What is the best way of keeping rainwater-butt-water clean and unpolluted
so that it remains safely drinkable? The rainwater will be collected from
the roof of my house via the guttering downpipe.

Thanks...

Al

"AL_n" wrote in message
...
What is the best way of keeping rainwater-butt-water clean and unpolluted
so that it remains safely drinkable? The rainwater will be collected from
the roof of my house via the guttering downpipe.

Thanks...

Al

""The rainwater will be collected from
the roof of my house via the guttering downpipe""

So is mine :-((

No way would I want to drink from my butt. Have you seen the wrigglies in
it? And the moss which comes off the roof?

I have tried filtering the water as it goes INTO the butt
............................ failed

Mike

--

....................................

I'm an Angel, honest ! The horns are there just to keep the halo straight.

....................................

On 2 Mar 2012 18:12:51 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

What is the best way of keeping rainwater-butt-water clean and unpolluted
so that it remains safely drinkable? The rainwater will be collected from
the roof of my house via the guttering downpipe.

Thanks...

Al
Keeping.....?

What ends up in your water butt will include crud that has collected
on your roof since the last rainfall. Dust and the like and probably
some bird crap that washes down with the water.

You will need to install a water purification system at the outlet
point.

This is why we occasionally empty out and clean our water butts, even
though the water in them is only used to water plants and fill ponds.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.

Jake wrote in
:

You will need to install a water purification system at the outlet
point.

Thanks for the good suggestion. I guess that would be the answer.

Al

"'Mike'" wrote in
:

No way would I want to drink from my butt. Have you seen the wrigglies
in it? And the moss which comes off the roof?

I have tried filtering the water as it goes INTO the butt
........................... failed

Yes, I'm aware of the wrigglies etc. That's exactly what I'm concerned
about. I guess Jake's suggestion of filtering at the outlet is the answer.
I think one can make an effective filtration system out of sand and
charcoal, IIRC.

Al

On 2 Mar 2012 19:28:06 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

Jake wrote in
:

You will need to install a water purification system at the outlet
point.

Thanks for the good suggestion. I guess that would be the answer.

Al

Just remember that I said "water purification" not "water filtration".

If you want to drink the stuff, you will need not only a filter but at
least a UV system to make the water safe to drink. You need to take
out the miniscule bacteria that will pass through a filter bed. And
that filter bed will not just be a box of sand - the composition and
size of the filtration materials/particals (plurals) will be a
critical factor.

Rainwater harvesting setups for in-home use will usually comprise
something substantially larger than a water butt - incorporating
underground storage tank(s) and pumping, filtration and purification
systems.

For that matter, how will you keep the tap sterile if it's in the open
air (or even if it's not). If you check a bottled water label it will
usually say consume within a period after opening even if kept in the
fridge indoors. Once the air gets to it, it starts to deteriorate.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.

In article ,
AL_n wrote:
"'Mike'" wrote in
:

No way would I want to drink from my butt. Have you seen the wrigglies
in it? And the moss which comes off the roof?

I have tried filtering the water as it goes INTO the butt
........................... failed

Yes, I'm aware of the wrigglies etc. That's exactly what I'm concerned
about. I guess Jake's suggestion of filtering at the outlet is the answer.

The wrigglies are not a problem - they are just good protein. It's
the invisible nasties in the bird crap that is the issue. Even if
you are someone who regards salmonella as an acceptable part of your
diet (yes, there are plenty of us who do), birds can carry worse
things.

I think one can make an effective filtration system out of sand and
charcoal, IIRC.

You can. But you need more of them than most people want to allocate
the space for.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:01:54 +0000, Jake
wrote:

On 2 Mar 2012 19:28:06 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

Jake wrote in
m:

You will need to install a water purification system at the outlet
point.

Thanks for the good suggestion. I guess that would be the answer.

Al

Just remember that I said "water purification" not "water filtration".

If you want to drink the stuff, you will need not only a filter but at
least a UV system to make the water safe to drink. You need to take
out the miniscule bacteria that will pass through a filter bed. And
that filter bed will not just be a box of sand - the composition and
size of the filtration materials/particals (plurals) will be a
critical factor.

Rainwater harvesting setups for in-home use will usually comprise
something substantially larger than a water butt - incorporating
underground storage tank(s) and pumping, filtration and purification
systems.

For that matter, how will you keep the tap sterile if it's in the open
air (or even if it's not). If you check a bottled water label it will
usually say consume within a period after opening even if kept in the
fridge indoors. Once the air gets to it, it starts to deteriorate.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.


For example:

http://www.clean-fresh-water.co.uk/r...er-rainpc.html

I'll stick with 'Tap' plus a supplementary filter, thanks. Anyway, in
West London, the supply of rainwater is pretty variable and best saved
for the garden.

Regards
JonH

Jake wrote in
:

Just remember that I said "water purification" not "water filtration".

If you want to drink the stuff, you will need not only a filter but at
least a UV system to make the water safe to drink


Bio sand filters are effectively used for purifying dirty water for
drinking.

I guess there is also the option of adding a tiny amount of bleach!

Al

wrote in :

You can. But you need more of them than most people want to allocate
the space for.

Why?

In article ,
AL_n wrote:

You can. But you need more of them than most people want to allocate
the space for.

Why?

Because they aren't continuous, so that water can get through between
the particles. Effectively, that means that they reduce the bacteria
(exponentially with thickness).


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
says...

What is the best way of keeping rainwater-butt-water clean and unpolluted
so that it remains safely drinkable? The rainwater will be collected from
the roof of my house via the guttering downpipe.

Roof water isn't drinkable quality imo (take a look at what collects
inside inside your gutters and what's wriggling in the bottom of the
waterbutt). You'll still need to filter and boil it.
We used to use it just for washing, and flushing lavs.

Janet

Janet wrote in news:MPG.29bb4eed56b7306c98b1c9
@news.eternal-september.org:

Roof water isn't drinkable quality imo (take a look at what collects
inside inside your gutters and what's wriggling in the bottom of the
waterbutt). You'll still need to filter and boil it.

Yes, boiling is an option.

Al

wrote in :

Because they aren't continuous, so that water can get through between
the particles. Effectively, that means that they reduce the bacteria
(exponentially with thickness).

Sorry; I'm not following. What do you mean when you say sand & charcoal
filters are not continuous? And thickness of what?

Al

On Mar 2, 9:41*pm, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...



What is the best way of keeping rainwater-butt-water clean and unpolluted
so that it remains safely drinkable? The rainwater will be collected from
the roof of my house via the guttering downpipe.

* Roof water isn't drinkable quality imo (take a look at what collects
inside inside your gutters and what's wriggling in the bottom of the
waterbutt). You'll still need to filter and boil it.
* *We used to use it just for washing, and flushing lavs.

* * Janet


What a lot of fuss.
When I was little, around 5 years old (1947)we lived right out on the
Llyn peninsula in North Wales, we had a galvanised rainwater tank,
with a tight fitting lid and a pump to get water from a well which we
shared with 2 other houses for when the tank was low.
Then in the 50's we lived outside Hastings and had a borehole and a
large concrete tank under the garage that stored our rainwater and the
water we pumped up from the borehole, though we mostly used the rain
water as the borehole water was very rich in iron so turned rust red
within hours of pumping up so had to be left to settle before you
could use it; though it tasted great fresh;
It was pumped into a pool that had newts and dragonfly lava in it,
then through gravel filters and down to the tank.
From the tank we pumped it into a tank in the roof and from there to
the taps.
We drank water straight from the tap and never had any problems, but
then we hadn't been pampered with a streile world.

David@ the wet end of Swansea Bay