Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Rainwater Harvesting | Things The Books Won't Tell You

Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Rainwater Harvesting | Things The Books Won't Tell You
These are some issues we've run into when setting up a rainwater harvesting system. They might be easily overlooked but important to consider.

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We are Jim and Jessica, a husband and wife team who made the leap from city life to an off-grid homestead in Southern Arizona. We've started this lifestyle equipped only with two Permaculture Design Certificates and a whole lot of determination.

We’d like to share our journey of starting a sustainable homestead from scratch with all its ups, downs, and lessons learned. Watch us take on the challenge of modern homesteading, off-grid life, and turning this barren piece of land into a desert oasis.

#greendreamproject #rainwaterharvesting #offgrid

[vincentalaimo]

If you’re going to use silicone please use aquarium safe silicone… other silicones have toxins in them.

[hilaireoloughlin]

Simple, no pretence, straight to the point. Thanks for the great tips.

[capistranogardener]

Jim...great job!!! May I suggest that you form the filter screens over a ball or cone before installing them...that way any debris will deflect and not clog the screen. Keep up the great work...very inspiring indeed.

[theupsideofdownsizing]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us Jim! It looks like you have your system really dialed in. Let the rain begin!

[claudiamcbride]

Flexible PVC is great for rainwater harvesting. Can be curved and go around bends without needing fittings to make the turns.

[robertbuckley]

Great video! These are tips that would be hard to anticipate without the experience that you've gained the hard way. One of the functions of any pioneer is to scout the territory and report back to the folks following behind. Thanks for breaking trail.

[deborahmcsweeney]

We studied with Billy Kniffen who was with Texas A&M Extension. I think he trained the guy who wrote those books. We got a book from Billy called Rainwater Harvesting Planning and Installation offered through Texas A&M Extension. It has so much critical information that we call it our rain water bible. LoL! You might look for it! I hope your tanks fill up this summer!

[wdwerker]

Always wise to listen to folks who learned the hard way !

[donaldwarriner]

You're so articulate with thoughtful presentation that inspires me to do this in the future. Thank you.

[kennethalmond]

Great video. One thing I notice is those horizontal stretches of pipe over the cistern. They will sag within a year based on my experience. This may be OK for you and if not, think about support to keep them straight before they kind of melt-sag based on sun :)

[StoneKathryn]

Thanks Jim for going over how you have changed your system since the first time you were harvesting rain water. I really enjoyed this.

[lnwolf]

Why not get a couple of 55 gallon drums, use the first one for a debris filter, the second one fills 3/4 before dumping into your other tanks.
Some people set up a diverter, so the first 5 gallons dump on the ground taking all the crap with it, so you just get clean rainwater.

[christineherrmann]

This video made me wonder why you guys didn't drain the poly tanks while there was no rain and move them closer to shed, so that initial catchment was poly tanks with cistern as overflow? Probably something I'm missing.

[elizabethblane]

Such a great, organized, concise video. Seriously underrated channel!

[hirsutusi]

It might be wise to add a cleanable U trap between the horizontal collector pipe and the down-across-up link to the tank farm. Your filters will keep out most bugs and big particles but dust and sand may get through and over time block that underground gray pipe.

[Doitgood]

There is no substitute for good planning/design 🔥⛈🦠

[jayfroman]

I like making dirt, catching rain and converting sunshine into energy. I have other hobbies but those are among my favorites.

[bobjoatmon]

I'd be interested in how much water you end up getting in the underground cistern (during the monsoon season)

Also, please answer why you didn't move the poly tanks closer to the end of the shed (between the shed and underground cistern) as that would have simplified your piping considerably

[CherylSpelts]

Can you show us how much you've collected with the last week of storms? I am so looking forward to seeing the payoff, to all your work, with rainwater pouring into those plastic tanks! :)

[charlesweaver]

Thanks for the sharing. One possible solution to replace 90° elbow is to combine two 45°'s. You can vary the length of the connecting pipe between the two 45°'s as the situation requires. This might create more of a gentle 90° turn.