Comments on: How To Make Unbuildable Land Buildable with Rainwater Collection

By: K Black

K Black — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 22:46:52 +0000

Hi! My long time (40+) year plan to live out “in the middle of nowhere” is about to come to fruition. I bought a piece of land in New Brunswick, Canada. Aside from getting a drive in, my biggest concern, at this point, is the water. It will cost about $4500 for a well. It will also cost about $4500 for a rain water catchment system. I would prefer to go with rain water catchment, as there is PLENTY of precipitation (about 4 inches per month). However, I am worried about the 5 months of freezing temperatures. How do you keep the water running from the roof–when the roof is covered with snow? Also, how do you keep an above-ground tank from freezing up? Not to mention, all of the water lines, pump, etc.? Please advise. Thanx!

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:42:15 +0000

@jane et al…

I used a rain chain in conjunction with my rain barrel and it looks way better than a downspout. great design addition while still having the function of water catchment.

By: jane

jane — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:59:44 +0000

i need a self sustainig house some day. i have often thought of purifying the water from a rainbarell(outside)with a reverse osmosis filtration system inside i think a series of filters on the opening of the rainbarell would work for the imediate exposure to elements birds etc.if it’s to cold outside just drop the tank from the roof into the house.or place the rainbarell outside a second floor window and bring it in if temp goes to low. as for heating the house what about the inexpensive wood stove/ fireplace thingys.

By: Michael Janzen

Michael Janzen — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:29:32 +0000

Factory painted metal roofs are best (IMHO). Here’s a good resource http://www.harvesth2o.com/

By: Nicholas

Nicholas — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 00:35:01 +0000

Hello Everyone. What kind of roof material can you use that is safe to collet water and drink off of? I am very grateful for this knowledge, keep gooing in the right direction!

By: page

page — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 19:39:51 +0000

miracle 2 soap is great for the body and for the garden too

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:58:57 +0000

Nice idea on water for remote locations. I was thinking when I got settled somewhere, I would add a rainwater collection system to my tiny solar house. I plan to keep it simple, like gutters and downspot that run into a barrel. Then I can pump the water from the rain barrel into the storage tanks in the tiny solar house. Still have to deal with grey water, but at least could collect fresh water without all the chemicals used to treat municipal systems water.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:05:04 +0000

Great article. Keep going.

Modoc Monthly Rain Data is available online at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/misc/MonthlyPrecip.html Notice some months have no rain or only 1/4 inch. Maybe your systems should be sized to handle two or three months in a row with no rain.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:28:25 +0000

I did see a posting from a guy who uses a 600 gallon outdoor tank with a lid and no fittings. Seems the fittings are what usually freeze and break. The tank may freeze and unfreeze but usually without damage or leaks.

He has a smaller 50 gallon indoor water tank. When the indoor tank gets low he takes the lid off the outdoor tank, drops in a submersibe pump and refills the indoor tank.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:24:43 +0000

I thought I would share some things I found on Internet to prevent above ground tank from freezing. I don’t know if any work.

1. Use a dark colored tank
2. Insulate the tank
3. Use submerisble heater
4. Use air compressor to make bubbles
5. Dig 3-4 post holes 4 feet deep below the tank. The temperature below the surface of the earth is 52-55 °F (11-13 °C) year round. The warmer air will rise and help to raise the temperature of your tank.