Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: I_want_an_Omega on 18 August 2012, 17:38:07

Title: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 18 August 2012, 17:38:07
Have any OOFers actually done this? The reason I'm asking is that our (metered  :() water bill is a significant amount each month - which if you think about it, the vast majority of it goes down the loo.

Ok, there will be a one off cost of butts/tanks/pumps etc - but after that I'd expect a significant reduction on the monthly bill.

It won't work for everyone of course - but I was wondering what any actual experience was - as opposed to opinions  ::).

Thanks
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: Plomien on 18 August 2012, 17:40:27
I don't see why not, once you have it installed then it should save you some money
its just the switching between live mains and the water storage in case of a dry summer ( :D )
They tend to do similar in hotter countries on recycling bath water etc maybe worth looking at the options they use :y
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 18 August 2012, 17:48:42
With the monthly bill being £50  for 3 of us then I'd be hoping for a significant reduction. That's more than:

1) The electricity bill
2) The phone/broadband bill
3) Double the mobile bill for SWMBO & my mobile ............

Sort of puts things into perspective ............  :-\
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: Varche on 18 August 2012, 17:59:13
Sounds a good idea and for many Spaniards in the countryside was the only water unless they had a spring.

You need to do a calculation on storage v requirements. Over here the damn tanks go up in a more or less equal arrangement with number of cubic metres.

We went to Cyprus a few years back. Very impressed with their arrangment in houses etc. They have three taps. Hot cold and non drinking water. The latter is for flushing toilets , watering your garden and washing cars , cleaning paths and so on. That requires some plumbing changes.

I have always had a concern that unless your storage tank is clean and capped, that the water could get contaminated with not nice human results. I wished we had had a giant (75 cubic metre underground tank ) built when we first arrived here. Too late now. We have access to a couple of wells so not really an issue and have a 2 cubic metre tank purely as a back up.

Our mains water bills are about 70 euros a year for about 200 cu metres. Funny water is cheap here (till austerity kicks in I guess) 
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: OOMV6 on 18 August 2012, 18:19:05
It's a good idea. I would think that the plumbing changes in your house would be the biggest cost.

You can get a few tanks like this even if it just for flushing toilets, garden watering and car cleaning. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBC-TANK-1000-LITRES-WATER-TANK-/251127963557?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item3a78649fa5

The pumps don't cost the earth, but ensure you research the specs on pumps. The power varies and some are better at sucking whilst other blowing out the other side. Excuse the innuendos ;) Point being, is location of pump in relation to tank is important
I have family living in Spain who did what Varche wished he had done. They have a 45,000 litre tank under the garden. Reason for this is no mains water in the isolated area and they get water delivered by lorry like we have heating oil delivered. Their pump is inside the house, so obviously a good sucker - 2 pumps run the whole (big) house.

In your case, even if you were to do a simple setup of tank, pump and filtering system (very important) for the basic needs already mentioned, you'd save quite quickly.
It is what I have started to do. Have one tank and pump so far. Plumbing for me is easy as I can access most in the cellar.
I have already started using the rainwater for the garden. Collected 1000 litres in a a very short time in the very wet season so all plant watering this summer has been free.
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: tidla on 18 August 2012, 19:08:48
With the monthly bill being £50  for 3 of us then I'd be hoping for a significant reduction. That's more than:

1) The electricity bill
2) The phone/broadband bill
3) Double the mobile bill for SWMBO & my mobile ............

Sort of puts things into perspective ............  :-\

Scandalous amount to pay.  Water is one of those industries which should never have been privatized. At least with the gas network you can see them replacing the old mains with new plastic as a leak would be of obvious concern.

Not so with the water, if you only knew how much just leaked back into the ground before it got to you...
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: omega3000 on 18 August 2012, 19:25:10
How much are we talking here for a pump or pumps  :)
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: Martian on 18 August 2012, 19:35:39
With the monthly bill being £50  for 3 of us
I think you are being f**ked up the ar$e without the benefit of any KY.

Our metered water bill is £22 a month on average and that is for a family of 4.
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: waspy on 18 August 2012, 19:35:49
£50.00 for three of you :o :o :o :o There's three in our house & my bill's half of that.
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: hoofing it on 18 August 2012, 19:46:18
The most inportant thing this system needs is a uv light you could rig up a diy system cheap enough.
My work installed a 13000L tank and the uv light lamp itself cost £100.
Over the last 3 years they have used  around 230000 litres of rain water so the savings are worth it if your metered.
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: tidla on 18 August 2012, 20:16:17
Is there a way of testing your supply for a leak?
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: I_want_an_Omega on 18 August 2012, 21:06:24
Thanks for feedback ............

A pump seems to be about £70 or so, so not too bad. I did look at using an IBC - but, the problem with them is that they would freeze if outdoors. I have a cellar - but the entrance isn't big enough for an IBC to fit. You can get 1/2 sized ones but they are rare 2nd hand and expensive new.

We did have a leak which has been fixed, so the exact usage is settling down. Three adults with daily showers, washing machine and dishwasher used every day (sometimes twice). We also have a lot of weekend visitors.

I dont understad the significance of the UV light. What's it for exactly?
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: Taxi_Driver on 18 August 2012, 21:14:57
I dont understad the significance of the UV light. What's it for exactly?

I have a UV lamp in my pumped water for my pond.....i believe it would be for the same reason......it helps to stop the water turning green with algae...
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: albitz on 18 August 2012, 21:17:44
Got four water butts here,the water from which is used for the garden and washing cars etc. Dread to think how much it would add to the water bill (metered) if those jobs were done using tap water.
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: omega3000 on 18 August 2012, 21:26:23
The most inportant thing this system needs is a uv light you could rig up a diy system cheap enough.
My work installed a 13000L tank and the uv light lamp itself cost £100.
Over the last 3 years they have used  around 230000 litres of rain water so the savings are worth it if your metered.

Seems expensive for a uv lamp  :-\
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: cleggy on 18 August 2012, 21:36:19
Your bill seems on the high side Rob, ours is around £300 for the year or £25 per month for three of us. All the usual stuff plus one bath full daily the other two have a quick shower. For washing the car and watering the garden I use my neighbours hosepipe :y :y, he hasn't had a meter fitted and his costs are the same as ours £300 ish for the year for unlimited use. :y
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: Sir Tigger KC on 18 August 2012, 23:26:04
It should be a requirement that all new houses have a rainwater system built in... It's just crazy that we get shed loads of rain in this country and minimal amounts are harvested from roofs!  :-\

I worked on a farm in rural Western Australia once and there was no mains connection or ground water from a well or borehole.  :o  All of the water was collected from roofs in huge water tanks.  While I was there we built a 250,000 litre water tank which collected water from their biggest grain barn.   :y  One of my jobs was going round with the 'Water Truck' topping up all the buildings water tanks!  :)
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: tigers_gonads on 19 August 2012, 09:52:30
I'd put a complaint in with a bill like that rob and get them check the meter for leaks  :y

Either that or you spend a hell of along time sat on the bog :P
Title: Re: Rainwater harvesting .............
Post by: Varche on 19 August 2012, 12:24:39
I'd put a complaint in with a bill like that rob and get them check the meter for leaks :y

Either that or you spend a hell of along time sat on the bog :P

You would be able to see if the meter was leaking. I would presume that would be the responsibility of the water company.

If you have a leak somewhere between your meter and your taps etc you could easily check for leaks by taking a reading before going out and when you came back. I am fairly certain that if you have a leak on your side of the meter /mains stop valve, then it is your responsibility to fix it. If you have insurance it might cover it. An elderly unmetered relative had such a leak that turned out to be on the neighbours property. The bill was split 3 years legally between the two neighbours and the council.

Back to your opportunity. Do you know how much water you use a day? I read somewhere that the UK average is 150 litres per person. We use about 550 a day average but that includes watering pots and gardens and building work. One of those cubes holds only 1000 litres.