The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Renewables => Topic started by: ToNo on August 09, 2019, 04:53:03 pm
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Hi, we live on a hill farm in Lancashire and at present, and for the last 100 years, the water supply has been provided by a spring way up above the farm, then water is gravity fed to the taps in the house. Once a year the water is tested by the local authorities plus any drinking water is put through a small commercial filter unit which sits on the kitchen work surface. BUT, the water supply dries up if we have long periods of drought.
My idea is to install a NEW, black, water grade, 1000ltr IPC container half way down the hill to act as a 1000ltr reservoir. Can anybody, based upon experience, please tell me what will be needed (from the spring collection point to the tap) in order to fit the reservoir? Filters, pumps, and any other information regarding safety?
My understanding is that 1000ltr will have a fairly quick ‘turnover’ so no dangers from standing water and a that a black IPC container will inhibit bacterial growth etc.
I would be most grateful for any experience based help and advice.
Thanks in anticipation.
ToNo
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Will you need to dig it in and /or frost protect it well ?
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Yes frost protection is essential. We use the 1000l black barrels, several of them, to store rainwater for livestock and garden watering. Our house supply comes from a deep well (hand dug many years ago). We have had one of the smaller blue barrels (80l I think) freeze solid in a severe winter. The big barrels have not frozen right through, but they do freeze enough to pop off the taps. Ours are mounted on brick plinths to give pressure.
Taps, piping and ball cocks can be bought at your agricultural store. Make sure there's no way mozzies can get in.
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If your spring is drying up 1000l is very little TBH. That would last an average 2 person household 4 days.
We are supplied by a spring up the hill (which luckily has never dried up); this is then piped down the hill to 3 IBC containers (just behind the house)) linked together (3000 litres total). These are dug into the ground with sleepers covering them. Photos below of IBC's when they were installed.
Their outlet then feeds down to our pump house by gravity with a sediment filter, UV filter and ph correction unit. It is then pumped into the house on demand.The IBC's are coming to the end of their life and I'll soon be replacing with a proper potable water tank.
Something like this
https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/water-tanks/water-storage-tanks/3000-litre-water-tanks/3500-litre-vertical-water-tank-potable.html (https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/water-tanks/water-storage-tanks/3000-litre-water-tanks/3500-litre-vertical-water-tank-potable.html)
These are above ground tanks. I've already put in the concrete base. As I understand it they do not need insulating everywhere (just critical points like the inlet and outlet pipes) as the ice forms as a frozen jacket on the inside; I have no personal experience though. The inlet has a ball valve and in our case the excess water will flow naturally down an overflow pipe to our field tanks for stock.
The water is captured at the spring by digging a hole down adjacent to it and inserting a vertical pipe, filling this with gravel at the bottom and putting an outlet pipe at 90 degress to the vertical pipe at the natural spring water height. See photo of it being installed.
This area should be fenced off sufficiently to stock animals/s**t contaminating the spring water; see photo
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Thank you so much for sharing your experience, being a Newby May I ask you, how are the three IBC connected (parts required) and where is the outlet positioned. Is the tank you referenced suitable for drinking water?
Thanks Again
ToNo
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The IBC's were installed by the previous owner. You can see the inlet connectors in the photo. They alkathene pipe feeds into the top of all 3 as per the photo; an outlet from the bottom of each tank is joined to one outlet pipe to the pump house. Each tank has a 1" BSP outlet something like
https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/1-inch-bsp-outlet.html (https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/1-inch-bsp-outlet.html)
The tanks are covered at ground level by railway sleepers.
All the manufactured tanks are identified as being 'potable' i.e. for drinking water. They come in all shapes and sizes, they can be above ground (which is the most usual) like these
https://www.calveshill.com/water-tanks/above-ground-water-storage-tanks/above-ground-water-storage/
(https://www.calveshill.com/water-tanks/above-ground-water-storage-tanks/above-ground-water-storage/)
or underground ones which are stronger/more expensive.
Most can be supplied with the outlet in place as you can see in the photo of this one
https://www.calveshill.com/C_H_datA_01/wp-content/gallery/harlequin-potable-water-tanks/harlequin_pw1450vt.jpg (https://www.calveshill.com/C_H_datA_01/wp-content/gallery/harlequin-potable-water-tanks/harlequin_pw1450vt.jpg)
The photo below shows our pump house with the pump, pressure vessel (which means that the pump doesn't have to always start for a small amount of water), sediment filter, UV filter and ph adjusment unit on the left.
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Thank you so much :wave:
ToNo