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 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.
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!
Well done!! Everything all around us every day is a potential cancer causing agent. It looks like you have taken great care to ensure your family has the best quality water possible. You should be very proud my brother. Thank you for taking the time to show us your system, and it is exactly that, YOUR system. Scoffers like to be critical of others, while ingesting poisonous city water. God Bless you and your family!!
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. ua-cam.com/video/Rh4141e0jos/v-deo.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🤜🤛
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.
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.
It's a great idea having two separate systems. Your water is so well filtered you must be drinking the cleanest water in the USA. Your solar thermal system probably needed slightly more pipe, mine is a vertical riser type panel with Tees along the top and bottom but one important step you needed to do was to glue the pipe to the steel heat panel, so the pipe is tightly against the metal collector, usually for this either a good quality Silicone sealant is used or a Modified Polymer glue/sealant like Soudal Fix all, these conduct heat fairly well from the panel to the pipework. What you have done is great, I would have been happy drinking rainwater that has only gone through the Berkey filter. I always think your body gets used to a few bugs and stuff, but not used to the toxic Chloramine most water companies now use. My town water is totally disgusting stuff, the fish in my fish tank died because it was so toxic. Flouride can be naturally found in spring water because of Flouride containing minerals if you suspect Deliberate Flouridation, you can always just stop using Flouride toothpaste and that will cut your intake back to safe levels, but Chloramine which water companies used to replace gaseous Chlorine with is in my view the problem. The old Chlorine would vaporize off, boiling the water destroyed it but Chloramine a nitrogen/chlorine compound is persistent for days maybe months in the water when it does breakdown the nitrogen part forms toxic nitrites and chlorine tends to form Trihalomethanes with any organic molecules that are in the water. Something to note is, Chloramine is now preferred by water companies, it is safer for them to handle, no tanks of Chlorine gas lying around and the safety hazards that present, so, all in all, it is CHEAPER for the water companies which is the main reason they now use Chloramine. It may be different in the USA but this is certainly the case in the UK.
Bravo 💧 Anyone who thinks city fluoride treated water is better than pure rain need only be referred to Flint and doubters of your system have no common sense. Well done Sir.
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 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
The shallow well pump/pressure-tank/filters work great. We have 20micron -> 5micron -> Class A UV. However, instead of dual systems we piped the output of UV to input of the house. At that point we have 2 motorized valves... 1 controls city -> house and 2nd control rain -> house. So city valve off / rain on for rain water and city on / rain off for city water - controlled by a switch in kitchen. This avoids dual systems - and since Class A UV is at city level standards, your pipes in house are always good (no contaminated water) no matter which mode you're in.
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.
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.
WOW! That is a very ambitious system. Very impressive! With all the filtering, I doubt you would ever have to worry. Nice work and nice video. And you are lucky to have a wife that will put up with you so give her a high five from me.
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!
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 lived in Tampa, Fl. I put a filter under the sink for better coffee water. You would not believe how fast that filter would jam up with really bad stuff. The neighborhood was built in the early 60s, they never replace water pipes, and they are Iron. And this is the way it is everywhere. Your water is alot cleaner then what most people are drinking . Everyone just thinks they take care of the pipes. Yes when one breaks they fix, but replace , aint going to happen, way to much money. Everyone should have a good filter on there incoming water supply. You do not want to see those pipes. They feel, out of sight out of mind. Even a cheap filter is better then nothing. You have a nice setup.
Charles Miller: There is no way to get good water in the state of Florida. Well water from the aquifer is bad and if you have city water it is worse. If you drink city water from the tap it will gag you. It is well known Florida water supply in any natural, shape or form is the worst water in the country! I watched a video of scuba divers going into the Aquifer via springs. They found 55 gallon drums and a lot of other trash people dumped into the springs into the aquifer. Figure it out for yourself.
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?
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
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.
This is a great video. I'll be needing your Guys's advice. moving to WV in one year and I don't have running water. the electric bills in my county are 119.00 each month. not for me. I'm retiring to boot. There are 3 old cisterns left by the former owners but, their more than 6 yrs. old. I trust copper piping way more then PVC for two reasons. rodents and freezing weather arent kind to pvc. With copper a propane torch can thaw out ice if done right.
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!
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.
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 ♥
Cool system, I am just getting around to hooking my solar hot water up right now. I tested my panels today in 50 degreee weather with partail sun. We where averaging a 30 degree rise out of the panels from cold well water.
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 the best videoI have ever seen about this subject,Well done mate from Australia. I was only concerned about the overflow from the hot water tank going out onto the roof and back into the drinking supply as Ive been told to never drink from a tank like that even though it may be only a little. Thanks again. Im a subscriber now.
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.
Yeah mate you are so right about this . Rain water I always thought was good to drink . I still believe it's better than scheme water outright . I like that then , I got a mixer thing going with ball float valve when there is no rain, and when there's rain rain water fill it up and it'll just flush itself out ,as when the tank full I turn off scheme water . I so very happy with that, either mains water or pressure pump rain water. Flip valve arrangement and one way valve coming in on mains . Another one way valve on rain water side after pressure tank .
Great job. Plenty good info. One thought, on your intake for your pump, attach a flexible house with a float to the outlet pipe at the bottom. This allows you to always draw off the top. Credit transfer, I saw this on another channel. I thought it was a great idea.
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.
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.
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
Yes, the wife probably gave you some problems with the Rube Goldberg plumbing design! I know it wouldn't fly around here at our house. 😬🤣. Somehow you pulled it off at your house!!!
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
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.
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!
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).
** 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.. =)
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.
15:30 what really works better, is a tankless water heater. It's electric and hot water in seconds!! You can have a small one in the kitchen and bathroom. Not just a giant big one. Small cabins use them and they are small enough to use a solar panel to operate. No need for something homemade that gives you problems in the winter.
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.
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!
I have almost the exact setup but I do pull the water out of the top of the barrel. In fact my pump is about three feet above the barrel and I have never had to prime it since the first time I primed it about 2 years ago.
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.
An on-demand 12v pump might be good for you toilets. Float switch would determine rain water via pump OR house water via a 12v solenoid valve on your house water line.
why not run a conductive an PH test on that water/an then send a samply off to a labortory to be tested/just to see what you are drinking before your filter in your home-that is what i would do/safe than sorry as they say/thanks much
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?
Cool system but I would definitely concider food grade ibc totes for the exterior holding tank/s. At 300 gal each it would great extend your capacity. Depending on your local rain fall and enough totes you might eliminate any house use of city water. As for city water being "cleaner" how many feet does city water go through pipes to get to our fausets?? And every single foot it travels is an opportunity for contamination.
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).
I will say this, definitely an interesting system you got there !!!! it works right, you know what they say, if it aint broke?? dont fix it right!!!???? good video,,,,
In the past few weeks (it's now mid - January 2020,) I've noticed a different flavour to the tap water. I filter it with a Brita charcoal filter, but there's definitely a more chemical - like tinge to the taste.
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 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.
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.
Well done!! Everything all around us every day is a potential cancer causing agent. It looks like you have taken great care to ensure your family has the best quality water possible. You should be very proud my brother. Thank you for taking the time to show us your system, and it is exactly that, YOUR system. Scoffers like to be critical of others, while ingesting poisonous city water. God Bless you and your family!!
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.
ua-cam.com/video/Rh4141e0jos/v-deo.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
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.
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.
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.
It's a great idea having two separate systems.
Your water is so well filtered you must be drinking the cleanest water in the USA.
Your solar thermal system probably needed slightly more pipe, mine is a vertical riser type panel with Tees along the top and bottom but one important step you needed to do was to glue the pipe to the steel heat panel, so the pipe is tightly against the metal collector, usually for this either a good quality Silicone sealant is used or a Modified Polymer glue/sealant like Soudal Fix all, these conduct heat fairly well from the panel to the pipework.
What you have done is great, I would have been happy drinking rainwater that has only gone through the Berkey filter.
I always think your body gets used to a few bugs and stuff, but not used to the toxic Chloramine most water companies now use.
My town water is totally disgusting stuff, the fish in my fish tank died because it was so toxic.
Flouride can be naturally found in spring water because of Flouride containing minerals if you suspect Deliberate Flouridation, you can always just stop using Flouride toothpaste and that will cut your intake back to safe levels, but Chloramine which water companies used to replace gaseous Chlorine with is in my view the problem.
The old Chlorine would vaporize off, boiling the water destroyed it but Chloramine a nitrogen/chlorine compound is persistent for days maybe months in the water when it does breakdown the nitrogen part forms toxic nitrites and chlorine tends to form Trihalomethanes with any organic molecules that are in the water.
Something to note is, Chloramine is now preferred by water companies, it is safer for them to handle, no tanks of Chlorine gas lying around and the safety hazards that present, so, all in all, it is CHEAPER for the water companies which is the main reason they now use Chloramine.
It may be different in the USA but this is certainly the case in the UK.
Bravo 💧
Anyone who thinks city fluoride treated water is better than pure rain need only be referred to Flint and doubters of your system have no common sense. Well done Sir.
Super impressed by the amount of work you put into your home. God bless.
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 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
The shallow well pump/pressure-tank/filters work great. We have 20micron -> 5micron -> Class A UV. However, instead of dual systems we piped the output of UV to input of the house. At that point we have 2 motorized valves... 1 controls city -> house and 2nd control rain -> house. So city valve off / rain on for rain water and city on / rain off for city water - controlled by a switch in kitchen. This avoids dual systems - and since Class A UV is at city level standards, your pipes in house are always good (no contaminated water) no matter which mode you're in.
yes exactly, his system is ridiculous
The rust is just decorative. Love it man! You're define "engineer"
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!
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.
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.
Awesome job and sound thinking. Thank you for the video.
WOW! That is a very ambitious system. Very impressive! With all the filtering, I doubt you would ever have to worry. Nice work and nice video. And you are lucky to have a wife that will put up with you so give her a high five from me.
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!
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 this is a wonderful set up, thank you for showing this
I will be building an off grid cabin soon, and this has helped a lot.
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, ...
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.
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.
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
Here in the Virgin islands we use rain water but we have cisterns which is a basement size ,very good job
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.
Grand job at putting your system together and thank you for sharing it with us
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.
Really I think you did an outstanding job you went to all that trouble to make sure you had something for yourself...
Love your system. You should put a ebook together with all the systems and instruction and sell it. I bet it would do good 👍
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.
WONDERFUL WONDERFUL DESIGN ,CONGRATULATIONS ❤️❤️❤️
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.
You gave me some ideas, thanks for sharing your set up. 👍🏻
Good job. I've been using rain water for years and I'm ok
I lived in Tampa, Fl. I put a filter under the sink for better coffee water. You would not believe how fast that filter would jam up with really bad stuff. The neighborhood was built in the early 60s, they never replace water pipes, and they are Iron. And this is the way it is everywhere. Your water is alot cleaner then what most people are drinking . Everyone just thinks they take care of the pipes. Yes when one breaks they fix, but replace , aint going to happen, way to much money. Everyone should have a good filter on there incoming water supply. You do not want to see those pipes. They feel, out of sight out of mind. Even a cheap filter is better then nothing. You have a nice setup.
Charles Miller: There is no way to get good water in the state of Florida. Well water from the aquifer is bad and if you have city water it is worse. If you drink city water from the tap it will gag you. It is well known Florida water supply in any natural, shape or form is the worst water in the country! I watched a video of scuba divers going into the Aquifer via springs. They found 55 gallon drums and a lot of other trash people dumped into the springs into the aquifer. Figure it out for yourself.
The state of Australia is laughing at you yank right now hehe
Very healthy system, cogratulations, that is a great luxury life.
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?
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
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.
This is a great video. I'll be needing your Guys's advice. moving to WV in one year and I don't have running water. the electric bills in my county are 119.00 each month. not for me. I'm retiring to boot. There are 3 old cisterns left by the former owners but, their more than 6 yrs. old. I trust copper piping way more then PVC for two reasons. rodents and freezing weather arent kind to pvc. With copper a propane torch can thaw out ice if done right.
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!
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.
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 ♥
Cool system, I am just getting around to hooking my solar hot water up right now. I tested my panels today in 50 degreee weather with partail sun. We where averaging a 30 degree rise out of the panels from cold well water.
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!!).
great concept. planning a system for my home.
This is the best videoI have ever seen about this subject,Well done mate from Australia.
I was only concerned about the overflow from the hot water tank going out onto the roof and back into the drinking supply as Ive been told to never drink from a tank like that even though it may be only a little.
Thanks again.
Im a subscriber now.
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.
Great video thanks. Well shown and explained. Please keep doing more
Great job !!! Thanks for the detailed tour
Cool video . you are doing well . water is the first thing in the list for prepin
Yeah mate you are so right about this .
Rain water I always thought was good to drink .
I still believe it's better than scheme water outright .
I like that then , I got a mixer thing going with ball float valve when there is no rain, and when there's rain rain water fill it up and it'll just flush itself out ,as when the tank full I turn off scheme water . I so very happy with that, either mains water or pressure pump rain water. Flip valve arrangement and one way valve coming in on mains . Another one way valve on rain water side after pressure tank .
Great job. Plenty good info. One thought, on your intake for your pump, attach a flexible house with a float to the outlet pipe at the bottom. This allows you to always draw off the top. Credit transfer, I saw this on another channel. I thought it was a great idea.
nice thanks for your time and experience on this matter.
You are a man gone mad.....and I LOVE IT!!!
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.
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 .
Cool initiative to use the natural resources without harming the environment...very impressed and motivated 🙌🙌
Also you can cover your sealant joints from possible toxic seepage with a good natural wax.
excellent system, I love those dupont filters
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
“Your wife won’t think so, but it is.” I LOL and hit subscribe. Thanks for the video.
Yes, the wife probably gave you some problems with the Rube Goldberg plumbing design! I know it wouldn't fly around here at our house. 😬🤣. Somehow you pulled it off at your house!!!
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
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.
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!
Smart setup ! 🤩
Great job, I am impressed!
Do not worry about the rain water. How did people drink water, before pipes were manufactured.
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).
** 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.. =)
A simple spin down filter (100 or 40 mesh) before the pump and pressure tank helps!
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.
Nice plumbing, pipes criss-cross all over :D
This is very impressive!
Thank you, I have no building experience.
15:30 what really works better, is a tankless water heater. It's electric and hot water in seconds!! You can have a small one in the kitchen and bathroom. Not just a giant big one. Small cabins use them and they are small enough to use a solar panel to operate. No need for something homemade that gives you problems in the winter.
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.
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!
wow! really cool! I am going to share this.
Awesome system ! Love the McGiverisms and it works, that's all that matters, great job, new sub here
I have almost the exact setup but I do pull the water out of the top of the barrel. In fact my pump is about three feet above the barrel and I have never had to prime it since the first time I primed it about 2 years ago.
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.
Thank you for sharing. Terrific effort.
An on-demand 12v pump might be good for you toilets. Float switch would determine rain water via pump OR house water via a 12v solenoid valve on your house water line.
I started drinking rainwater and I'm telling yall its the best water I've ever had.
why not run a conductive an PH test on that water/an then send a samply off to a labortory to be tested/just to see what you are drinking before your filter in your home-that is what i would do/safe than sorry as they say/thanks much
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?
Cool system but I would definitely concider food grade ibc totes for the exterior holding tank/s. At 300 gal each it would great extend your capacity. Depending on your local rain fall and enough totes you might eliminate any house use of city water.
As for city water being "cleaner" how many feet does city water go through pipes to get to our fausets?? And every single foot it travels is an opportunity for contamination.
A comment to feed the algorithm 👍 thanks for the video 👍
19:05 '.. so what you're seeing, the rust and things like that, it's just decorative." 😂
I like that rain water taste very good more than drinking water that you buying 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Great video, got me to think of doing something like this
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).
I will say this, definitely an interesting system you got there !!!! it works right, you know what they say, if it aint broke?? dont fix it right!!!???? good video,,,,
In the past few weeks (it's now mid - January 2020,) I've noticed a different flavour to the tap water. I filter it with a Brita charcoal filter, but there's definitely a more chemical - like tinge to the taste.
Excellent Job - very admirable. I dont understand why ur using that beautiful water in the toilet. I'd be keeping it all for drinking & showering.