Hi, I want to convert my toilets to flush with rainwater. Currently the pipe that feeds the lavatory cisterns comes from the mains cold water header tank in the attic. I want to install a rain water header tank in the attic next to it and connect the lavatory cisterns to that instead. The catch is that for the system I have in mind with limited rainwater storage I'm not going to be able to do this for the entire year, so I'm going to need to switch the lavatory cisterns between the mains header tank and rainwater header tank. So what I think I'm looking for is a 3 port manual diverter valve suitable for connecting to 15mm copper pipes. Problem is can't find any! Any suggestions? thanks
Why is this relevant? it will be collected from the gutters, filtered and then pumped to the attic. The main storage tank (1000l) will be outside, the attic tank will be much smaller Hence the need to switch back to mains water occasionally. The storage tank I've found is relatively small (1000 litres). Although this means I won't save as much water as I might with a bigger tank, it does mean the water will be left standing for a relatively short period, hopefully reducing the chance of it getting smelly.
Bad idea, needs to done properly, 800ltrs plus water storage. More info, why the header tank, could pump direct to toilet,etc if done properly. Usually the rainwater harvesting is best done through a contol panel which monitors stored water, & when low, switches automatically over to mains water, so no lose of supply. No chance of water getting smelly, as it's filtered & I think UV treated, long time since I was into rainwater harvesting.
I wasn't aware (and wasn't intending) to be rude. I wasn't sure of the relevance of the question to my initial request
I'm trying to keep the budget low. The header tank, storage tank and pump have already been sourced for free. Pumping to a header tank and then letting gravity do the work seemed like the simplest option. Also, the pump is intended to be solar powered, so the header tank is needed for when the sun isn't shinning.
So you will have loads of water in winter and little solar power to move it. But lots of power in the summer, but nothing to move? What about bacteria and general dirt n debris ?
Your going to need to filter & treat water with UV to kill any germs,many nasty & fatal ones, you also need to prevent backflow into mains water system & contamination.
further information..... I reckon I'm only going to save about £100 a year (max) hence the desire to keep the costs low and source almost everything from skips/freecycle. A header tank seems the simplest/cheapest option. Pumping directly to each toilet cistern would require (i think) upgrading each indiviual cistern with somehting to control the water level in each one - using a header tank alows me to continue using the existing ballcock valve
The whole crux of the system depends on the location of the water tank from where it is going to be collected and used, the diameter of the pipe, the power of the pump, whether you are pushing or pulling the water. That is even before you work out a balancing between your potable water supplies and harvested water
the header tank will contain enough water for two days of flushes, you don't need much sunlight to pump a header tank full of water. Dirt and debris will be taken care of by simple filtering. I wasn't planning on worrying to much about bacteria, I'm only storing water for a couple of weeks maximum and it's only going to be used to flush the loo. with rainwater in one header tank and mains water in the other, there should be no mixing between the two.
For £100 saving a year it woukd be more sensible to water your garden with it. Unless you have a really big catchment area, but then thats limited to your storage size.
Strewth - who'd have though using rainwater in the loos would be so difficult The tank is at the side of the house at the end of the gutter, the filter is above the tank, the pump is in the cellar just below the tank and will pump up to the attic header tank via a 15mm copper pipe.
Collect rain water in bucket, empty bucket down bog, job done, very little cost, a couple of quid for bucket.
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