Potable Water Storage? Freezing?

Wanting to pick the brains of anyone who is on a private water supply and who stores their own water.

My house water comes from a spring up the hill and is piped down (20mm alkathene) to 3 underground IBC containers (3000 litre storeage) that act as a reservoir before being pumped to the house.

All good so far except that I know the IBC's will crack at some stage.

So I'm looking in to put in a new potable water tank probably of around 5000 litres. Most people just seem to use these above ground tanks

10000-litres-500x500.jpg

Two people have told me that there is no issue with freezing as an ice jacket just forms on the inside. Personally I'm sceptical as I can't see how the inlets and outlets don't freeze. Does anyone one have any experience after the recent cold weather?

My other option is a new underground tank but that will be more expensive.

Any thoughts out there? Thanks
 
Last edited:

renewablejohn

Member
Location
lancs
We had the same problem with our IBC freezing up. The solution has been to downsize the tank but make it a flowing tank ie 15mm pipe continuous flow from buried stream collector with 15mm overflow pipe back to stream. Even with stream surface frozen over the stream kept flowing underneath the ice. Water then pumped from the flow tank to the house header tank.
 

pycoed

Member
I have a 25mm alkathene from spring down to a potable water tank like your picture, then 32mm waste pipe overflow from that to the stream. The key is to keep the flow through the tank.
In fact I catch the overflow from the potable tank into 2 IBCs to feed kennel/yard/polytunnel & garden taps. I took care to split the flow into the IBCs & arranged an overflow from each in 40mm wastepipe so that each IBC has a flow through it. Noproblems with this to date
 

The Ruminant

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Hertfordshire
We’ve two boreholes - one has 2 x 25,000 litre above-ground tanks (serves 30+ houses plus cattle troughs etc) and the second has a 4,000 litre above/ground tank.

We’ve built sheds round them both and insulated them well. It’s as much to keep them cool in summer as warm in winter: if over 20C then legionella can multiply in the water, causing the deadly legionnaires disease. You want to avoid this risk!! Insulate well.
 

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