# Rainwater Harvesting v Honda Accord



## -Simon-

Hi Guys,

Well as soon as I heard about the ban from South East water I started doing a bit of research on rainwater harvesting options. I knew the Kranzle was capable of drawing from a tank, and also that rainwater would be free of calcium and therefore be vastly preferable to the mega hard water I normally use.

I already had two linked water butts at the back of my drive through garage, and knew that these would represent a good first and second flush option as the water coming off the roof can contain contaminants such as moss, grit, bird mess....

Requirements list:


Intermediate bulk container - 1000ltr tank
IBC Connectors
Kranzle filter
DPC plastic sheet and tank tape
Filter funnel
1" Aquatic grade flexible pipe
Fernox thread sealant

Managed to get 2 tanks for £55-00, which was great as they have been going for £100-00 each locally!! Sold the spare for £62-00 which I was pretty chuffed with tbh :thumb:

The IBC tanks are super tough plastic liners with a metal frame, in this case I selected one with a metal pallet in preference to wood or plastic, reckon these are the strongest and most durable, if a little heavier. The tanks are used to transport all sorts of liquids, so be careful to check what it held, and that it is professionally cleaned out. I spent a little while getting the tank level on blocks, remember 1ltr water equals 1KG weight....:doublesho










My better half is far better than me at wrapping presents and helped me cover the plastic liner in a thick dpc plastic, the idea here is to exclude uv light and thereby avoid any issues with the water greening with algae.

I used a standard water butt linking kit from the local Wilkinson's, but as it only came with a 0.5m hose, picked up 2m from an Ebay trader. The hose is aquatic grade and I had to warm the end in boiling water to get the flexibility to fit it to the butt spur.










Basically the tanks fill in turn, and then the water flows into the next one until I'm left with 1500ltrs of lovely soft water.

The only worries I had related to filtering the water, basically for two reasons:


Avoiding damage to pressure washer pump
Avoiding grit being fired through the pw onto paint

The three tank system does a great job of cleaning up the water but added a mesh across the second outlet into the main tank:










In addition I purchased a Kranzle inlet filter which can be cleaned easily, and is fine enough to clean out any stray contaminants:










The next issue was connecting the tank to the pw, and I opted for CPP fittings which are specifically designed and manufactured in the UK for IBC tanks:



















I opted for their cam lock system which allows quick release of the water feed pipe from the tank and onto the washer, and I am informed will also avoid air getting drawn into the pump at the connections and thereby avoid pump damage.



















The metal arms are pulled back and seal the connectors...



















Then all that was left to do was link every thing up, open the valve on the tank, and purge the air from the washer by switching it on and opening the lance.

The good news is that the pressure out of the Kranzle was exactly as if running off of the mains. In fact the snow foam was even thicker, think the softened water may have helped:










The wash process was pretty much business as usual, and I really didn't hold back....










The real bonus was the lack of hard water spotting when I dried the car off, this has always been a real menace, but I reckon I could have let the car air dry and still not had a problem:










The only thing I now need is another 10m of high pressure hose as the 10m I have is not really enough, and it's important to keep the pump close (3m max) to the tank. Anyone who has a spare 10m of Kranzle hose going cheap please pm me :lol:


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## AaronGTi

Awesome


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## -Simon-

AaronGTi said:


> Awesome


Guess this looks a little crazy from your part of the world :lol:


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## AaronGTi

Sure does mate but an excellent option in your case :thumb:


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## Trip tdi

Nice one, great thinking there.


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## [email protected]

I will be doing this but my storage tank will be in my garage


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## -Simon-

Quick update - I ended the weekend with around 1/3 of overall capacity in the system, so that's around 500ltrs, came home today and I reckon I'm up to 80%, fully expect to be at 100% by tomorrow morning :thumb:

Really delighted with the collection efficiency...


Regards


Simon


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## McClane

Looks great mate! "When I have my house....!..."


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## peugeot106

nice kit


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## scotty76

Nice setup. I have two of the standard water butts (as in your picture) that I use to feed my Karcher and that's been working fine. I also bought a water butt pump from Lidl this week so have the option to use that instead/in conjunction with the PW.

You speculated that you could leave the car to dry on its own. I can confim that I did this at the start of the week and it dried without spotting. This was mostly by accident as it was windy so the panels were dry before I'd finished the whole car.


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## -Simon-

Quick update...added a 20m Kranzle pw hose and male to male connector to the kit this weekend so no more struggling the get round the cars...

The IBC tank was brimmed before I started and I foamed and cleaned the Tourer and the Polo with no holding back on usage and this hardly touched the tank, reckon about 10-12 weeks of this heavy usage, and that's without filtering 220ltr from tank two. Of course any rainfall in that time will reset the clock :detailer:

Only adjustment I am planning is to replace the metal filter between tank two and the IBC with a plastic one, as this is beginning to rust and I don't want it to contaminate the stored water, 5min job tbh.

Just waiting for a letter from the water board, so I can send them a link for the set up :lol:


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## mercboy

great setup,but did you know its ok to collect rainwater to use around the home but not if you run a commercial business ie detailing/valeting.on your water rates bill it says a charge for taking rainwater away,i have a friend who has a large mercedes van he uses for pressure cleaning,he was doing just this to fill the tanks in his van as he's on a water meter.the water board found out and put a stop to it.he now goes out early and uses a stand pipe to connect to a water main on some waste land every morning,so its not using his water meter.as he says who looses out now!!.


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## -Simon-

mercboy said:


> great setup,but did you know its ok to collect rainwater to use around the home but not if you run a commercial business ie detailing/valeting.on your water rates bill it says a charge for taking rainwater away,i have a friend who has a large mercedes van he uses for pressure cleaning,he was doing just this to fill the tanks in his van as he's on a water meter.the water board found out and put a stop to it.he now goes out early and uses a stand pipe to connect to a water main on some waste land every morning,so its not using his water meter.as he says who looses out now!!.


Hmm sounds crazy but tbh honest not surprised, no plans on going commercial just now though


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## mattsbmw

This is a great thread and is exactly what i am looking at doing


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## wildwash

that is a great setup, really thinking of doing the same sort of thing, not just because of the hose pipe ban but the hard water area is a pain


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## Lowiepete

Pardon me, but can someone please explain how and why this is an "eco friendly"
method of cleaning? All I see is a small conversion of perfectly good water into
possibly its most pollutant form! Anyone who thinks that snowfoam stops doing
its thing once it hits the ground is only deluding themselves. For goodness sake
snowfoam is just a big-boy's toy with proven destructive elements (unless you
trap it and deal with it safely) and very little proven benefit. It's not like a family
car needs a long reach lance is it?

Really guys, it's way beyond time that you realise just how precious a resource
water is, rather than indulge in such profligate waste of time, effort and money.
Many millions of people, with cars, don't just live with a permanent hose-pipe 
ban, they can't even use buckets! So how disrepectful of your immediate 
environment and how wasteful are you in perpetuating such ideas? The world
has moved on; there are many fantastic 21stC products available which make 
most of the work and money you expend completely redundant!

Regards,
Steve


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## Muttley

Hi, love your setup and considering a similar setup to circumnavigate local hose pipe ban, just waiting for Anglian Water to confirm if I can run a pressure washer from this. Common sense suggests it should be ok as its not mains water but in this day and age that means nothing! 

I am guessing you have wrapped the tank to prevent sunlight causing any problems to the water or the tank?

Thanks


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## -Simon-

Yes, wrapped to prevent sun light and therefore algae growing in the tank.

I emailed my water board who confirmed ok to use harvested water.

Changed the metal filter today for a plastic cut down tea strainer as the metal one had started to corrode.....


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## -Simon-

Lowiepete said:


> Pardon me, but can someone please explain how and why this is an "eco friendly"
> method of cleaning? All I see is a small conversion of perfectly good water into
> possibly its most pollutant form! Anyone who thinks that snowfoam stops doing
> its thing once it hits the ground is only deluding themselves. For goodness sake
> snowfoam is just a big-boy's toy with proven destructive elements (unless you
> trap it and deal with it safely) and very little proven benefit. It's not like a family
> car needs a long reach lance is it?
> 
> Really guys, it's way beyond time that you realise just how precious a resource
> water is, rather than indulge in such profligate waste of time, effort and money.
> Many millions of people, with cars, don't just live with a permanent hose-pipe
> ban, they can't even use buckets! So how disrepectful of your immediate
> environment and how wasteful are you in perpetuating such ideas? The world
> has moved on; there are many fantastic 21stC products available which make
> most of the work and money you expend completely redundant!
> 
> Regards,
> Steve


Hmm you go your way, and I'll go mine....If you follow this view through you wouldn't drive a car at all....:lol:

Regards

Simon


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## trv8

Lowiepete said:


> Pardon me, but can someone please explain how and why this is an "eco friendly"
> method of cleaning? All I see is a small conversion of perfectly good water into
> possibly its most pollutant form! Anyone who thinks that snowfoam stops doing
> its thing once it hits the ground is only deluding themselves. For goodness sake
> snowfoam is just a big-boy's toy with proven destructive elements (unless you
> trap it and deal with it safely) and very little proven benefit. It's not like a family
> car needs a long reach lance is it?
> 
> Really guys, it's way beyond time that you realise just how precious a resource
> water is, rather than indulge in such profligate waste of time, effort and money.
> Many millions of people, with cars, don't just live with a permanent hose-pipe
> ban, they can't even use buckets! So how disrepectful of your immediate
> environment and how wasteful are you in perpetuating such ideas? The world
> has moved on; there are many fantastic 21stC products available which make
> most of the work and money you expend completely redundant!
> 
> Regards,
> Steve


So how pollutant is snow foam .
I would of thought by the time it's been diluted, used for foaming and then pressure washed off, which makes it even more diluted, there wouldn't be any 'destuctive elements' to be of concern.
Isn't the reason for Simon harvesting his rainwater to re-use for whatever purpose, show that he's aware of how precious a resource water is.
For goodness sake, he's doing his bit for the enviroment...maybe not as much as you....but more than some others and atleast he's doing something.
Maybe it's time to get off your high horse and stop preaching to others who are doing their bit.


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## alan_mcc

Lowiepete said:


> Pardon me, but can someone please explain how and why this is an "eco friendly"
> method of cleaning? All I see is a small conversion of perfectly good water into
> possibly its most pollutant form! Anyone who thinks that snowfoam stops doing
> its thing once it hits the ground is only deluding themselves. For goodness sake
> snowfoam is just a big-boy's toy with proven destructive elements (unless you
> trap it and deal with it safely) and very little proven benefit. It's not like a family
> car needs a long reach lance is it?
> 
> Really guys, it's way beyond time that you realise just how precious a resource
> water is, rather than indulge in such profligate waste of time, effort and money.
> Many millions of people, with cars, don't just live with a permanent hose-pipe
> ban, they can't even use buckets! So how disrepectful of your immediate
> environment and how wasteful are you in perpetuating such ideas? The world
> has moved on; there are many fantastic 21stC products available which make
> most of the work and money you expend completely redundant!
> 
> Regards,
> Steve


You're probably not gonna like this.

Why is it, that in your posts, you feel the need to address everyone all high and mighty? Surely this solution is a lot better than taking water out of a mains system for all parties concerned (both the water board and the user himself for better foam/lack of waterspots etc) so can't you just appreciate that?

Why not go onto every single supporter's thread and start criticising that their wash bucket was too full, or they spent too long rinsing a wheel? Might aswell


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## Lowiepete

I'm sorry guys, but there is nothing "high-horse" about fact! If you live in an
area where out of over 400 days there's only 3 days of rain to speak of, then
there is no rain to harvest. I also don't find it strange where the UK country 
with the highest rainfall is also the one with the strongest laws against water 
pollution. Ever wondered why?

My point was specifically about snow foam in a water shortage area. To think
that regularly using snow foam (without collecting it) in the same place in an 
area where there is little rainfall will not do any environmental damage is 
delusional beyond belief! There is no question that there will be a build up of 
harmful chemicals. This is why some very forbidding laws have been put in 
place in many countries all around the world. More than likely, the reality is 
that we'll be next. All the signs are there!

All it's a question of doing is embracing this reality by respecting _your own_ 
environment. With 21stC products available, it's not only not _that_ tough,
it's likely to save time, effort and money. What's high-horse about that?

Regards,
Steve


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## mattsbmw

Steve

Your post has come across very "high horse" to me, perhaps your first post should have made it clear that you were talking snow foam particularly.

i do agree with your sentiments about wasting water and i too will be harvesting rainwater in the near future.

Having said that the water compaines lose 3.36 BILLION litres per day through leaks :doublesho

Surely that needs addressing to stand any chance of conserving our water supplies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17622837


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## Lowiepete

Hi Matt,


mattsbmw said:


> Having said that the water compaines lose 3.36 BILLION litres per day through leaks :doublesho
> 
> Surely that needs addressing to stand any chance of conserving our water supplies.


Maybe perversely, I'm actually fairly relaxed about this, so I'm not sure that
I agree with your second sentence. OK, so we are being (over)charged for 
the treatment of this lost water and we should probably be angry about that. 
However, if there was no loss, I do believe we'd now have very stringent laws
in place. Human nature tends to dictate that appreciation only comes once 
something is gone.

The only real _loss_ is from a treated water supply; the water itself is not 
lost, it'll probably find its way back to a water table anyway There's the rub!
It could be this loss, remember that it's clean rather than dirty water, that's 
helping nature to maintain these tables. In other words, that _any_ water can
be found there at all. Obviously this is critical in times of drought, and without
it they would/could collapse and be lost forever.

With technology and increasing populations we are already overusing water 
yet comparatively we probably have the most relaxed usage rules/laws of any
country in the world! From my point of view, that's worth protecting in itself. 
What that means is challenging any action which puts that at risk. We can all 
complain about things being wrong with Britain; as far as water usage is 
concerned I'll bet we're viewed with some envy from many places abroad.
The problem is that they are mostly envying waste!

Regards,
Steve


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## -Simon-

Lowiepete said:


> Hi Matt,
> 
> Maybe perversely, I'm actually fairly relaxed about this, so I'm not sure that
> I agree with your second sentence. OK, so we are being (over)charged for
> the treatment of this lost water and we should probably be angry about that.
> However, if there was no loss, I do believe we'd now have very stringent laws
> in place. Human nature tends to dictate that appreciation only comes once
> something is gone.
> 
> The only real _loss_ is from a treated water supply; the water itself is not
> lost, it'll probably find its way back to a water table anyway There's the rub!
> It could be this loss, remember that it's clean rather than dirty water, that's
> helping nature to maintain these tables. In other words, that _any_ water can
> be found there at all. Obviously this is critical in times of drought, and without
> it they would/could collapse and be lost forever.
> 
> With technology and increasing populations we are already overusing water
> yet comparatively we probably have the most relaxed usage rules/laws of any
> country in the world! From my point of view, that's worth protecting in itself.
> What that means is challenging any action which puts that at risk. We can all
> complain about things being wrong with Britain; as far as water usage is
> concerned I'll bet we're viewed with some envy from many places abroad.
> The problem is that they are mostly envying waste!
> 
> Regards,
> Steve


Hi Steve,

My position in this is that we have no excuses for the lack of water, at the end of the day this is down to a ongoing lack of investment, the same issue that effects much of our infrastructure, transport, sustainable energy etc...Hence I have no qualms about my system of water collection, and advocating this approach..I love detailing my car this way...However, I respect your position and passion regarding the damage detailing products might cause to the environment, and would certainly consider eco friendly products to replace those I already use ie an eco foam, shampoo etc, not sure some of the sealants and glass treatments could be replaced...tbh you cannot convert me re ONR et al but I'm all ears re eco friendly products you test, and how they compare to the normal everyday ones....

Regards

Simon


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## trv8

Lowiepete said:


> My point was specifically about snow foam in a water shortage area. To think
> that regularly using snow foam (without collecting it) in the same place in an
> area where there is little rainfall will not do any environmental damage is
> delusional beyond belief! There is no question that there will be a build up of
> harmful chemicals.
> Regards,
> Steve


Harmfull chemicals .
A mate of mine snow foams/rinses/shampoos and rinses again.....all this run's off onto his flower bed borders and then onto his lawn....and gues what? His flower borders are blooming and full of colour, and his lawn looks like a bowling green :thumb:.
So back to your point.
You don't even know what type of snow foam Simon is using, so it goes you will not know the chemical make-up of the product he's using. Like I said, it will be diluted to start with and further diluted when rinsed off with the harvested rain water he uses. 
Don't a lot of companies now make bio-degradable products now.

Cleaning/washing ones car at home is a bit different than a company using chemicals all day every day, day in day out.....don't you think .


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## Lowiepete

I've been a car enthusiast for 50 years or more and I have an abiding memory 
of the "owners' club" meetings that I attended in the mid to late 1960's where
the films we were shown were not just about the latest models, or their 
sporting exploits. Invariably, there would be public information films too, mostly
about water pollution, often highlighting popular places in this country. 

Why were being shown these films? Because the motor manufacturers got tax
breaks to fund their making. Horrifying, they were! However, even this could 
not prepare you for seeing the reality for yourself. Back in 1976 there's 
another abiding memory of several stretches the River Great Ouse in 
Cambridgeshire being treated for oxygen deprivation. Seeing huge air-lines 
running night and day and all the dead fish floating was not a pretty sight!
I won't even attempt to describe the smell...

Why am I saying all this? The reason is simple: the human race seems to have
great difficulty in learning from its own history. Here we are today doing our 
best to recreate the 1930's, probably because there are now so few people
alive now who were there back and fully remember the deprivation it caused 
that it seemingly no longer matters. Wrong!

Likewise, in reality, the case for using snow-foam on any vehicle below 5 to 6 
feet in height is very weak indeed! That's fact! It doesn't matter which way 
you dress it up. It's something invented by clever marketing departments with
the sole aim of parting some of us from our cash. Oh, and how have these 
same marketers abused the term biodegradable?

Of course, it's not alone in this, but to ignore the harmful side-effects is the 
thing that in my view needs to be strongly challenged. To suggest that it is
any way beneficial is just burying your head in the sand. I'm not being eco-
warrior about it, I just don't ever want anyone to witness another dead river, 
or an avenue of once beautiful, but now dead, trees. Your perspective about 
its causes gets changed, permanently!

To get back to the real point, we all have to live with change, like it or not. 
Not taking on board the changes in water usage that we'll all have to face at 
some point is just putting off a perceived evil day. As others around the world
have shown, it isn't quite as evil as is feared. 

I may be approaching my own dotage, but there are many modern day things 
to embrace! The arguments for using 21stC products that happen to have eco
friendly benefits outweigh by far any proposal to use snow foam. It really is
time to move on...

Regards,
Steve


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## -Simon-

Lowiepete said:


> I've been a car enthusiast for 50 years or more and I have an abiding memory
> of the "owners' club" meetings that I attended in the mid to late 1960's where
> the films we were shown were not just about the latest models, or their
> sporting exploits. Invariably, there would be public information films too, mostly
> about water pollution, often highlighting popular places in this country.
> 
> Why were being shown these films? Because the motor manufacturers got tax
> breaks to fund their making. Horrifying, they were! However, even this could
> not prepare you for seeing the reality for yourself. Back in 1976 there's
> another abiding memory of several stretches the River Great Ouse in
> Cambridgeshire being treated for oxygen deprivation. Seeing huge air-lines
> running night and day and all the dead fish floating was not a pretty sight!
> I won't even attempt to describe the smell...
> 
> Why am I saying all this? The reason is simple: the human race seems to have
> great difficulty in learning from its own history. Here we are today doing our
> best to recreate the 1930's, probably because there are now so few people
> alive now who were there back and fully remember the deprivation it caused
> that it seemingly no longer matters. Wrong!
> 
> Likewise, in reality, the case for using snow-foam on any vehicle below 5 to 6
> feet in height is very weak indeed! That's fact! It doesn't matter which way
> you dress it up. It's something invented by clever marketing departments with
> the sole aim of parting some of us from our cash. Oh, and how have these
> same marketers abused the term biodegradable?
> 
> Of course, it's not alone in this, but to ignore the harmful side-effects is the
> thing that in my view needs to be strongly challenged. To suggest that it is
> any way beneficial is just burying your head in the sand. I'm not being eco-
> warrior about it, I just don't ever want anyone to witness another dead river,
> or an avenue of once beautiful, but now dead, trees. Your perspective about
> its causes gets changed, permanently!
> 
> To get back to the real point, we all have to live with change, like it or not.
> Not taking on board the changes in water usage that we'll all have to face at
> some point is just putting off a perceived evil day. As others around the world
> have shown, it isn't quite as evil as is feared.
> 
> I may be approaching my own dotage, but there are many modern day things
> to embrace! The arguments for using 21stC products that happen to have eco
> friendly benefits outweigh by far any proposal to use snow foam. It really is
> time to move on...
> 
> Regards,
> Steve


Interesting Steve,

Just wondering if a new thread for this might be more appropriate, my aim here was to show ways to harvest water and take the strain off the limited mains resource. The matter of foaming, and use of detailing products is an interesting but separate matter. Perhaps a thread rating the environmental impact of different products would be informative....I am sure some of the chemicals available are aggressive, or they wouldn't be effective, however some may be less damaging than you think.

TBH I think that the use of ONR will always be less than the trad 2bm method so perhaps a guide for the traditionalist majority 

Would be interested in seeing this and perhaps suggestions for alternatives to the worst offenders as well as recognition of top brands who produce Eco friendly versions of their products...

Over to you...........


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## TubbyTwo

From one rainwater harvester to another, thats a pretty decent setup!

Im currently waiting on a pump to feed my PW was I have a feeling the distance from waterbutt to PW will be too great.


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## trv8

TubbyTwo said:


> Im currently waiting on a pump to feed my PW was I have a feeling the distance from waterbutt to PW will be too great.


I'm interested in this too.
Have you a link to the pump you will be using :thumb:.


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## TubbyTwo

Im after one with a float switch so most probably a submersable one. Lidl are selling florabest pumps 2400l ph for £35, with removable washable filter.

Karcher also do one on offer at tesco at the moment £48:
http://www.tesco.com/direct/karcher-sbp2200-water-butt-pump/209-7561.prd


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## TubbyTwo

Just ordered the Karcher one from Tesco, collect it this saturday from my local store.

Good times


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## trv8

Cheere Tubby :thumb:.

I didn't realise there were so many different types.
I've been looking at these with over 3bar pressure ....

http://www.screwfix.com/p/karcher-g...on Pump 240V&gclid=CNvQ4o-cmbACFUdlfAodkV9B4g

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=146269&Referrer=froogle


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## mattsbmw

trv8 said:


> Cheere Tubby :thumb:.
> 
> I didn't realise there were so many different types.
> I've been looking at these with over 3bar pressure ....
> 
> http://www.screwfix.com/p/karcher-g...on Pump 240V&gclid=CNvQ4o-cmbACFUdlfAodkV9B4g
> 
> http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=146269&Referrer=froogle


So if i used these with a pressure washer would they switch off when i switched the gun off or does the pump need turning off as well?


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## -Simon-

mattsbmw said:


> So if i used these with a pressure washer would they switch off when i switched the gun off or does the pump need turning off as well?


You need a pump with a demand switch, don't think these have this feature...


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## trv8

Mmmm OK then, how about something along the lines of this type ....

I want a pump that will give good pressure, similar to mains water pressure while using the hosepipe... aswell as for the pressure washer.

http://www.malcleanse.co.uk/DP/Flojet-2100-Series-Diaphragm-Demand-Pump-R2100332

Getting a bit lost now...too many pumps to choose from .


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## -Simon-

trv8 said:


> Mmmm OK then, how about something along the lines of this type ....
> 
> I want a pump that will give good pressure, similar to mains water pressure while using the hosepipe... aswell as for the pressure washer.
> 
> http://www.malcleanse.co.uk/DP/Flojet-2100-Series-Diaphragm-Demand-Pump-R2100332
> 
> Getting a bit lost now...too many pumps to choose from .


Looks good although maybe getting expensive too....perhaps consider a Kranzle instead and really break the bank :lol:


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## trv8

I did think about a Kranzle....only the once though . 
The Mrs started mumbling something and giving me funny looks :lol:.


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## -Simon-

trv8 said:


> I did think about a Kranzle....only the once though .
> The Mrs started mumbling something and giving me funny looks :lol:.


:lol:


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## -Simon-

Just been out on the hottest day of the year so far and cleaned both cars with minimal spotting....Could never have done this using mains water....Great :thumb:


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## ITHAQVA

Bloody amazing work :thumb::thumb::thumb:


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## -Simon-

Ok so system has been working well to date with one minor issue - some algae forming on the surface of tank one 

Anyway did a bit of research and opted for the Hoselock tank treatment which has cleared the problem in a couple of days, and thankfully the problem hasn't effected the main tank (glad I gift wrapped it!).

One thought, and forgive me, but what suggestions have people got for over wintering the systems? I was thinking of draining it down, giving the whole system a deep clean probably with Jeyes Fluid and moth balling it through the coldest months....don't fancy a frozen and split tank....tbh never been an issue with the water butts, but with a wide top wouldn't expect it, however I really have no idea how the IBC will stand up. Has anyone got any experience to share ?


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## Jorm

-Simon- said:


> One thought, and forgive me, but what suggestions have people got for over wintering the systems? I was thinking of draining it down, giving the whole system a deep clean probably with Jeyes Fluid and moth balling it through the coldest months....don't fancy a frozen and split tank....tbh never been an issue with the water butts, but with a wide top wouldn't expect it, however I really have no idea how the IBC will stand up. Has anyone got any experience to share ?


I've been collecting rainwater a few years now, gone through two winters and tbh I didn't do anything different! The iBC was full both times, and was absolutely fine. Even when in use I didn't notice any difference in performance (apart from it being a bit colder, but a PVC gauntlet under my mitt sorted that out )


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## -Simon-

Jorm said:


> I've been collecting rainwater a few years now, gone through two winters and tbh I didn't do anything different! The iBC was full both times, and was absolutely fine. Even when in use I didn't notice any difference in performance (apart from it being a bit colder, but a PVC gauntlet under my mitt sorted that out )


Ah now that's good news..I think I'll still clean the tanks down fully...but encouraging to know the IBC won't split...guess it does depend on how cold it gets of course :doublesho

Thanks

BTW is your tank kept outside?


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## Ns1980

Got 450L of twice filtered* rainwater now so should hopefully see out te dry periods of the year 

An inspiring thread so thank you OP

'*' using EOL Aquagleam filters


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## RedUntilDead

-Simon- said:


> Ah now that's good news..I think I'll still clean the tanks down fully...but encouraging to know the IBC won't split...guess it does depend on how cold it gets of course :doublesho
> 
> Thanks
> 
> BTW is your tank kept outside?


We have loads of ibcs with water in stored outside at work and this has never been a problem. I have never seen a full ibc freeze as an ice cube though. As long as there is plenty of room for expansion then it should be okay. Pipework is a different matter so I would lag any exposed pipework or like you say drain down. 
We use trace heating in work but this will be a little ott for a home install. I did consider it for my three ibc s


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## Ns1980

Ns1980 said:


> Got 450L of twice filtered* rainwater now so should hopefully see out te dry periods of the year
> 
> An inspiring thread so thank you OP
> 
> '*' using EOL Aquagleam filters


About 575L now! Dead chuffed!


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## Jorm

-Simon- said:


> BTW is your tank kept outside?


It is indeed :thumb:

That picture was taken a while ago, but the setup remains the same. I'm going to clean them out sometime this year and wrap the bottom tank like you have done - although i've not had a problem with algae or anything... touch wood, but better safe than sorry now i've learnt a bit more.


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## TubbyTwo

I need to get some tank treatment for mine, noticed an interesting cream coloured sludge building up.


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## -Kev-

not got the kind of set-up that Simon has, but this simple set-up worked a treat earlier for me 










for a 'quickie' wash on my Civic (started to rain and i was going out afterwards) i used just shy of three buckets of water to feed the the K7


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## -Simon-

-Kev- said:


> not got the kind of set-up that Simon has, but this simple set-up worked a treat earlier for me
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> for a 'quickie' wash on my Civic (started to rain and i was going out afterwards) i used just shy of three buckets of water to feed the the K7


Nice and portable though, had you thought about using a wheelie bin? I reckon half full it would do the whole car


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## -Simon-

TubbyTwo said:


> I need to get some tank treatment for mine, noticed an interesting cream coloured sludge building up.


Hoselock stuff not cheap but is effective :thumb:


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## -Kev-

did cross my mind Simon - need to get one first


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## -Simon-

-Kev- said:


> did cross my mind Simon - need to get one first


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WHEELIE-BIN-240-LTR-GREEN-NEW-PLASTIC-DUSTBIN-BARGAIN-PRICE-/230798913215?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35bcafeebf

You could even hook it up to a water butt and disconnect to use.

:thumb:


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## Ns1980

-Simon- said:


> Nice and portable though, had you thought about using a wheelie bin? I reckon half full it would do the whole car


Quarter full (~60L) would probably do the trick TBH :thumb:


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## -Simon-

Ns1980 said:


> Quarter full (~60L) would probably do the trick TBH :thumb:


Reckon u r right


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## TubbyTwo

-Simon- said:


> Hoselock stuff not cheap but is effective :thumb:


Cheers will give that a go, problem is the water butt is always in direct sunlight so get some interesting build up!

I have now changed my setup slightly, I have moved the orginal waterbutt to the garage for clean water storage. Now have a much larger butt outside with a basic filter. Now using the karcher submersible pump to move the "dirty" water to the butt in the garage. Also using an Aldi water filter inline between the two butts.

Butt in the garage will be used as the main water source for car washing.

Recently taken on a hobby unit with a friend for storage etc that came with a couple of IBC tanks 

Just working out how to get one home now lol.


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## Lazy-Moose

Great setup there Simon. With regards to winter it would have to be an incredibly cold and long cold snap to freeze it due to the mass of water. A partially filled IBC will freeze quicker than a full one so don't be tempted to half empty it thinking it will help.

Also, think about solar heating, if it is in a sunny spot in the garden then an IBC painted black would absorb more heat than it's losing so again this prevents it from freezing.

Your talking weeks of sub zero temps to freeze one of these solid.


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## -Simon-

Lazy-Moose said:


> Great setup there Simon. With regards to winter it would have to be an incredibly cold and long cold snap to freeze it due to the mass of water. A partially filled IBC will freeze quicker than a full one so don't be tempted to half empty it thinking it will help.
> 
> Also, think about solar heating, if it is in a sunny spot in the garden then an IBC painted black would absorb more heat than it's losing so again this prevents it from freezing.
> 
> Your talking weeks of sub zero temps to freeze one of these solid.


Thanks for the advice :thumb:


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## mattsbmw

Simon, 

Very interesting thread, looking for your advice as i am about to do a set up very similar to this.

Do you have a link to the connectors you used to link the waterbutt to your PW?

Also where do you get hold of the connectors and tube to join the water butts. 

And finally what surface area of roof do you use to harvest with.

Thanks
Matt


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## IanA

Top job mate


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## -Simon-

mattsbmw said:


> Simon,
> 
> Very interesting thread, looking for your advice as i am about to do a set up very similar to this.
> 
> Do you have a link to the connectors you used to link the waterbutt to your PW?
> 
> Also where do you get hold of the connectors and tube to join the water butts.
> 
> And finally what surface area of roof do you use to harvest with.
> 
> Thanks
> Matt


Hi Matt,

Re IBC connectors you cannot beat CPP http://www.cpp-lm.com/ if your not sure what to order phone the guys they are very helpful, and the quality is excellent!

Re the linking kit for the butts try Wilkinson's cheap and more than adequate.

I used some aquatic hose to link the second butt to the tank as it could be cut to longer lengths 

Re roof area tbh not 100% sure but estimate 200m2 so butts fill pretty quick 

Hope this helps but please feel free to ask if you need any more tips...


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## mattsbmw

-Simon- said:


> Hi Matt,
> 
> Re IBC connectors you cannot beat CPP http://www.cpp-lm.com/ if your not sure what to order phone the guys they are very helpful, and the quality is excellent!
> 
> Re the linking kit for the butts try Wilkinson's cheap and more than adequate.
> 
> I used some aquatic hose to link the second butt to the tank as it could be cut to longer lengths
> 
> Re roof area tbh not 100% sure but estimate 200m2 so butts fill pretty quick
> 
> Hope this helps but please feel free to ask if you need any more tips...


Thanks Simon, very helpful


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## -Simon-

No worries Matt u r welcome...

Link for aquatic hose:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/aquatics4all

:thumb:


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## mattsbmw

Just one more quick question for you simon, which connectors did you buy from CPP? their website is a bit confusing, happy for you to PM me if you prefer.

Thanks again, and watch out for pictures of my set up soon 

Matt


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## -Simon-

Hi Matt

1 x ¾" part `A`, ¾" camlock adaptor X S60X6 female

CMA/075UD/027

http://www.cpp-lm.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=320&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

Care you need to make sure this is the right adaptor for the tank as thread types and sizes vary :thumb:

1 x ¾" Part 'A', ¾" Camlock adaptor x ¾" BSP female G/P/P

CMA/075B/027

http://www.cpp-lm.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=37&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

This was used to adapt the Kranzle filter to take the Camlock connector on the linking hose.

2 x ¾" Part 'C', ¾" Camlock coupler x ¾" (19mm) hose tail G/P/P

CFC/075T/027

http://www.cpp-lm.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=55&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

These hose tail were chosen for the 19mm linking hose - care you don't want to use a narrower hose than 19mm here because it will restrict the flow and make the pressure washer have to work too hard :doublesho

Hope this helps, but as I said the best option is to call CPP directly as they are really very helpful


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## David.S

I live in the country side
When it rains my car turns brown with mud ( Thick Mud )
Snow foam has a neutral ph and is biodegradable
your worried about stuff
I go metal Detecting and you should see whats being put on to the fields
have a look here http://www.greenwasted.co.uk


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## Ongoing

This seems like a really good idea I may have to look into this for my house


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## mirdif64

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_29453.htm

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_39536.htm

Rainwater butts and water pumps


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## 20vKarlos

this is brilliant!

id love to do this! 

what did this setup cost in total? including connections to Kranzle etc?

thanks


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## -Simon-

20vKarlos said:


> this is brilliant!
> 
> id love to do this!
> 
> what did this setup cost in total? including connections to Kranzle etc?
> 
> thanks


Think I brought it in under £100-00 but bought two tanks and sold 1 at a profit :thumb:. Wouldn't go back now


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