outside, and is used daily, so never stays clean for more than ady or so this time of year. I only have 2 tanks, and the 2nd is usually clean enough to use.
 
#3 ·
I use a similar setup except that I have found no need for a pump to the PW. I found that by pushing the hose from the PW direct on to the tap on the butt with no connector of any kind my Karcher PW is perfect, I saw that the typical connector was reduced inside to about 3/16" bore. My water butts are lifted aprox 12" off the ground. When we went onto a water meter roughly 4 years ago this is what I decided to do. As a retired Plumber I soon had this sussed out.
 
#5 · (Edited)
what would be the best way/cheapest way to filter the water if using 1 butt? iv been thinking about collecting the water from my garage flat roof which goes straight into my garden and keeps flooding it , i would only want to be using the rain water to rinse ,also where is the cheapest place for water butts?
thanks
 
#6 ·
what would be the best way/cheapest way to filter the water if using 1 butt? iv been thinking about collecting the water from my garage flat roof which goes straight into my garden and keeps flooding it , i would only want to be using the rain water to rinse
thanks
I used some filters like these - they should catch all particulates

I find the water in my first water butt can get a bit slimy at times though, so keep it rinsed out and all should be better. Might even be worth 2 slim water butts next to each other as i really think have a 2nd tank makes a big difference...
 
#7 ·
Finally a useful post from you mate :lol: sorry mate.....

Very interested in this since you've mentioned it, have you got a supplier for the large tank ?

Do the tanks need cleaning out ? and is it once a month or once every 6 months. Any other tips you need to tell us if we want to make a setup similar ;)
 
#8 ·
Finally a useful post from you mate :lol: sorry mate.....

Very interested in this since you've mentioned it, have you got a supplier for the large tank ?

Do the tanks need cleaning out ? and is it once a month or once every 6 months. Any other tips you need to tell us if we want to make a setup similar ;)
:p

I found my big tank far cheaper at my local indep plumbing shop in the high street, but all the DIY shops have them in various sizes. I was limited as I had such a narrow space to get it into and wanted a decent size, and there werent too many that would fit. The water butts are best had from water companies etc I think at about £20...

I have rinsed the first 2 water butts about 2 years ago and will probably do them again next week while there is plenty of rain to refill them quickly. The big one I've had 18 months and is still really clean - will be a real pig t clean out though, as its so big and the only access is the narrow access on the top. Hoping it really wont need it often ;)
 
#18 ·
Been thinking about doing th same thing but was never sure on how clean the water would be. Have you got any pics of the connections from the gutter?

I have also been toying with the idea of using used britta filters in a similar manner in the collecting butt. They filter for ages and even if it is past filter use I know they will still filter to some effect!

Just got to figure a way to create a barrier for the filter
 
#21 ·
For those eBay nutters amongst us, how about this fella?

another huuuuge butt!

He'll do three of these delivered, for £60 or £22 delivered each for 220 litres.

The barrels are recycled plastic tubs "used once to import non-toxic foodstuffs from Europe." and look just like water butts but they're brown.

Apparently the strongest cheapest butts on eBay :doublesho:doublesho

For the money I might just try one out.
 
#22 · (Edited)
What about these then :thumb:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/220ltr-WATER-...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

5 of these might give enough if all linked together and just move the pump between butt 4 and 5 ?? My pressure washer only 'needs' 330L an hour I think, so maybe the main one with the pump in needs to be at least that but maybe a 350L one would be ok.

The cheapest big one I've found is around £200+ :doublesho
 
#25 ·
they all look good - just get one best shaped and sized for your space. Would suggest 2 x small ones is better than 1 x large one, so you get the benefit of the filtering effect. Ideal for buckets etc, and if you can get one that will feed a PW then all the better :thumb:
 
#27 ·
I've never had an issue in the big tank that I use for detailing water - really couldnt say but in a dark green tank that is designed for water storage IIRC it filters out the UV that causes some of the issue, meaning it really isnt an issue if you are using it regularly
 
G
#28 ·
A very very useful post this. Sadly, setting up a water butt (even just one) wouldn't be possible where I live, for a variety of reasons, though if house layout permitted, I wouldn't think twice about setting up a system like this. You would have a much less guilty feeling about wasting water and you would also have the clear advantage of reduced/no streaking. So even if you really do not care about saving water, it would still be crazy not to do this imho!

And before anyone says I really would like collect rainwater, I have some carnivorous plants and I always run out of water midway through summer with them, and it really annoys me because once they run dry it takes them months to recover properly.

More people should do this layout permitting :)
 
#36 ·
I have not read all the thread, but this is something I wanted to look into.

I was thinking of upgrading my van to carry more weight so I could use a mat to catch and even recycle the water.

One problem I came across (or two) was the amount of fuel I would use,more emissions, higher road tax, more wear and tear on tyres, road surface, running gear etc....

Don't get me wrong, I think you have a very valid point and I take my hat off to you for all of the posts you have made to bring this to the front of peoples minds.

One thing that has annoyed me is the way that the government is banging on about "green" issues, but don't seem to want to help a small business like mine. The amount of red tape that covers any help in funding would put me out of work within a week! I can not be on the phone,fill in forms and wait around to see if they can give me the money to get set up.

Just a thought.

Maxtor.
 
#37 · (Edited)
This is a great idea and you have spurred me into action. I've already got a 220l water butt in the garden but i'm sure it needs draining, cleaning down and allowing to refill as it's been standing for a few years. (visions of car covered in algae after washing)

Then i've bought one of these bad boys:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300285083519

It's a little cheaper than the b&q price and seems to come with 2 filters already.

I'm washing 3 cars and running a dishwasher (in another unrelated activity) so any way of saving cash is a good idea. Thanks.

edit - i'm also considering one of these http://www.reuk.co.uk/Rainwater-Diverter.htm as i'm getting rainwater from a shed roof, and my house roof has a much larger surface area so will refill quicker.
 
#42 ·
#40 ·
It's a very good idea this Damon as I have said many times. This is top of my list when I save enough money to buy a house.

I should think this will also work with my plans for an RO filter with no "waste", my intention is to store any waste water for use in the garden or for rinsing, it makes me think that using rainwater as the input to the filter would be a great idea as the water should be softer it will mean the filter doesn't get spent as quickly and the waste water could quite easily be returned to the tank for rinsing/watering duties.

Some pre filtering may be necessary as to guarantee the quality of the supply to the RO filter, but this should be achievable in my view.
 
#45 · (Edited)
Hi guys

I too have a water butt, standing some 25cm off the ground. I previously used all my collected water from here, and had great results, as I live in a very high hard water area, I was always up against the clock trying to dry my car before i encountered watermarks. I now know this is never a problem using my collected rainwater.

I was wondering, as I've recently purchased a PW, and have fallen back into my old ways of running this off my outside tap, has anyone had any success of running a PW from a water butt supply?

Could I simply attach one end of my hose to the tap on my butt, and would I encounter any problems, due to low feed pressure? am I correct in thinking the pump in my Karcher does all the work, therefore no loss of pressure from my PW would be evident? my PW is a K2-950M 110 bar

Nige
 
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