Collect AND store | DIY Rainwater harvesting system
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ค. 2024
- We are building this rainwater harvesting or collection system for our Livestock from our Barn, our barn has a large metal roof which is optimal for collecting free rain water! Join me as I walk you though the detailed steps of the first flush assembly and plumbing of our three 275 gallon IBC totes! Detailed instructions include parts and assembly process of the first flush system as well as the installation of the IBC Tote front plumbing!
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If your first flush diverter hasn't fallen off your building yet.... You probably should add additional plumbing strap to support that pipe when it's full of water. Adding the plumbers strap below fittings will keep the heavy, water filled pipe from slipping down.
Thanks Barry, yes that was an oversight!
To someone that don't know the first thing about plumbing and rain water collection, I understood everything you showed here. Congrats... Now I want to do that for plants, cause where I live , sometimes we don't have water for the plants we have outside.
This was excellent source of information! I’ve been looking into this for a while now with your help I feel more confident! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and details!
May I suggest concrete footers and keep the wood above ground.
Each individual tote/IBC will need to breathe, as the water enters the IBC the air needs to have an exit path and conversely as the water is drawn off air needs to be allowed in to stop you pulling a vacuum and collapsing the IBC. The pressures that can be exerted in both scenarios are considerable. So in summary, you cannot just get away with adding an overflow on just one IBC. Hope that saves you from injury or damage to your IBCs.
Leave each lid lose so each pod can breathe.
at 21:38 he leaves the 3rd tote cap loose
What a waste of words... he doesn't seal the whole system.
I thought the same thing. The first two won't even fill up past the top of the valve because air can't escape anymore and will create too much pressure if the tops don't have some sort of bleed off. The other replies really don't understand physics.
I don’t understand any of this 💩. Why so many sections?
Great video! We just hooked up a couple totes yesterday and your video popped up in my feed today. I’m glad we didn’t spend anything on ours, your setup is much better with your filter and daisy chain setup. I’ll be re-plumbing ours and doing a cleaner setup similar to yours later on.
Thank you! That is the beauty if these systems they can be expanded or shrank as needed. Best of luck, cheers!
Every home and business should install a rain water collection and storage system along with solar panels.
Even in areas where rain is infrequent it is crazy to waste the little rain that does fall and waste it.
We need to stop planting green lawns and switch to local native plantings around homes.
It is crazy to plant lawns and build golf courses in dry desert areas. We waste too much water and electricity.
I wish we could, currently trying to plan with the little yard space we have for a rainwater collector but our HOA wouldn’t like us messing with the gutters
Well my brother, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you showing all of us folks how to do what you’re doing. Most of us are wanting to do things like this but don’t know about those leaf eaters or trash removers but you are blessing our socks off. Thank you for taking the time to do this.
God bless you and your family.
Thank you, learning as we go and enjoying every moment!
This is similar to our setup I went cheaper on the first flush and leaf screen however always evolving. Great work love the ball valve.
Looks like a great install. My humble suggestion would be to use a brass valve. I’ve had a couple of PVC valves crack and break on me after exposed to the weather for a while.
I completely agree, we have started to use brass or stainless after a few broke.
The covers to prevent the algae was interesting didn't think about that. I loved painting the pipes brown, looks excellent. Looks more at home with the wood than bright white.
Thank you! You can also easily remove the tote from the cage and paint the tote instead of the cover....a bit more cost effective.
HARDWARE CLOTH 6” wide provides a leaf guard over the gutter. That’s what I used & worked perfectly and inexpensive!
Good Job…not to Criticize you at All but,it’s a Good Idea to Seal or Primer & Paint the Posts so they Don’t Rot in the Ground,I See that they are Treated,but Ithey would Last Longer if you Did,anyway,I’m watching this because I’m gonna be Living Off Grid Soon & Your Vid will Help Me A lot 🤮🦾would Last Longer
my buddy did 20,000 gallons of rainwater collection with ibc totes on a nursery i used to work at. he didnt do it perfectly but he made it work. Love you denton. P.S. he did it back when you could get used food grade IBC containers for 150 bucks. Water storage tanks at that time were being built for a dollar a gallon.
That is a lot of storage! We are fortunate to get totes with honey residue in the for $125-$150, they are quite expensive new.
Fantastic presentation!
I am doing what you just showed on the video in the spring time can't wait I am going to have the video saved because my helper needs to see the video of what you just done thanks for the video
Thanks Alfred and best of luck! If you need printed plans check out the link in the description.
This is an excellent explanation/tutorial thanks. I'll be attempting this in the very near future
That was great! I just bought two ibc totes today, very helpful video for plumbing. Thanks
Glad we could help! Just put out another rain collection video if you want to check that out as well.
Thank you Sir for sharing this effort and wisdom and your right... water is key in any effort❤
Awesome job! Can’t wait to see them in action!
Thanks Toby!
Excellent saving + great for environment. Win win.
Back in the day, I used to do a lot of gluing on pvc. 4 in down to 1 in for environmental recovery systems. Some ran at pretty high pressure. We always used clear primer and heavy bodied blue glue. Never had a problem with a blow out. Thought that might help with your next project. Guy who taught me said it was hard to see the clear glue to see if it was coated well. He would literally heave a can of purple primer in the trash. Hated the stuff. To each his own. LOL
I liked your first flush set up
Great job, man! You explained it very well and it looks like you created a winning system. We are about to start our collection system, and I plan on using your general layout. Thanks for posting.
Appreciate you, the next one will be kicked up a level so stay tuned...
Nice job and well thought out. Thank you for all the details in the setup and install of your system. I will be using this information in the future to install mine.
Thanks so much.
Thank you!
Nice! That brown paint sort of made the pipe look like copper at first glance.
Thanks Greg!
Cool project build, great to have 😊
You should paint any pvc that is exposed to sunlight, uv rays will over time make the pvc brittle, ive seen pvc become brittle and break in as little as a year.
I haven't read all of the comments to see if anyone else has mentioned this, but... I would put some cross bracing on the face of your foundation to prevent racking side to side. Once under weight (especially if you have settling) it could begin to lean or worse.
Already done, thanks!
What a great video thank you!
Good looking dirt.
thx for great advice below😃
Neat setup. I would worry about all the extra water being right be my house. My downspouts are buried and have popups about 20 feet from the house.
Very informative video !! Awesome
Thank you!
Nice video. I particularly like your first-flush set up, and plan to incorporate that on my next rainwater build.
I do have one suggestion that may be helpful.. on my current system I have the buttress threads, and rather than wait for the adapter from Amazon I simply slipped that 2" flexible connector right onto the threads themselves. My setup looks just like yours, just minus the adapter and that first piece of 2" pipe. It's been over a year with no issues.
Thank you for the kind words!
Well explained and filmed. I could see how you did everything, which is helpful for learning. New sub.
Thank you!
I like this. Very well done sir.
Much Appreciated
Thanks for your quick response to my question im a new subscriber as of now!!!!
Wish I had that soil to dig in. Every 1/4 of an inch I get rocks and then more rocks.
Like we lived in NH, this is much better but there is still rocks.
great idea.
Just my $.02 worth, but you could also use electrical conduit pvc which is UV resistant for your runs and it also comes with 90-degree bends that are much more rounded in their arc than a standard 90-degree pvc elbow. The only thing is that you might need to use regular pvc tees and reducers to complete the system. Nice system, though.
nice work
Looks like you knew how I wanted to do mine, but didn't now where to start (I've had the IBC totes for almost a year now). 6 X 6's are expensive, but I'm the same way...rather over-kill and not have to deal with it again. It is a lot of weight...no doubt! Thanks for the video and Amazon links...I'm ready to order and start my rain water collection project.
Glad we could help! Good luck!
@@meadowgreenfarmI bought your plan and nice job! One suggestion, I figured it out with my general woodworking skills and the comment above, but initially couldn't tell if the beams were 6x6 or 8x8, possibly add a sketch of the support frame to your plan for others. Thanks
came out great. damn you, now i have to add this to the list of projects . would love to know how fast they filled up.
We fill 150 gallons/0.75" of rain. Of course it depends on the roof size and how sideways the rain comes down. Currently all 6 totes are full to the top
amazing work, pls advise how about winter time, how to avoid freezing problem; or just leave it empty in winter? THX
In our climate these will not freeze so I have not had to deal with that. If we were in a colder climate I would empty all the piping and drain the totes at least half way to allow the water to expand. I would also leave the first flush system open to divert the water away from the totes, hope this helps.
Just a minor correction. When your chart says "Convert to Gallons", it should be 155,520 divided by 231, not multiplied. Thought you should know.
You've got good dirt.
Just an observation.
I love it! Thank you for the helpful video! Two quick questions/comments:
First, I don't see the need for all of the complication of the brown piping. Rather than multiple adapters and a floating ball, why not just a straight piece of 4" pipe with a cleanout at the end? When the pipe fills with water, the rest of your rainwater will automatically be shunted to your IBC tanks. The ball appears unnecessary, and therefore those adapters are unnecessary as well.
Second, I don't see a need to build an overflow to the third tank, unless it's for venting as the barrels are filling or draining. If it truly is just for when the barrels are full, couldn't you just put a wye on the pipe that currently goes from the brown pipes to the first barrel? It would function exactly the same as your other wye. Clean-out fills first, then rain barrels, then to an overflow pipe.
The purpose of the ball is to trap debris in the first flush tube, without it you will continue to mix dirty and "clean" water. There are many different ways to overflow, your suggestion will work as well.
Great informational video. Can you provide a total cost for your system? I realize it depends on local pricing for IBC totes and PVC. Leaving the gutter and platform cost out of it or as separate costs. Thanks 👍
I wanted to see it in action.
Nice
take the sharp edge off where you cut the PVC with a knife or a blade and it will grip better when you apply the glue if you've got an edge it shoves the glue out of the way and it doesn't work well
careful. your long down spout catch will become septic if not cleaned regularly.
Good vid and suggestions. I'm curious to know if you add anything to the tanks to prevent mold or stagnation? Thanks for your time making this- I know I'll refer to it often when I get my tank ready to connect.
Circulating the water like we do works well, copper rods work and so will a tiny amount of bleach. The next system will have copper rods, I have 2 ground rods I will cut in half and that works well. Cheers!
The big letdown of gardening videos is that you rarely get to see the results of the effort in the same video.
A couple things I noticed
1: The wood you put in the ground didn't look "treated" to me... if it isn't treated water and bugs eating it will rote it out of the ground
(I might be wrong about it not being treated - click "read more" to see more details if you care)
2: You can use a drip valve to slowly empty the first flush pipe, that way you don't have to remember to open/close the ball valve after every rain
I have only worked with two treated woods (so if that is treated I'm unfamiliar with it)
1: the treated wood you bolt to the foundation of a house to nail your framing to
2: wood we treated our selves
Also for putting a post in to the ground we use pour cement and bolt the wooden post to the top of the cement block that we have sticking about 2-3 inches above the ground.
just subscribed
Thank you!
let's assume we have a firestorm: a heavy downpour with large amounts of water, as is increasingly the case here today!
then comes a lot of water - very quickly!
wouldn't it be better to do without narrow lines?
you have set up three storage tanks: doesn't it make sense to install a gutter above the collection tank with a pre-filter so that the water can quickly get away from the roof?
I see the installation more as an obstacle and when there is a lot of water, this develops as a stumbling block.
I don't know what the water containers are for: it's probably not drinking water. When planning the system, you would have to take into account how much you need yourself!
i am currently building a water separator that is supposed to separate water from the ambient air - and the requirement is that 3-5 liters of drinking water are needed per person per day and about 12-15 liters of process water per person - for washing or something!
that would mean that the water separator must provide at least 20 liters per person per day.
and it means that you have to move the separating water - i.e. filter it through a sand filter, let it flow constantly moving in order to bring in oxygen and also use a sterilization lamp to make it low-germ!
of course i have to see it in connection with water from the roof: we have a stone house with a gable, i.e. sloping. so it makes sense if you just say: the water has to get down there as soon as possible, which you would also say if there was a lot of snow!
so i have two sides- where water can be drained- and i think i don't use rainwater gutters or similar- i let the roof protrude- so that a lot of water can run away quickly and doesn't fail because of two narrow pipes!
this would eliminate the collection of leaves - i.e. the clearing of the gutters - as a kind of stress point: you don't have to worry about it!
then i can collect water in tanks or even create a water basin with fish, a pond!
this would be advantageous if you keep ducks: these animals need water surfaces to swim in order to feel comfortable!
Your film can of course only be a guide - because every situation may look very different!
I thank you for that
Greetings from Berlin
I like the Ball system that’s a good idea I never thought about that I’m thinking about doing that I got a trailer that I remodeled and I lost I use Dogwood round the house but I got a metal roof on it I don’t have no water system yet but I’ve been thinking about I wanna get it done but I need the same kind of water system that you got I haven’t checked on them yet I’m doing a little bit of time I’m trying to get my power first solar power first system then I’m a try to get the rain system I already got a tub of water for my garden
Just look into an RODI and a UV filter for drinking water, may not need more than that!
Many years experience gluing PVC - holds better with no primer. The glue actually dissolves the PVC a little - binding quickly.
Very untrue. Pvc needs primer to make a complete bond. The primer is what activates it. The reason he had issues before and probably now was 1. pre priming joints. The glue is supposed to be applied while the primer is still wet. 2. Using the wrong glue. He is using all purpose glue which is garbage and doesn’t require primer. And 3. Not fully priming each joint. He’s only priming about an inch wide of each pipe/fitting. Hope this helps
Excellent video and editing. Will have to look for an update on this and I wonder how level that will be in a year or two with 6k pounds of water weight. Did you protect the wood?
Thank you! Still level and standing and yes the cut ends were re-coated.
Maybe assemble section with ball valvue upside down so glue doesn't flow into ball valve so easily?
Just curious if you've faced any issue with the rubber flex attachments in front of the totes. I imagine the pipes on the front are under significant pressure once all three are full and I would expect the non-PVC pipes that aren't cemented in being a weak point.
I also noticed you said the overflow was going to deposit uphill from the stand/containers, and I would think that would result in unnecessary erosion directly underneath everything.
The overflow deposits downhill in order to avoid erosiin. In our video titled "Running water lines and Intro to our berkshire pigs" I install the overflow and fix some leaks. I have not had any issues to date with the rubber couplings
Great video! Any thoughts on freeze mitigation in the plumbing?
We empty the pvc with any chance of freezing, if the totes freeze then they freeze not much we can do. We only keep them 2/3 full in the winter in case they do freeze, they are fine frozen until spring if given enough room for the water to expand.
Do you happen to have a materials list? I'm doing a 3 tote system myself. Ive been pausing and writing down things but I figured it would be easier if I just asked. Great video by the way. b best one I've seen for exactly what I'm planing on installing.
Hi Ben, email me at Meadowgreenfarm.tn@gmail.com and I will get you a list.
How often have you had to drain the leaf eater? I’m thinking about putting in one of these if I convert a pole barn into a farrowing barn
Not once yet on either collection systems we have. But there are not many trees near by
Kenneth i had to clean the leaf eater today as little water was making it into the totes. So 2 months on the barn and once a year at our garden, i think most of what i cleared out was pollen.
Thank yoooooou!
What's the best way to stack totes safely?
Great video! My question is: what happens to your stand pipe/clean out pipe in the winter? Does that water below the ball float freeze and endanger the pvc to bursting?
We leave yhe valve open until we want to collect rain. We usually have pretty full totes in the winter so we leave the valve open almost all season. You can also drip drain the water out
The length of your first flush system pipe. Is it dependent on how large your roof square footage is? A small roof I could see that working but I have a roof thats 36x44 seems to me that first flush pipe would be too short and dirt would run into my totes?
Our barn is 40x60 i split it into two systems but if i collected the whole roof into one system I would have done 2 or more flush systems for sure. I have never seen a first flush sizing chart or information for roof size
Great job.. Curious if painting the totes would block the UV rays?
I have seen other painting the totes, I don't have a preference either way this was just the easiest thing to do given my time frame to get the project done. We removed the tub from the cage on our other rain collection system and wrapped them in black plastic, this has worked well for us too.
@@meadowgreenfarm Thanks for the update..
I glue on shower pan grey plastic from Home Depot
So there is enough pressure/ height to fill those totes from the bottom? I thought they need an over flow to each tote at the top.
Yes there is. The advantage of filling from the bottom is that you dont have to use your water storage in succession but rather equally at once. The pressure from water filling in the first tote will fill the others, venting is the key, we cracked open the middle tote cap and the third has the overflow.
Perhaps I'm just not understanding everything correctly but I have a question about the flow ball. Once it rises up and closes off the vertical tube, redirecting water to the IBC tanks, how does the ball lower itself without you bleeding off dirty water each and every time after a rain? If not lowered, wouldn't any new water flowing to the IBC be subject to bird droppings, pollen, etc that won't get to the vertical tube because it's still blocked?
You are correct on both statements. In our case we empty the flush system and use the water for our garden.
What are those covers on your tanks did you make them? Thanks for the video brother!! Cheers from Montgomery Texas
Hi Michael, UV covers they can be found on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/EGIS-IBC-Tote-Resistant-Waterproof/dp/B0B9ZS9YWZ/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?keywords=IBC+TOTE+COVER&qid=1688646876&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
@@meadowgreenfarm Really appreciate you buddy thanks!!! Going to set this up for all our animals then a couple for the house and garden 🪴 Hv a great day sir
@@michaeldomec5275 Thank you and you as well! We will be setting up another system soon and it will incorporate automatic waterers for the chickens as well as a sink with hot water from the rain barrels. If you need a parts list for this project let me know.
I'd be curious to know much much that sank into the ground with that weight on top.
Great video. Does the first flush pipe not accomplish the same thing with or without the ball? What advantage is the ball?
Without the ball in place, the dirty water would get mixed with the "clean" water, when clean water is desired in the IBC totes. The ball plugs the lower section preventing this mixing. This only happens if the first flush is drained after each rainfall, should dirt, pollen or the like accumulate on the roof.
@@meadowgreenfarmso are you using the long down pipe to collect the first flash of rain that will be the dirtiest of the water since it's kind of cleaning the majority of dust/dirt from the roof?
@Cordak you got it! Since this is drinking water for the animals i try to gather only the cleanest water we can.
@@meadowgreenfarm Do you have a link to where I may purchase a 2" floating ball?
PVC joints work better if you give 1/4 turn or more after sliding the parts together. Just slide it together 1/4 turn out of alignment and twist to alignment.
I also think you are using a "multipurpose plastic pipe cement which is a compromise to allow such things as gluing PVC to ABS. These are not the best for PVC to PVC. If everything is PVC, get the PVC only type glue.
Over several years, PVC degrades from UV exposure. It is a good idea to paint the PVC. About 5 years here in Texas, the white PVC will turn black and brittle from sun exposure.
We have actually covered the pipe with insulation to prevent freezing and keep uv light off the pipe. I have also been using the high strength PVC glue since this video.
on the reduced pipe, are you going to put a hose attachment so that water drains farther away?
You certainly could, we happen to use the "dirty" water in our gardens as much as possible.
I have a question do you know where the swimming pool filter do you think there’s a way to put a swimming pool filter on that line before it gets too those totes the water tanks that way and help keep some of that degree or dirt cleaned out that way you can take it off and clean it every once in a while that’s what I thought about doing one of her work
A pool filter would require mor pressure than just head pressure, i would look into just using a stocking or legging (panty hose) just befor the totes. I have seen this used to great effectiveness.
I like your setup but I'm wondering, do you get freezing weather where you are or snow and if so, does that mean your setting up three really big ice trey's and the possibility of some cracked PVC.?
We drain the tanks to 2/3 full and open the first flush and manage the water level from there. We make sure the pipes are empty until we need water if the totes are not frozen, if they are they just freeze solid until spring. I am playing around with the idea of a pump on a temp sensor to circulate the water when below 32 degrees.
What was that DeWalt gutter stapler you were using and where can I purchase it?
You can find the Dewalt Rivet Gun at Lowes, Home Depot or Amazon:
www.dewalt.com/product/dwhtmr77c/heavy-duty-swivel-head-riveter?tid=577611
What about the ball, where did you get it, what's it made of and what size is it?
The ball is a simple plastic play ball, you can find them on amazon by searching for "2.36 play ball"
Have you had any freeze problems on discharge side and how did you deal with it?
We have had freeze issues, here is how we resolved them: th-cam.com/video/xypVqluhtQ8/w-d-xo.html
What do you do during winter time? Do you have away to keep from freezing.? I'm in Missouri and it gets cold.
Unfortunately i dont have a way to keep them from freezing. I empty the totes to 2/3 full and drain all the pipes for winter. They do freeze, hasnt hurt anything just no water.
th-cam.com/video/xypVqluhtQ8/w-d-xo.html
Would be a lot easier to do a lot of that plumbing on the ground and then stand it up and install it. Doing it off a ladder and reaching up like that is about 5x as hard at least.
curious ....why would that 1/2" fitting just above the first flush drain valve has left handed threads ?
Camera is backwards since I was using the forward facing lens, its a RH thread :)
The first flush piping...how will that work when it freezes? This is my concern here in Ohio, I am afraid it'll freeze and bust it all up. Maybe with an open system the freezing water will just go "up"?
We open up the valve and drain it with any chance of freezing. You should empty it after the rainfall anyways or it can become septic.
do u plan on filtering the water actoss the 3 bladders or is it just for plants ?
if so, how would you do so?
We do filter for debris down to 120 micron. If you filter for drinking, there is a lot of materials regarding RODI filters and UV sterilizers you would want to research.
how do you determine the length of the diverter pipe?
Intriguing design. Has it worked as expected, is there a follow-up video? Thanks for sharing, subd
Thank you, we do have two follow ups specifically on the rainwater system, please see our content page. We love this system for our barn, zero complaints a year later.
@@meadowgreenfarm I will check them out, thanks!
Thank you, well done. Question: would you please provide all the items listed for this project?thank you 🙏
Due to so many requests I have listed digital plans for the design on our website, you can purchase them for a few dollars and they provide all the details you will need! Thank you
bell-plantain-dz2s.squarespace.com/config/pages/64d452ee7f759a1a45b086c3
That gutter would never fly in Canadian winters on a barn. The snows weight would crumble that.
what is the yellow tool you are using? thank you
It is a Dewalt brand rivet gun, you may find them on amazon or at any local box store
I just wish he had a parts list
Do you have a list of materials used and where you got them
www.meadowgreenfarmtn.com/order/p/rainwater-collection-system
Streicht eure Behälter gegen Sonneneinstrahlung. Das fördert die algenbildung!!!
I mean, you don’t need the ball to seal off the water to make it go out the t-junction. The water will fill up on its own and go that way. You just made it take like 4-cups less to do.
The ball prevents larger floating particulates from entering the tank, should you not be screening the water before the first flush.
@@meadowgreenfarm ooooh, smart.
How do you keep the water from freezing?
That is difficult, in short we can't and don't. Luckily where we live the totes don't freeze completely... at least ours don't. However, in the winter months we do drain the water lines and remove the lids from the totes just in case.
Where can I purchase those IBC totes ?
I recommend searching FB Marketplace and Craigslist. Just ensure they are food grade, they should have a metal plate or sticker stating this. Otherwise Google "275gal IBC tote" and buy from Grainger or a distribution center.
I was told by someone who has done a setup similar to your,s with totes , to add a cup of bleach ,to each tote . Seems to discourage algea or growths .
Yes it does, copper rods work well too!
It would help to leave links to all the parts you've ordered from Amazon.
I will be sure to add them, thank you for the suggestion! If there is something I missed please let me know.