Rainwater Harvesting - Use For Animal Drinking & Spraying

[franklin]

I'd like a new shed.
Inside the shed would be cows, and there would be some in all year round.
I use a sprayer and am sick of adding water conditioner.

So I would like to use the rain which falls in my sprayer and for drinking. Can this be done without hellish faff; assurance rubbish; animals dying due to toxic rain? I dont expect much more than 20,000lt tankage would be possible given the location. Should I forget the spraying bit and just use for drinking, and does there need to be any treatment between sky -> roof -> tank -> mouth?

Thanks.

 

[dannewhouse]

there is some guideline on sizing a setup for rain water harvesting I think its eblex/brp that published it they size it so its not too big as if its too big you will get stale water /algae and might get some problems. its sized 2 ways on the amount of useage ie from cattle and from size area of your roof from memory.

I always fancy the idea but no room for a tank on the ground so would have to be cantileverd off building legs on the inside so only an odd 1000l or .

I always wanted to fit a system such that if the water level got below say 8" in the tank it would top up with mains water, this could be done with a standard ball cock but your not supposed to let the water get above them are you? plus mine could be a meter under water when full. I wouldn't have to worry if the rain tank got empty as mains would auto carry on. probably fit low pressure ball valves then to troughs if normal ones didn't have enough flow?

I also wanted some sort of filter on the inlet ideally. but I think the saving in water it takes say 5 years to get your money back and my shed is on an unmetered field supply so not any concern at the moment.

 

[Tarw Coch]

there is some guideline on sizing a setup for rain water harvesting I think its eblex/brp that published it they size it so its not too big as if its too big you will get stale water /algae and might get some problems. its sized 2 ways on the amount of useage ie from cattle and from size area of your roof from memory.

I always fancy the idea but no room for a tank on the ground so would have to be cantileverd off building legs on the inside so only an odd 1000l or .

I always wanted to fit a system such that if the water level got below say 8" in the tank it would top up with mains water, this could be done with a standard ball cock but your not supposed to let the water get above them are you? plus mine could be a meter under water when full. I wouldn't have to worry if the rain tank got empty as mains would auto carry on. probably fit low pressure ball valves then to troughs if normal ones didn't have enough flow?

I also wanted some sort of filter on the inlet ideally. but I think the saving in water it takes say 5 years to get your money back and my shed is on an unmetered field supply so not any concern at the moment.

Regarding fitting a ball valve low down in a rainwater tank, supply that ball valve from a header tank that way you keep your air gap from your mains supply

 

[dannewhouse]

Regarding fitting a ball valve low down in a rainwater tank, supply that ball valve from a header tank that way you keep your air gap from your mains supply

true, just an extra fath.

I had wondered if they had some sort of ball valve where the "float" is say in a tube operating the valve say on a piece of string? ie the valve could be at the conventional height above water full level while the float would operate via the string.
(obviously a bit more complicated than this but same idea) I didn't want to start with silly electrics with float switch and motor valve etc

I don't know what systems are available for the various toilet float assemblies maybe I could add some "middle" sections to a toilet idea

 

[Agrispeed]

The float valves that you want exist. Made by Jobe and Apex that I know of. They can fill up the tank all the way when the level drops too low or you can set a stop height. They are painfully expensive though.

 

[Clive]

I'd like a new shed.
Inside the shed would be cows, and there would be some in all year round.
I use a sprayer and am sick of adding water conditioner.

So I would like to use the rain which falls in my sprayer and for drinking. Can this be done without hellish faff; assurance rubbish; animals dying due to toxic rain? I dont expect much more than 20,000lt tankage would be possible given the location. Should I forget the spraying bit and just use for drinking, and does there need to be any treatment between sky -> roof -> tank -> mouth?

Thanks.

Do cows in a shed pay ?

 

[Fraserb]

Do cows in a shed pay ?

Depends what the cows in the shed are for.

 

[franklin]

Do cows in a shed pay ?

Depends how you value a supply of your own FYM.

I am unsure if the rainwater harvesting would pay, but seems to me a good idea that wants doing on day 1.

 

[Adam@Rumen]

One of my customers has this on all his sheds and it works very well.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

true, just an extra fath.

I had wondered if they had some sort of ball valve where the "float" is say in a tube operating the valve say on a piece of string? ie the valve could be at the conventional height above water full level while the float would operate via the string.
(obviously a bit more complicated than this but same idea) I didn't want to start with silly electrics with float switch and motor valve etc

I don't know what systems are available for the various toilet float assemblies maybe I could add some "middle" sections to a toilet idea

Why not just put a non return valve in line in the pipe before the ball valve?

 

[Agrispeed]

Why not just put a non return valve in line in the pipe before the ball valve?

I don't think a lot of water boards accept non return valves. Probably as there is no physical seperation.

 

[chickens and wheat]

If youve got enough water demand to make harvesting pay, then drill a borehole instead, most likely lot less hassle in the long run.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I have a little plastic barn for wintering calves in. It's 30 x 18 metres.
Out the back sits a couple of 9000 litre tanks for collecting the rain off the roof, plus I can top the tanks up from a pipe off the mains if need be. I have about a weeks' worth of water reserve, gravity off the roof into the tanks, and gravity back into the shed (through a little dosatron if I want to put it in the line).
Given your rules, you could probably make a header tank out of a 200 l drum and a ballcock and still have the "air-gap"?
I don't have those rules + I have the town supply tanks on my farm = free unmetered farm water. But it saves having all the rainwater going down a tile.

 

[simmy_bull]

there is some guideline on sizing a setup for rain water harvesting I think its eblex/brp that published it they size it so its not too big as if its too big you will get stale water /algae and might get some problems. its sized 2 ways on the amount of useage ie from cattle and from size area of your roof from memory.

I always fancy the idea but no room for a tank on the ground so would have to be cantileverd off building legs on the inside so only an odd 1000l or .

I always wanted to fit a system such that if the water level got below say 8" in the tank it would top up with mains water, this could be done with a standard ball cock but your not supposed to let the water get above them are you? plus mine could be a meter under water when full. I wouldn't have to worry if the rain tank got empty as mains would auto carry on. probably fit low pressure ball valves then to troughs if normal ones didn't have enough flow?

I also wanted some sort of filter on the inlet ideally. but I think the saving in water it takes say 5 years to get your money back and my shed is on an unmetered field supply so not any concern at the moment.

A few weeks ago there was an article in FW about a bespoke shed with rain water harvesting. If I recall correctly it had some sort of system to top it up if insufficient rain fall but min depth in tank was fairly deep and water was drawn out of a pipe out the side of the tank to avoid getting the stuff that had settled in the bottom of the tank.

 

[dannewhouse]

A few weeks ago there was an article in FW about a bespoke shed with rain water harvesting. If I recall correctly it had some sort of system to top it up if insufficient rain fall but min depth in tank was fairly deep and water was drawn out of a pipe out the side of the tank to avoid getting the stuff that had settled in the bottom of the tank.

i must have missed that do you know which issue and I will dig it out for a read

 

[simmy_bull]

i must have missed that do you know which issue and I will dig it out for a read

Sorry I don't off the top of my head. I'll have a few knocking about still I'll see if it's any of them.

 

[simmy_bull]

i must have missed that do you know which issue and I will dig it out for a read

Bit of luck second one I picked up double Christmas issue. 22 and 30 dec16

His tank is a bit different scale to what's been mentioned 100,000L

 

[dannewhouse]

View attachment 511108View attachment 511112

Bit of luck second one I picked up double Christmas issue. 22 and 30 dec16

His tank is a bit different scale to what's been mentioned 100,000L

thanks very much, I thought we were bad we get told off for leaving them around but I don't think we can quite go back to December!!! haha

as you say he is on a slightly different scale to us but things are worth knowing.
my defence against bacteria was that the tank would be getting a good amount of "chemical" mains water which should have chlorine etc in to fight bacteria obviously tank would be covered and they reckon if you paint them black they do a lot better for algae?
my thoughts were that if mains water needs say 1% chlorine it will have at least 2% as they will overkill so it can be watered down in my tank and not give grief. my farm is very suited to the same tank supplying all but 3 of the grazing paddocks so it is a very viable option for me. <doesn't help that my main supply is an in metered field supply!

 

[Selectamatic]

Reading this with interest...

Im thinking of running a downspout into a IBC, using that to fill the sprayer and decant as needed.

Excess would go to where it would anyway if there was no IBC

I would not be a high volume user, a IBC would be ample for what I need.

Would this work, or would the water become manky, clog my sprayer and kill the livestock that drank it?

 

[dannewhouse]

Reading this with interest...

Im thinking of running a downspout into a IBC, using that to fill the sprayer and decant as needed.

Excess would go to where it would anyway if there was no IBC

I would not be a high volume user, a IBC would be ample for what I need.

Would this work, or would the water become manky, clog my sprayer and kill the livestock that drank it?

you should be fine sprayer will have filters anyway, filling from the mains is no better the hydrant I use must be collapsing as I have to clean all the rusty metal out of my filters every tank full lately.

perhaps advisable to let it empty every so often? and don't suck the absolute bottom out with sprayer. some reckon "natural" water is better for spraying than these hard water areas having to put loads of water conditioners in?