I think the key is keeping the collection barrels out of the sunlight. It's surprising how fast things can grow when you don't. They make a home test kit for bacteria. It might be worth running one of those once a year.
I have an off grid water collection system and it’s basically using 300 ft.² of roof area and it feeds a 1000 L tank that’s protected from sunlight and I use a reverse osmosis system that uses pre-filtered water from the thousand liter tank and I like the rejection water go back to the tank so it doesn’t waste water. I have never run out of water and my water is extremely pure. It’s amazing how dirty rainwater can get from Pollen and other factors. I use 100 W solar panel and two L16 batteries to run the 12 V side of things. I also have 5 kW of pv there for lighting and cooking and running my fridge
You can easily and cheaply use a DC:DC buck converter to step down your higher voltage battery to the 12v needed by the pump. Small amount of power, cheap and efficient buck converter, probably cheaper than the 24v version of that pump just because 12v is so common everywhere. And if you ever needed to replace the pump, 12v pumps are everywhere. Also I've never seen a 48v version (but it probably exists). One note on those filter housings... They are a standard housing which is not microbiologically safe, regardless of what filter is used. They can allow bypass and they do not remain sanitary when you change the filter. It's probably fine - rainwater doesn't usually have pathogens and even the microbial stuff that grows in it is usually safe (but does bother some people) as long as you don't have mammals, etc. pooping in it. That's where the roof raises a concern... But it doesn't have to be complicated. Check out "slow sand filter" --- the "slow" is critical. This isn't the more common sand filter where you backflush to clean it, has a high flow rate, etc. This is a filter where the incoming water at the top feeds all kinds of microorganisms that help clean the water, and as the water percolates down thru a few feet of sand the particles and dead microbes get stuck. Maintenance: Depending on how much silt in your source water you might have to skim buildup off the top layer of sand more or less often, but other than that it just requires every now and then stirring up that top layer of sand - not too deep - and letting the accumulated muck flush out an overflow. The filter stays operational the entire time. After some years it might need the top layer of sand replaced or perhaps completely rebuilt if the sand gets too plugged up.
I've had in mind already of creating something like this for filtering stored water in barrels. I'm surprised you did not DIY it to begin with. I would use Nylon tubing instead of Vinyl. I appreciate the video and it confirmed the design. Does the pump have an automatic pressure shutoff? Given you're building a homestead, this system should plum into the house plumbing.
I definitely would have done a DIY system if I had the time but with the 100 things I have going on at once right now I just couldn't do enough research to feel comfortable putting together a system that would work well without making mistakes. For $300, Bob already did all of that for me so it was worth it this time to purchase someone else's expertise. But normally I would DIY for sure. I don't think it has any kind of automatic shutoff. I can ask.
The included Argonide Nanoceram filter does not filter Fluoride. At least not that I can find in their documentation anywhere. But you can use any 10" standard sized filter with this kit and it is expandable so you can add another 2 filters to the system and put any filter you want in there.
Great idea for a series.
Thanks! It isn't a subject I have done a ton of content on in the past so I am eager to learn along with everyone.
I think the key is keeping the collection barrels out of the sunlight. It's surprising how fast things can grow when you don't. They make a home test kit for bacteria. It might be worth running one of those once a year.
Agreed. I want to do some lab testing for a video at some point, too. Like a before and after test.
I have an off grid water collection system and it’s basically using 300 ft.² of roof area and it feeds a 1000 L tank that’s protected from sunlight and I use a reverse osmosis system that uses pre-filtered water from the thousand liter tank and I like the rejection water go back to the tank so it doesn’t waste water. I have never run out of water and my water is extremely pure. It’s amazing how dirty rainwater can get from Pollen and other factors.
I use 100 W solar panel and two L16 batteries to run the 12 V side of things.
I also have 5 kW of pv there for lighting and cooking and running my fridge
Very nice! I love it. I hope to have something similar but a little bigger.
Doing both here too🤙
Nice! Good luck with yours. Hopefully I can help some folks learn from my mistakes haha
THKS
Thanks, David!
You can easily and cheaply use a DC:DC buck converter to step down your higher voltage battery to the 12v needed by the pump. Small amount of power, cheap and efficient buck converter, probably cheaper than the 24v version of that pump just because 12v is so common everywhere. And if you ever needed to replace the pump, 12v pumps are everywhere. Also I've never seen a 48v version (but it probably exists).
One note on those filter housings... They are a standard housing which is not microbiologically safe, regardless of what filter is used. They can allow bypass and they do not remain sanitary when you change the filter. It's probably fine - rainwater doesn't usually have pathogens and even the microbial stuff that grows in it is usually safe (but does bother some people) as long as you don't have mammals, etc. pooping in it. That's where the roof raises a concern... But it doesn't have to be complicated.
Check out "slow sand filter" --- the "slow" is critical. This isn't the more common sand filter where you backflush to clean it, has a high flow rate, etc. This is a filter where the incoming water at the top feeds all kinds of microorganisms that help clean the water, and as the water percolates down thru a few feet of sand the particles and dead microbes get stuck. Maintenance: Depending on how much silt in your source water you might have to skim buildup off the top layer of sand more or less often, but other than that it just requires every now and then stirring up that top layer of sand - not too deep - and letting the accumulated muck flush out an overflow. The filter stays operational the entire time. After some years it might need the top layer of sand replaced or perhaps completely rebuilt if the sand gets too plugged up.
That's true. But it adds one more point of failure to the system and more cost.
Thanks for the info on the rest!
I've had in mind already of creating something like this for filtering stored water in barrels. I'm surprised you did not DIY it to begin with. I would use Nylon tubing instead of Vinyl. I appreciate the video and it confirmed the design. Does the pump have an automatic pressure shutoff? Given you're building a homestead, this system should plum into the house plumbing.
I definitely would have done a DIY system if I had the time but with the 100 things I have going on at once right now I just couldn't do enough research to feel comfortable putting together a system that would work well without making mistakes. For $300, Bob already did all of that for me so it was worth it this time to purchase someone else's expertise. But normally I would DIY for sure.
I don't think it has any kind of automatic shutoff. I can ask.
I would run a couple of gallons through before you drink! Also, does it take out fluoride?
The included Argonide Nanoceram filter does not filter Fluoride. At least not that I can find in their documentation anywhere. But you can use any 10" standard sized filter with this kit and it is expandable so you can add another 2 filters to the system and put any filter you want in there.