Clark, What type of gutter screens are you using? My initial plastic ones failed to with stand the weather.

Posted By bonnan on 06 Sep 2012 09:26 AM
Clark, What type of gutter screens are you using? My initial plastic ones failed to with stand the weather.

I bought Clean Mesh Gutter Guards (cleanmesh.com).  They're 3' long, made of aluminum and stainless steel fine mesh screening.  They are expensive, so look hard for a good sale before buying.  I paid $1.80/ft on sale at Menard's.  The mesh is so fine, I thought a hard rain would wash over the gutter, but it doesn't.  The manufacturer claims the guards are self-cleaning.  That seems to be the case, but since I have few mature trees on the property, I can't say for sure.

The "sand" that washes off the roof shingles does not go through the mesh.  Now that my buried drainage system has been flushed of dirt and debris, the water entering the cistern is much cleaner.  I noticed no build up of visible particles in the 100 mesh sediment filter (between the pump and the bladder tank) on the last tank of rainwater.  The water looks clear in the toilets a day after a good rain without any additional filtering.  There is a slight yellowish tinge to the water immediately after a good rainfall.

BTW, these gutter guards suffered no damage over the winter.  Make sure to use stainless steel screws to attach them to the gutters.  They seem is stay in place without screws, but strong winds will dislodge them unless fastened down.

--Clark

I have been reading this post for several days, due to the time limit that I can spend at the computer. I am the one big earth keeper guy (green, eco sustainable, efficient, enviroment friendly and on..., you name it) and this topic cought my eye first, where I was about to read any topic as here are many interesting ones on this forum. Well, I have time. 
   Anyway, does anybody here know if some project like this would be efficient to incorporate to a residential building sitting on 2.5-5 acres in SW Florida. We don't have many rainy days throughout a year, but we have raining season which takes half of the summer and another half plus one month more is taken over by the hurricane season.

Thanks,
Sasha

Posted By Clark on 31 Aug 2012 05:38 PM 
Switch over to city water when the cistern empties is totally automatic, seamless, and safe from a health standpoint.

All in all, I'm very happy with the system. 

--Clark

BTW thank you Clark for the entire project experiment share. One question about the automatic switch, was it a part of certain equipment that you installed within your cistern or you had to buy it separately and how much would that switch cost if you don't mind me asking.

Sasha

Posted By Karapet on 14 Sep 2012 08:14 PM

Posted By Clark on 31 Aug 2012 05:38 PM 
Switch over to city water when the cistern empties is totally automatic, seamless, and safe from a health standpoint.

All in all, I'm very happy with the system. 

--Clark

BTW thank you Clark for the entire project experiment share. One question about the automatic switch, was it a part of certain equipment that you installed within your cistern or you had to buy it separately and how much would that switch cost if you don't mind me asking.

Sasha

I assume the "automatic switch" you are referring to is the RPZ (Reduced Pressure Zone) backflow preventer.  Yes, it seamlessly integrates the city and cistern water supplies.  When cistern water is available it takes priority in supplying that water to the irrigation system and toilets.  When the cistern water runs out, the city water takes over automatically. 

The RPZ also prevents the contamination of the municipal water supply by the cistern water supply.  Originally, I installed the RPZ valve, as required by code, to prevent the backflow of water from the lawn and garden irrigation system into the city water main. 

I purchased a 1" RPZ valve for $160 on the internet in 2009, but expect to pay $200+ today.  Here's one by Febco that is similar to the one I purchased.  Febco 825EBV.

Posted By Clark on 14 Sep 2012 09:31 PM

Posted By Karapet on 14 Sep 2012 08:14 PM

Posted By Clark on 31 Aug 2012 05:38 PM 
Switch over to city water when the cistern empties is totally automatic, seamless, and safe from a health standpoint.

All in all, I'm very happy with the system. 

--Clark

BTW thank you Clark for the entire project experiment share. One question about the automatic switch, was it a part of certain equipment that you installed within your cistern or you had to buy it separately and how much would that switch cost if you don't mind me asking.

Sasha

I assume the "automatic switch" you are referring to is the RPZ (Reduced Pressure Zone) backflow preventer.  Yes, it seamlessly integrates the city and cistern water supplies.  When cistern water is available it takes priority in supplying that water to the irrigation system and toilets.  When the cistern water runs out, the city water takes over automatically. 

The RPZ also prevents the contamination of the municipal water supply by the cistern water supply.  Originally, I installed the RPZ valve, as required by code, to prevent the backflow of water from the lawn and garden irrigation system into the city water main. 

I purchased a 1" RPZ valve for $160 on the internet in 2009, but expect to pay $200+ today.  Here's one by Febco that is similar to the one I purchased.  Febco 825EBV.

Thanks

I thoroughly enjoyed this thread. Thanks for taking the time to share. I’ve been considering a similar system for my future retirement house (about 6 or 7 years away) and learned a lot from your efforts. My original idea was just to use it for landscaping and garden, but this really has me thinking about toilets and laundry. My wife is a clean-aholic and loves to do laundry daily. Load size and water conservation means nothing to her when there are dirty clothes in the hamper. I’ve got a lot just north of Atlanta where the map says the average rainfall is something between 54 to 58 inches a year.

Clark - I had a couple of questions. Where did you put the bladder? Also, after the few tweaks you made could you provide and updated schematic? In your system where does the water from the first flush diverter go? I can’t tell from the photo.

Here is the updated schematic of the cistern plumbing as implemented.  The RPZ (reduced pressure zone) valve is required by local plumbing codes to prevent contamination of the potable water supply.  Note that the submersible pump pressure switch is located near the bladder tank to avoid switch contact chatter.  The use of a sump allowed me to use the full capacity of the cistern without sucking up silt and sludge in the tank.  I used a submersible pump to eliminate pump noise.  I incorporated a 100 mesh filter to remove cistern water debris.  The stainless steel filter screen can be manually back washed, but I rarely have to do so.  The rainwater inlet and overflow piping is 4" PVC Schedule 40.  The inlet extends to the bottom of the tank and turns upward to minimize stirring up tank bottom silt.



I have not connected the system to our washing machine, but may do so in the future on the cold side.  Rainwater is soft water so it should require less soap and produce cleaner, softer clothes.  Has anyone done that?  Do you recommend the practice?

--Clark

Thanks Clark. I'm printing this out and stashing it for future reference.