I'm a mechanical engineer in the pump industry, and you have done a very nice job. I might increase your storage a bit, but overall very well done sir!
Dude, that's a seriously impressive set-up. Nothing but respect. If and when society falls apart, these are the kind of things that will be life changing. I also loved what you did with your solar system.
I'm 17 and I'm very interested in sustainability and how to live in a way that's eco-friendly and off grid. I found this video really helpful in learning about rainwater collection, so thanks! :)
I envy your youth... live life to it's fullest because it all passes by so quickly. My advice to you is to do the things that you want to do as soon as they are possible. Don't wait, don't put off and don't get caught up in the dead end of drugs and tobacco.
@@livinglightly3382 Hallo Living, Could you please tell me the details of different filters you have used. Or just leave me a Amazon link which allows me to click and buy. I have a rainwater tank and my water is extremely dirty. It's not healthy water.
@@hosseinelhosseinel3445, hello, here is an inexpensive way to filter your rain water. I highly recommend adding minerals for drinking & cooking. You can find mineral drops on Amazon. No toxic, table salt, only sea salt or pink Himalayan Crystal salt! This video uses 5 gallon buckets, mine, for the kitchen, is made with 2 stainless steel stock pots (easier to keep clean & looks better but doesn't hold as much water so I have the bucket system, too, as back-up. th-cam.com/video/Rh4141e0jos/w-d-xo.html And here is the best filter, even removes fluoride which the Berkey filters "claim" (Mike Adam's did a complete video on all of them). And you can clean these instead of replacing so often! www.amazon.com/Doulton-W9120562-Sterasyl-Ceramic-Filter/dp/B00C0YPK4K I wish you clean water! I'd love to know if this helps you. But, more important, share these links for directions & filters with others 💞 #WWG1WGAworldwide🤜🤛
I use my concrete driveway to collect rainwater and gravity feed it to my 1,500 gallon gray water tank system for our vegtable & herb gardens. The rainwater from my house and garage are gravity fed to our 2 acre fruit and nut tree orchards. We use a solar powered well pump to fill and filter a 5,000 gallon vertical tank that gravity feeds our house, vegtable garden and tree orchards. We use moisture sensors to control our drip irrigation system that covers our entire site.
Great job on your drinking and heating system. I love that you kept the cost low vs. visual appeal. Most of us haven't the money to do anything more than you have done. It's your overview that gives us some hope that we could implement your ideas. Thanks so much! Liked and subscribed.
I really like the “shallow well” design with dual plumbing that has no cross connections to municipal water. That approach really keeps a lot of code restrictions at bay. WELL DONE!
Fantastic. I'm looking for land to go sorta off grid and water is top on my list, so thank you for making and sharing your video(s). You have a new subscriber fan.
Wao!!! That is an amazing system you built!! Thanks for sharing with us. I just finished our small 110 gallon system and now am looking into filtering the water. Thanks .
You have worked your tail off and done a great job. I have been drinking rain water for years and I am eighty two years old. Medically pure water is not good for you. No matter what you do , It can be done better . My system is about ready for a big change.
Theodore Montgomery I'm sorry, did you say that medically pure water is not good for you? Can you produce evidence for that claim? I struggle to understand how pure H2O is somehow bad for your body.
Not commenting on the health of either, but from a taste standpoint, the medically pure normally means flavorless. As for most tap water in municipalities, my personal taste buds are ready to shut down the moment that "swimming pool" water hits them. Don't even talk about the taste of tea and coffee from tap water! No Thanks.
He may be alluding to problems with drinking distilled water because the essential trace minerals are removed during the process. Our bodies need those trace mineral. There are drops you can buy to add back the essential trace minerals. Also, the pH for distilled water is different from what is optimal for our bodies. I believe there are similar problems with reverse osmosis water removing beneficial minerals. The pH may also be an issue, but not as much as distilled. I'm still in the process of trying to research and figure out what is what.
Distilled water IMO, is till better than Tap water. So if it's True? Distilled water takes out the trace minerals? Then, put it back in! via Himalayan salt or other mineral supplements back into the water. The key is having your own distiller so you know you are definitely drinking distilled water. Not to depend on a label someone has printed and slapped on a plastic (BPA?) bottle. My 2cents worth.
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or actually being obstructionist, but when people say 'wasted water' they aren't talking about actually wasting water as a resource as if it is lost to the ether never to be recovered. Water is RARELY potable for humans in nature. 99% of water on the earth is either turbid, or saline (brackish and sea water). And it requires a great amount of energy to ensure it is free of pathogens which are detrimental to physical health. "Wasted water" is shorthand for the energy and human effort required in purifying water either through chemical or mechanical means so it is safe for consumption, only to use it for grey or black applications. When Katrina came through I was lucky. My house was without damage and we were only left without running water for 4 days ( electricity for 21 days and phones for well over a month), but I realized that had the storm been worse, east or west a few miles, or had something else happened to distract or interrupt the National Guard, then me, my dad, and my brother all very well could have died of dehydration.
These are lies, When I was homeless in Washington state, I carried around a jug and would collect rainwater that would come flowing down the side of mountains...never got diarrhea, never got sick. No effort needed, just what God provided.
You could of used ¾pvc and fill that sun box with alot more lengths than that minor zig zag . But really amazing job and a good job of showing the difficulty in collecting and heating of rain water. In your head it sounds like a good idea but in reality it would occupy a shit ton of space and plumbing and work . Thank you for taking the time to make this video of your project and bringing the reality of these many things together into one functional unit
it may be a good idea to install an infrared step to this system... to prevent any sort of bacteria that may collect in any of your storage tanks... thanks for putting this system out there for all to admire....good job
tyler graupe I think you mean Ultra violet? Infrared is heat, it doesn't really have any sterilising effects unless you're heating to over 60 Celsius, impractical and energy hungry.
Peep Mumm, ... you do realize that killing “all” bacteria, is worse for your human frame, than to be subjected to all other bacteria, ...right? Your immune system would be so weakened by not having any bacteria, ... (not to mention that in addition to needing certain kinds of bacteria to digest your food), ... you would die from the lack of “good” bacteria, necessary for your eyes, nose, & ears, ...
You did fantastic work on the system, gave me great ideas...your decorating skills in the shower...I won't comment, to each his own. Just kidding, many thanks for the great info and video.
I like a lot of what you have done to get started. The wife wouldn't go along with a lot of the Aesthetics. Perhaps a temperature regulating control to feed the cool and hot water to right body temperatures in that shower. A button to switch on and off via relay or contact valves? Drainage, need to have disconnects along with those excellent shut off valves (nice quality), mounting the valves so they don't put undue pressure on the pipes. Definitely sediment filter before the pumps.
On the inside of your pipe that’s calcium carbonate. It’s there so things like flint don’t happen. The water in flint had no calcium in it to cause calcium carbonate and they water was very slightly acidic and it ate up their old lead pipes.
So glad I just discovered your channel! Had a look at the channel page and your videos seem like they will be very interesting, looking forward to watching more soon. Cheers, keep up the good work.
Love the "my thoughts" part, along with the drinking water out of the crusty pipe like it's a straw at the very beginning. The "why I did this and went my own way" part. That's what makes sense out of a lot of stuff. I'm in an RV in the city, Norfolk VA to be precise, running two barrels off my roof, one overflowing into the second, using a dishwasher pump for basic water needs. The second barrel has a 12V bilge pump to back feed refill the primary barrel, only becuse it's an in tank pump rather than an external pump, as well as the overflow. I backfeed through the same feed line. All my primary lines aree swimming pool parts, some 1.5 inches, so there is room to backfeed the bilge pump back through the feed line. Basic filtration is gutter guard and a homemade sand/ gravel filter, gravity fed, in a laundry detergent bucket. That's my only filtration right now, but I still have city water. I also have an actual first flush system on my rear mounted gutter, because it's so easy to do. It's only a diversion to a 3 inch pipe and a few parts. Still, the pollen gets through.... I still drink it. And I have a drinking water filter too.
I think you are brilliant and I wish my brain worked better like yours. I'm glad you posted this video, I learned a lot, thank you and God's blessings to you and your family ♥
You have taken on a big task, keep going you will make it. Cost is a major problem so do a little each month. Some areas need insulating (Hot pipes exposed to the outside and your hear duct) You could see a 20 to 60% increase with the insulation.
thank you I like standing in the rain .so having a warm shower and drinking water suits me fine with all the filters its good drinking water .love your water tower I'm hoping to run my hot water from my log burner keep up the good work
Only just found this awesome video today. In the UK we have rather a lot of rain so I was really interested to see your set up. I think rain water is perfectly safe to drink, we did it for tens of thousands of years before civilisation, we're just not used to it these days. The water companies get their water from rain, water table, wells, reservoirs and who knows what sort of filters they use. In the UK one of our major water suppliers pumps raw effluent into our beach waters and just pays a fine each year rather than sort the problem out, so there's a bit of a trust issue there anyway.
If you are concerned about the heated water causing high pressure, you might consider using an expansion tank. They are standard on older buildings that use hot water radiators or coils in ductwork to heat the building. They are also used on chilled water systems.
A lot of great ideas! I loved what you did with the system! Good job! I am looking to do something similar. I live in an Urban environment though, but I would like to create a similar system to reduce water cost, and what you mentioned about the fact that we really don't know exactly where our water has been through is definitely worrisome! Thank you for sharing!
Great vid..I travel a lot in an RV and I'm currently in the process of harnising rain water from my roof just trying to find the best filter system that I can clean myself without buying them every month . Thanks for info.
That is a nice system you have to get that system setup and it looks great and I would love to have a system setup like that and I just viewed a video where this one couple in West Virginia have built their own home and just built a building to pump in water from a well, electricity from solar panels, and put in their own sewage system also. Their system looks great and you have the right idea also and can save money in the long run on your water bill with that setup.
R.O. units drain 2/3 of the water going through them to waste. Not all that good for rain collection. Unless you can recover and re-use that waste also. It's just the way they work.
** GREAT POINT.. i was wondering about the toxins that the rain water catches on its way down.. but we are breathing toxins as it is.. thank u so much for your video.. such a good thing.. =)
Just as a suggestion, you may QC the drinking water twice a month/ or once . and keeping track of the time/ schedule pf each filter used. with this you may have an idea if any pathogens are present in the water , you never know a contamination occurs along the process ( i doubt any E. coli will be present!!).
pretty it up and you could sell systems like this for some bucks. Its genius for people wanting excellent water quality, water conservation or for prepping. Well done!
So that stuff inside your copper pipe you dug up is mineral deposits- its not harmful its just unsightly. It actually protects the water and the copper pipe. But over time the pipe does erode away, though.
Yeah, pretty much. I learned about it when a local church/resort replaced all their pipes & the local news did coverage on it. They looked exactly the same. You can imagine anything out of reach & unable to be cleaned eventually looks that gross.
@@anasmrright Those are usually galvanized pipe and what you are seeing is not rust, just like said above all pipe will over time collect mineral deposits. Out of high school I worked for the water department and changed out water meters. They all looked like that and some even had moss type growth. Alll of which is safe. The chlorine/fluorine and possible lead is what you should be worried about.
@@anasmrright Copper most certainly does oxide (the technical term of rust) When it turns that greenish color, that is it oxidizing or rusting. Point of reference, the statue of liberty which is copper but oxidizes to green now.
i'm no master of statistics, but.... i bet driving in the car endangers your well being more than consuming rain water (especially filtered/treated) nice video and thank you!
A friend of mine configured a solar water heater for his home in AZ. He did some testing & found that he got hotter water when needed by painting the pipes black as well. He also added some pressure valves external to his home so that if things got too hot & pressured, they could release such.
This was really inspiring. Two questions, (both possibly stupid) 1 - Could you increase the pressure on the pressure tank so that it comes out of that interior spigot a little faster? 2 - Why not just use a standard hot water tank to heat up your shower water?
Woow!! Buddy I'm giving u the nickname Rain Man lol I'm willing to bet your water bill from the city is drastically low! Great video keep up the good work
people call me rainman for other reasons but thanks. I added a 35 gallon bucket full of lava rocks as a prefilter and mineral additive also solar powered air pumps like in aquariums to airate the water.
Very nice work, just make sure your filters insert minerals in the water witch is essential for hydrating, as rainwater has no minerals at all just like distilled water
I will follow it channel broh becoz it's my birthday July 2 so it's memorable day for I am a new subscriber on it channel so I really admired ur video's thanks a lot for ur good idea I wish I can do the same thing in my future house soon merci
On your solar water heater tank… regarding your over pressurization concern and your overflow piping: Place a pressure relief valve on the tank where your overflow pipe is attached?
You could place a float valve in your drinking water pot. They use for aquaponics I use for toping of my fish tank.... cool job, wish my wife was more unconventional like me so I could be more self-sufficient too. Regarding your shower heater I've herd PVC is plenty sufficient for use as a coil painted black... (always paint PVC exposed to the sun to protect from UV).
Might not be a good idea to have your ultimate overflow failsafe be a float pump. Yes the float switch is a great device, but the pump is electric and when you have a lot of rain sometimes the power goes out. I dont really know what else you could do since your whole system is in the basement. Maybe raise up all the barrels so the last overflow is still above or slightly below grade and you can route it outside to a fruit tree or something.
Fantastic system my own nitty mind wondered if there would be a step up from plastic barrels and if we ingested micro plastics through having water stored in
I'm living in Thailand. Have been looking for filtering systems and was planning to make one. But the ones they sell here seem to me so good, that I can't do it better myself. Our house doesn't have anything to catch rain, but that is the next step and I want to collect rainwater that will be pre-filtered and has to run through my filtering system before I drink it. Maybe it is overkill, but I'ld rather be safe then sorry. Have been drinking bottled water so far, so that should not make any difference, except that I won't have to throw away such an amount of plastic. The oceans are full of our waste.
Hey Sjaak, I live in Lop Buri Province, and have been storing rainwater off of my roof for a while. I built it all myself, but I only use it for showering, toilets, etc. I still go to the reverse osmosis stands to fill-up my drinking water. Anyway, could you tell me which systems you are speaking about? I have seen a few different ones, but curious to know which ones you like and why. Thanks.
First time on your channel @Living LIghtly and LOVE this video! You did a great job showing your system and talking about the tests. We're looking for a water option for our Skoolie build and got some great ideas from your video. Keep it up! Just followed you :) - Brian + Erin Currently converting an old school bus into a tiny home on wheels
I have two 23650 litre rainwater tanks. Sometimes there full depending on the rainfall, one is by the house and the other is next to the machinery shed. other times I have to fill them with bore water ( which is drinkable). They go through a pump to feed the house and house paddock. The water then goes through a filter pack. Hot water is solar.
Just an idea I never see anyone do for the outside barrel: cut a hole in the tank support wood and put a valve in the center of the bottom of the barrel for a hose hook up. It would allow you to drain out any crud collecting in the bottom of the barrel without emptying the entire thing, and you could still use that water for a garden or washing off the porch or something.
excellent! I also capture rain from hill, store plastic tank, demand pump through a polyester then carbon filter then uv filter then into the Berkey..................water is sweet..] the city water through the berkey taste like crap to we turned off the city water and saved 60 bux a month since 2000 or nearly 14k......................that is a much better deal.
What you're doing to filter and treat the rainwater is more than enough to make it as safe if not more safe than municipal water. If you wanted to go one step further you could theoretically put a UV-C light into the storage barrels, but what you are doing with filtration will take care of all bacteria, protozoa, and most likely viruses as well (at least for your drinking setup).
nice Dave... I get exactly where your at with this video and also understand just what it is that you are holding onto... preservation has a first name, here its Dave... really good video my friend... gives Us food for thought... "R" (into tomorrow)
I have so many questions…just a few to get started about how much money was your entire set up, how much time did it take you, and did you hire a company for any part of the set up? If so what company?
What kind of filter did you use and where can I buy it. I wish you showed on your vedio how you install the filter and how you connected all together. Your vedio is very helpful economical and I think more safer water to drink rancher drinking water from the pipe with all rust on it. Thank you!
Very clever, it would be wise to install something like a UV filter to kill any potential bacteria. (The carbon filter would not pick it up) Also, curious what's the PH level of the rain water?
I live in London UK, and my elderly cat who was taken by a fox, now lives indoors, but goes outside in the daytime to drink rainwater collected in pots in front of the neighbour's house. She cries to go out at night, and drink it, even though I filter all of our drinking water from the tap. It must be due to chemical additives added by the water company.
I'm just now thinking of harvesting my own water so I know next to nothing about it all. Here's my question... Filtering? Yes, we want to filter the water especially of we're going to drink it. But how much filtering is too much? I came across a blurb somewhere that said if the water is filtered to the point of demineralizing it that that could make for an unhealthy situation. Thanks in advance.
i hope that you know that you put galvanized pipe between the filters. have you used a t. d .s meter (total dissolved solids) have a couple more questions but nice job
Off topic really. I did notice your solar panels and their mounting brackets. That tiny shadow thrown by the upright on the leg will cost you dearly. (shown at 1:46 to 2:07) That particular panel will become useless even with that tiny shadow. If the panels are connected in series to for instance an MPPT controller the whole string will produce very little current ... just because of that shadow. Please take a saw and cut off the leg that protrudes above the panel ... As for collecting your own water a BIG 100% and keep up the blog, thanks for sharing.
Peter from Australia, saw a documentary on flint , lead in the water , I have done what you have , 30 thousand litres of rain water, ruining through 4 filters , use it for toilet , washing machine ,shower , just a comment to maybe help your hot water I noticed you took off all the insulation from your tank , that would now lose an enormous amount of heat , even though you have painted it black , I have two hot water tank with solar , temperature gets to 68 c , I would be putting some sort of insulation back onto your tank .
Can you hook up a reverse osmosis system to your water? We have radium in our water here in Monument Colorado and the only thing that really is best to get it out that actually works is reverse osmosis. I read up on Berkey & Berkey doesn't eliminate radium.
Wondering if you can comment on using the Berkey post filtration through the DuPonts. Do you not think the DuPont filters would have done a good enough job filtering it to make it drinkable? What is the Berkey doing that they didn't? Thanks
It is a little overkill but everyone has their own comfort level with safety. Its more for peace of mind than anything. I think Dupont filters work great. Some people use UV light I think that is overkill but if it makes them feel better, cool. My thinking is, I dont UV my food, why worry about UV-ing my water. Erring on the side of safety is good.
@@livinglightly3382 Thanks for the reply. After some research I imagine the berkey has a finer micron filtration than is available in the DuPont filters. I think we'll be going with a Rainfresh Drinking Water System 2 which is comparable to the berkey specs, but is an under the counter system like the DuPonts. Appreciate the reply. Cheers
Can I get a fiberglass to put my barrels in it to make it water proof for tamper or can you make it directly into barrels into a utility room built in a container home
I'm a mechanical engineer in the pump industry, and you have done a very nice job. I might increase your storage a bit, but overall very well done sir!
Yup. Very PRACTICAL approach. No B.S. and direct hands on maintenance made simple
I like the system, but I'll definitely need more storage since the area I live sometimes doesn't rain for 2-3 months in the summer.
Dude, that's a seriously impressive set-up. Nothing but respect. If and when society falls apart, these are the kind of things that will be life changing. I also loved what you did with your solar system.
Life Saving!
I'm 17 and I'm very interested in sustainability and how to live in a way that's eco-friendly and off grid. I found this video really helpful in learning about rainwater collection, so thanks! :)
Awesome, learn all the earth skills you can. I am willing to bet you will need them one day.
I envy your youth... live life to it's fullest because it all passes by so quickly. My advice to you is to do the things that you want to do as soon as they are possible. Don't wait, don't put off and don't get caught up in the dead end of drugs and tobacco.
@@livinglightly3382 Hallo Living,
Could you please tell me the details of different filters you have used. Or just leave me a Amazon link which allows me to click and buy.
I have a rainwater tank and my water is extremely dirty. It's not healthy water.
@@hosseinelhosseinel3445, hello, here is an inexpensive way to filter your rain water. I highly recommend adding minerals for drinking & cooking. You can find mineral drops on Amazon.
No toxic, table salt, only sea salt or pink Himalayan Crystal salt!
This video uses 5 gallon buckets, mine, for the kitchen, is made with 2 stainless steel stock pots (easier to keep clean & looks better but doesn't hold as much water so I have the bucket system, too, as back-up.
th-cam.com/video/Rh4141e0jos/w-d-xo.html
And here is the best filter, even removes fluoride which the Berkey filters "claim" (Mike Adam's did a complete video on all of them).
And you can clean these instead of replacing so often! www.amazon.com/Doulton-W9120562-Sterasyl-Ceramic-Filter/dp/B00C0YPK4K
I wish you clean water! I'd love to know if this helps you. But, more important, share these links for directions & filters with others 💞
#WWG1WGAworldwide🤜🤛
good for you! Clean living is good living
I use my concrete driveway to collect rainwater and gravity feed it to my 1,500 gallon gray water tank system for our vegtable & herb gardens. The rainwater from my house and garage are gravity fed to our 2 acre fruit and nut tree orchards. We use a solar powered well pump to fill and filter a 5,000 gallon vertical tank that gravity feeds our house, vegtable garden and tree orchards. We use moisture sensors to control our drip irrigation system that covers our entire site.
Great job on your drinking and heating system. I love that you kept the cost low vs. visual appeal. Most of us haven't the money to do anything more than you have done. It's your overview that gives us some hope that we could implement your ideas. Thanks so much! Liked and subscribed.
I really like the “shallow well” design with dual plumbing that has no cross connections to municipal water. That approach really keeps a lot of code restrictions at bay. WELL DONE!
The rust is just decorative. Love it man! You're define "engineer"
Fantastic. I'm looking for land to go sorta off grid and water is top on my list, so thank you for making and sharing your video(s). You have a new subscriber fan.
Wao!!! That is an amazing system you built!! Thanks for sharing with us. I just finished our small 110 gallon system and now am looking into filtering the water. Thanks .
Love your system. You should put a ebook together with all the systems and instruction and sell it. I bet it would do good 👍
You have worked your tail off and done a great job. I have been drinking rain water for years and I am eighty two years old. Medically pure water is not good for you. No matter what you do , It can be done better . My system is about ready for a big change.
Im happy to hear that at 82 years old there are still projects to work on. :)
Theodore Montgomery I'm sorry, did you say that medically pure water is not good for you? Can you produce evidence for that claim? I struggle to understand how pure H2O is somehow bad for your body.
Not commenting on the health of either, but from a taste standpoint, the medically pure normally means flavorless. As for most tap water in municipalities, my personal taste buds are ready to shut down the moment that "swimming pool" water hits them. Don't even talk about the taste of tea and coffee from tap water! No Thanks.
He may be alluding to problems with drinking distilled water because the essential trace minerals are removed during the process. Our bodies need those trace mineral. There are drops you can buy to add back the essential trace minerals. Also, the pH for distilled water is different from what is optimal for our bodies. I believe there are similar problems with reverse osmosis water removing beneficial minerals. The pH may also be an issue, but not as much as distilled. I'm still in the process of trying to research and figure out what is what.
Distilled water IMO, is till better than Tap water.
So if it's True? Distilled water takes out the trace minerals?
Then, put it back in! via Himalayan salt or other mineral supplements back into the water.
The key is having your own distiller so you know you are definitely drinking distilled water.
Not to depend on a label someone has printed and slapped on a plastic (BPA?) bottle.
My 2cents worth.
Just using rainwater for toilets would be enough. So much water is wasted. Nice work.
The world is like 80% water, it falls from the sky onto land almost everywhere...you can't waste it.
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or actually being obstructionist, but when people say 'wasted water' they aren't talking about actually wasting water as a resource as if it is lost to the ether never to be recovered.
Water is RARELY potable for humans in nature. 99% of water on the earth is either turbid, or saline (brackish and sea water). And it requires a great amount of energy to ensure it is free of pathogens which are detrimental to physical health. "Wasted water" is shorthand for the energy and human effort required in purifying water either through chemical or mechanical means so it is safe for consumption, only to use it for grey or black applications.
When Katrina came through I was lucky. My house was without damage and we were only left without running water for 4 days ( electricity for 21 days and phones for well over a month), but I realized that had the storm been worse, east or west a few miles, or had something else happened to distract or interrupt the National Guard, then me, my dad, and my brother all very well could have died of dehydration.
These are lies, When I was homeless in Washington state, I carried around a jug and would collect rainwater that would come flowing down the side of mountains...never got diarrhea, never got sick. No effort needed, just what God provided.
I love water good for drinking most tanks have filtering systems, makes your hair lovely and soft,
its called a well, and it gets naturally replenished every time it rains. its not possible to waste water
You could of used ¾pvc and fill that sun box with alot more lengths than that minor zig zag . But really amazing job and a good job of showing the difficulty in collecting and heating of rain water. In your head it sounds like a good idea but in reality it would occupy a shit ton of space and plumbing and work . Thank you for taking the time to make this video of your project and bringing the reality of these many things together into one functional unit
it may be a good idea to install an infrared step to this system... to prevent any sort of bacteria that may collect in any of your storage tanks... thanks for putting this system out there for all to admire....good job
tyler graupe I think you mean Ultra violet? Infrared is heat, it doesn't really have any sterilising effects unless you're heating to over 60 Celsius, impractical and energy hungry.
You did a great job! I bet your water is way safer than city water. Thank u for taking the time to demonstrate ur system!
Thanks for the video, and educational words in the end of it. Indeed, thinking of it - we are hyperconcerned with killing every single bacteria.
Peep Mumm, ... you do realize that killing “all” bacteria, is worse for your human frame, than to be subjected to all other bacteria, ...right? Your immune system would be so weakened by not having any bacteria, ... (not to mention that in addition to needing certain kinds of bacteria to digest your food), ... you would die from the lack of “good” bacteria, necessary for your eyes, nose, & ears, ...
I think this is a wonderful set up, thank you for showing this
You did fantastic work on the system, gave me great ideas...your decorating skills in the shower...I won't comment, to each his own. Just kidding, many thanks for the great info and video.
I like a lot of what you have done to get started. The wife wouldn't go along with a lot of the Aesthetics. Perhaps a temperature regulating control to feed the cool and hot water to right body temperatures in that shower. A button to switch on and off via relay or contact valves? Drainage, need to have disconnects along with those excellent shut off valves (nice quality), mounting the valves so they don't put undue pressure on the pipes. Definitely sediment filter before the pumps.
On the inside of your pipe that’s calcium carbonate. It’s there so things like flint don’t happen. The water in flint had no calcium in it to cause calcium carbonate and they water was very slightly acidic and it ate up their old lead pipes.
Thank you for the detailed review of your water system. It's a well thought out water system. I especially like the hot water shower.
So glad I just discovered your channel! Had a look at the channel page and your videos seem like they will be very interesting, looking forward to watching more soon.
Cheers, keep up the good work.
I will be building an off grid cabin soon, and this has helped a lot.
Grand job at putting your system together and thank you for sharing it with us
Love the "my thoughts" part, along with the drinking water out of the crusty pipe like it's a straw at the very beginning. The "why I did this and went my own way" part. That's what makes sense out of a lot of stuff. I'm in an RV in the city, Norfolk VA to be precise, running two barrels off my roof, one overflowing into the second, using a dishwasher pump for basic water needs. The second barrel has a 12V bilge pump to back feed refill the primary barrel, only becuse it's an in tank pump rather than an external pump, as well as the overflow. I backfeed through the same feed line. All my primary lines aree swimming pool parts, some 1.5 inches, so there is room to backfeed the bilge pump back through the feed line. Basic filtration is gutter guard and a homemade sand/ gravel filter, gravity fed, in a laundry detergent bucket. That's my only filtration right now, but I still have city water. I also have an actual first flush system on my rear mounted gutter, because it's so easy to do. It's only a diversion to a 3 inch pipe and a few parts. Still, the pollen gets through.... I still drink it. And I have a drinking water filter too.
Great Video thank you so much for taking the time to share what you do in your house. Warm Regards from Queretaro in Mexico.
I think you are brilliant and I wish my brain worked better like yours. I'm glad you posted this video, I learned a lot, thank you and God's blessings to you and your family ♥
You have taken on a big task, keep going you will make it. Cost is a major problem so do a little each month. Some areas need insulating (Hot pipes exposed to the outside and your hear duct) You could see a 20 to 60% increase with the insulation.
thank you I like standing in the rain .so having a warm shower and drinking water suits me fine with all the filters its good drinking water .love your water tower I'm hoping to run my hot water from my log burner keep up the good work
Good job. I've been using rain water for years and I'm ok
Only just found this awesome video today. In the UK we have rather a lot of rain so I was really interested to see your set up. I think rain water is perfectly safe to drink, we did it for tens of thousands of years before civilisation, we're just not used to it these days. The water companies get their water from rain, water table, wells, reservoirs and who knows what sort of filters they use. In the UK one of our major water suppliers pumps raw effluent into our beach waters and just pays a fine each year rather than sort the problem out, so there's a bit of a trust issue there anyway.
If you are concerned about the heated water causing high pressure, you might consider using an expansion tank. They are standard on older buildings that use hot water radiators or coils in ductwork to heat the building. They are also used on chilled water systems.
Awesome system ! Love the McGiverisms and it works, that's all that matters, great job, new sub here
A lot of great ideas! I loved what you did with the system! Good job! I am looking to do something similar. I live in an Urban environment though, but I would like to create a similar system to reduce water cost, and what you mentioned about the fact that we really don't know exactly where our water has been through is definitely worrisome! Thank you for sharing!
Great vid..I travel a lot in an RV and I'm currently in the process of harnising rain water from my roof just trying to find the best filter system that I can clean myself without buying them every month . Thanks for info.
That is a nice system you have to get that system setup and it looks great and I would love to have a system setup like that and I just viewed a video where this one couple in West Virginia have built their own home and just built a building to pump in water from a well, electricity from solar panels, and put in their own sewage system also. Their system looks great and you have the right idea also and can save money in the long run on your water bill with that setup.
Cool initiative to use the natural resources without harming the environment...very impressed and motivated 🙌🙌
great concept. planning a system for my home.
Should use a reverse osmosis filter setup they filer down to micron level and take almost everything out of the water
R.O. units drain 2/3 of the water going through them to waste. Not all that good for rain collection. Unless you can recover and re-use that waste also. It's just the way they work.
@phuc ewe Sure can! Ok for pets n livestock too. Recovering RO waste would definitely be the thing to do.
Rain is better than RO, wHy filter it to ro .
** GREAT POINT.. i was wondering about the toxins that the rain water catches on its way down.. but we are breathing toxins as it is.. thank u so much for your video.. such a good thing.. =)
You are a man gone mad.....and I LOVE IT!!!
Just as a suggestion, you may QC the drinking water twice a month/ or once . and keeping track of the time/ schedule pf each filter used. with this you may have an idea if any pathogens are present in the water , you never know a contamination occurs along the process ( i doubt any E. coli will be present!!).
This is very impressive!
Thank you, I have no building experience.
pretty it up and you could sell systems like this for some bucks. Its genius for people wanting excellent water quality, water conservation or for prepping. Well done!
Smart setup ! 🤩
Great job !!! Thanks for the detailed tour
nice thanks for your time and experience on this matter.
Thanks a lots sir. But I would like to see a very detailed video just for the drinking part only. I really love that video. Thank you.
So that stuff inside your copper pipe you dug up is mineral deposits- its not harmful its just unsightly. It actually protects the water and the copper pipe. But over time the pipe does erode away, though.
Yeah, pretty much. I learned about it when a local church/resort replaced all their pipes & the local news did coverage on it. They looked exactly the same. You can imagine anything out of reach & unable to be cleaned eventually looks that gross.
Copper doesn't rust. That's iron.
@@anasmrright Those are usually galvanized pipe and what you are seeing is not rust, just like said above all pipe will over time collect mineral deposits. Out of high school I worked for the water department and changed out water meters. They all looked like that and some even had moss type growth. Alll of which is safe. The chlorine/fluorine and possible lead is what you should be worried about.
@@anasmrright Copper most certainly does oxide (the technical term of rust) When it turns that greenish color, that is it oxidizing or rusting. Point of reference, the statue of liberty which is copper but oxidizes to green now.
i'm no master of statistics, but.... i bet driving in the car endangers your well being more than consuming rain water (especially filtered/treated)
nice video and thank you!
Great job, I am impressed!
A friend of mine configured a solar water heater for his home in AZ. He did some testing & found that he got hotter water when needed by painting the pipes black as well. He also added some pressure valves external to his home so that if things got too hot & pressured, they could release such.
This was really inspiring. Two questions, (both possibly stupid) 1 - Could you increase the pressure on the pressure tank so that it comes out of that interior spigot a little faster? 2 - Why not just use a standard hot water tank to heat up your shower water?
Woow!! Buddy I'm giving u the nickname Rain Man lol I'm willing to bet your water bill from the city is drastically low! Great video keep up the good work
people call me rainman for other reasons but thanks. I added a 35 gallon bucket full of lava rocks as a prefilter and mineral additive also solar powered air pumps like in aquariums to airate the water.
Also you can cover your sealant joints from possible toxic seepage with a good natural wax.
dude this is fab. i love it. very well done, i have learned a lot 7* for you!!!!
You have a great system there. I'd do a few things differently, but that's just personal choice not a critique. Keep it up.
Very nice work, just make sure your filters insert minerals in the water witch is essential for hydrating, as rainwater has no minerals at all just like distilled water
Cool video . you are doing well . water is the first thing in the list for prepin
I will follow it channel broh becoz it's my birthday July 2 so it's memorable day for I am a new subscriber on it channel so I really admired ur video's thanks a lot for ur good idea I wish I can do the same thing in my future house soon merci
On your solar water heater tank… regarding your over pressurization concern and your overflow piping:
Place a pressure relief valve on the tank where your overflow pipe is attached?
You could place a float valve in your drinking water pot. They use for aquaponics I use for toping of my fish tank.... cool job, wish my wife was more unconventional like me so I could be more self-sufficient too. Regarding your shower heater I've herd PVC is plenty sufficient for use as a coil painted black... (always paint PVC exposed to the sun to protect from UV).
Might not be a good idea to have your ultimate overflow failsafe be a float pump. Yes the float switch is a great device, but the pump is electric and when you have a lot of rain sometimes the power goes out. I dont really know what else you could do since your whole system is in the basement. Maybe raise up all the barrels so the last overflow is still above or slightly below grade and you can route it outside to a fruit tree or something.
Fantastic system my own nitty mind wondered if there would be a step up from plastic barrels and if we ingested micro plastics through having water stored in
Very helpful. thank you so much!
I'm living in Thailand. Have been looking for filtering systems and was planning to make one. But the ones they sell here seem to me so good, that I can't do it better myself. Our house doesn't have anything to catch rain, but that is the next step and I want to collect rainwater that will be pre-filtered and has to run through my filtering system before I drink it. Maybe it is overkill, but I'ld rather be safe then sorry. Have been drinking bottled water so far, so that should not make any difference, except that I won't have to throw away such an amount of plastic. The oceans are full of our waste.
Hey Sjaak, I live in Lop Buri Province, and have been storing rainwater off of my roof for a while. I built it all myself, but I only use it for showering, toilets, etc. I still go to the reverse osmosis stands to fill-up my drinking water. Anyway, could you tell me which systems you are speaking about? I have seen a few different ones, but curious to know which ones you like and why. Thanks.
@@UhYeahWhateverDude I bought a ROS from Camarcio. In total it has 5 filters, a small pump and a pressure tank. No UV. Water tastes great!
Sjaak Schulteis Great, thanks for the info! I’ve seen them online but never in person; I’ll check them out.
Thank you sir, great video!
Great video thanks. Well shown and explained. Please keep doing more
First time on your channel @Living LIghtly and LOVE this video! You did a great job showing your system and talking about the tests. We're looking for a water option for our Skoolie build and got some great ideas from your video. Keep it up! Just followed you :)
- Brian + Erin
Currently converting an old school bus into a tiny home on wheels
I started drinking rainwater and I'm telling yall its the best water I've ever had.
Looks like you did a good job. *Simple* ...is good. :-) [free & simple is even better]
I have two 23650 litre rainwater tanks. Sometimes there full depending on the rainfall, one is by the house and the other is next to the machinery shed. other times I have to fill them with bore water ( which is drinkable). They go through a pump to feed the house and house paddock. The water then goes through a filter pack. Hot water is solar.
Love the video - not sure on the fluoride fears but definitely like what you have going on and would love to do this :) :)
I like that rain water taste very good more than drinking water that you buying 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Just an idea I never see anyone do for the outside barrel: cut a hole in the tank support wood and put a valve in the center of the bottom of the barrel for a hose hook up. It would allow you to drain out any crud collecting in the bottom of the barrel without emptying the entire thing, and you could still use that water for a garden or washing off the porch or something.
Great job! Thanks
excellent! I also capture rain from hill, store plastic tank, demand pump through a polyester then carbon filter then uv filter then into the
Berkey..................water is sweet..]
the city water through the berkey taste like crap to we turned off the city water and saved 60 bux a month since 2000 or nearly 14k......................that is a much better deal.
I think your very clever wishing every success
What you're doing to filter and treat the rainwater is more than enough to make it as safe if not more safe than municipal water. If you wanted to go one step further you could theoretically put a UV-C light into the storage barrels, but what you are doing with filtration will take care of all bacteria, protozoa, and most likely viruses as well (at least for your drinking setup).
nice Dave... I get exactly where your at with this video and also understand just what it is that you are holding onto... preservation has a first name, here its Dave... really good video my friend... gives Us food for thought...
"R" (into tomorrow)
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing. Terrific effort.
I have so many questions…just a few to get started about how much money was your entire set up, how much time did it take you, and did you hire a company for any part of the set up? If so what company?
wow! really cool! I am going to share this.
What kind of filter did you use and where can I buy it. I wish you showed on your vedio how you install the filter and how you connected all together. Your vedio is very helpful economical and I think more safer water to drink rancher drinking water from the pipe with all rust on it. Thank you!
Great job and info!!!!!!
wow...amazing.
two thumbs up Sir!!!!
bravo, very nice installation
Very clever, it would be wise to install something like a UV filter to kill any potential bacteria. (The carbon filter would not pick it up)
Also, curious what's the PH level of the rain water?
I live in London UK, and my elderly cat who was taken by a fox, now lives indoors, but goes outside in the daytime to drink rainwater collected in pots in front of the neighbour's house. She cries to go out at night, and drink it, even though I filter all of our drinking water from the tap. It must be due to chemical additives added by the water company.
I'm just now thinking of harvesting my own water so I know next to nothing about it all. Here's my question... Filtering? Yes, we want to filter the water especially of we're going to drink it. But how much filtering is too much? I came across a blurb somewhere that said if the water is filtered to the point of demineralizing it that that could make for an unhealthy situation. Thanks in advance.
I got to say thats a lot of imagination nice work
i hope that you know that you put galvanized pipe between the filters.
have you used a t. d .s meter (total dissolved solids)
have a couple more questions but nice job
Off topic really. I did notice your solar panels and their mounting brackets. That tiny shadow thrown by the upright on the leg will cost you dearly. (shown at 1:46 to 2:07) That particular panel will become useless even with that tiny shadow. If the panels are connected in series to for instance an MPPT controller the whole string will produce very little current ... just because of that shadow. Please take a saw and cut off the leg that protrudes above the panel ... As for collecting your own water a BIG 100% and keep up the blog, thanks for sharing.
Peter from Australia, saw a documentary on flint , lead in the water , I have done what you have , 30 thousand litres of rain water, ruining through 4 filters , use it for toilet , washing machine ,shower , just a comment to maybe help your hot water I noticed you took off all the insulation from your tank , that would now lose an enormous amount of heat , even though you have painted it black , I have two hot water tank with solar , temperature gets to 68 c , I would be putting some sort of insulation back onto your tank .
Can you hook up a reverse osmosis system to your water? We have radium in our water here in Monument Colorado and the only thing that really is best to get it out that actually works is reverse osmosis. I read up on Berkey & Berkey doesn't eliminate radium.
Very impressive
Wondering if you can comment on using the Berkey post filtration through the DuPonts. Do you not think the DuPont filters would have done a good enough job filtering it to make it drinkable? What is the Berkey doing that they didn't? Thanks
It is a little overkill but everyone has their own comfort level with safety. Its more for peace of mind than anything. I think Dupont filters work great. Some people use UV light I think that is overkill but if it makes them feel better, cool. My thinking is, I dont UV my food, why worry about UV-ing my water. Erring on the side of safety is good.
@@livinglightly3382 Thanks for the reply. After some research I imagine the berkey has a finer micron filtration than is available in the DuPont filters. I think we'll be going with a Rainfresh Drinking Water System 2 which is comparable to the berkey specs, but is an under the counter system like the DuPonts. Appreciate the reply. Cheers
Genious!! Thank you!
Can I get a fiberglass to put my barrels in it to make it water proof for tamper or can you make it directly into barrels into a utility room built in a container home