Water storage system.

[OutHuntn84]

Alrighty fellas do ya see any potential holes in my bucket?

I want to have 110 gallons that gets rotated as I use the washer but can be my water reserve if we lose power. So the system will stay under pressure most of the time but will gravity feed to the tap in emergencies.

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[jaguarxk120]

Put a bypass valve in so you can work on the storage containers if needed.

You should also install a feeder pipe reaching the bottom of each tank.

That way fresh water will be changed out as it is used.

[farmerjim]

You will need relief valves on the top of the tanks to allow air out on the first fill with water. You will need to open the valve on the top tank to let air in to use the water if the supply is turned off and you will want to use the water in the tanks.
They do make valves that will do this automatically.

[jmorris]

Looks like how my hot water heaters are plumbed, just no heaters in the tank.

Only problem I see is the operating pressure and how strong your containers are there is a lot of SI in a 55 gallon barrel so it doesn't take a lot of PSI to make them fail.

Let's say a 55 gal drum has a diameter of 18", this means the end of the drum has an area of about 250 sq. in. 40 psi of water pressure will exert a force of about 10,000 lbs on the end of the drum.

A steel 55 gallon drum can take around 8 psi before it starts to come apart.

[samari46]

Also if stored outside make sure the drums have ultra violet protection built into the plastic. Regular plastic drums will only last about a year or so due to the UV rays.Frank

[country gent]

A lot of the old farm house here had a simple cistern in them that help water, It normally could be pumped in and some used the large roof areas and gutters to fill them. This wasn't potable water but was used for washing, flushing toilets and animals. The one in Dads old house was 10' X 12' X 48" or so to the bottom of the window access. Some were also set up under ground and brick walled these were filled from gutters, pumped or water hauled from the ditches as needed. Then used for animals washing and filling sprayers and gardens. No pressure on the holding tanks but the pump did give pressure when it moved the water. In order to gravity feed your tanks will need to be above the spigots. A couple bladder tanks may be better as they maintain pressure better

[bedbugbilly]

country gent - your description brought back a lot of memories of the farm houses up here in southern MI as well. Even my grandparents house in town, which was built in 1920, had a large cistern int he basement. It was probably 8' high and 12' X 12' - IIRC, thick concrete walls to withstand the pressure and lined with brick. It was strictly used to collect rainwater and in turn, used for washing, toilet flushing, etc. They had a shallow well for their potable water until the 1950s when the village put in a well, tower and water system. I remember that after my grandmother died in '63, my Dad was showing the house to a fellow who was a very good Baptist. When the got to the basement, he asked what the cistern was as I don't think he had ever seen one. My Dad was in a hurry as he had a funeral to get to so he just quickly replied,k "Oh, that's where my Dad kept his still." The guy did a double take but then realized that my Dad was pulling his leg. They walked upstairs and he bought the house on the spot and lived there for over thirty years before he and his wife passed.

Another house in town - a large one that was basically a three story house as the attic was finished off, had a large storage tank in a portion of the attic that furnished water for flushing, washing, etc. that worked by gravity. It was fed by a "ram" for a stream on the property behind the house. Long gone now but I remember doing some carpenter work at the house and being able to see how it was set up - quite the thing!

OutHuntn84 - good luck with your system - you'll get it figured out and will be glad you have it!

[OutHuntn84]

Looks like how my hot water heaters are plumbed, just no heaters in the tank.

Only problem I see is the operating pressure and how strong your containers are there is a lot of SI in a 55 gallon barrel so it doesn't take a lot of PSI to make them fail.

Let's say a 55 gal drum has a diameter of 18", this means the end of the drum has an area of about 250 sq. in. 40 psi of water pressure will exert a force of about 10,000 lbs on the end of the drum.

A steel 55 gallon drum can take around 8 psi before it starts to come apart.

My original thoughts were to use the blue plastic containers.... guess now its time to experiment with them outside my house to see if I can get them to fail versus in my house lol. Thanks for your input!!!

[OutHuntn84]

A lot of the old farm house here had a simple cistern in them that help water, It normally could be pumped in and some used the large roof areas and gutters to fill them. This wasn't potable water but was used for washing, flushing toilets and animals. The one in Dads old house was 10' X 12' X 48" or so to the bottom of the window access. Some were also set up under ground and brick walled these were filled from gutters, pumped or water hauled from the ditches as needed. Then used for animals washing and filling sprayers and gardens. No pressure on the holding tanks but the pump did give pressure when it moved the water. In order to gravity feed your tanks will need to be above the spigots. A couple bladder tanks may be better as they maintain pressure better

Yup that is right inline with some future plans for a non potable water system I have :)

[jmorris]

My original thoughts were to use the blue plastic containers.... guess now its time to experiment with them outside my house to see if I can get them to fail versus in my house lol. Thanks for your input!!!

Don't do it with just air pressure either, the result can be very violent. Use water as it is less compressible than air so the drum just spits when it fails vs...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjrR_SX4aBg

[FrankG]

A couple pressure tanks for a well water system would be a better solution and arent all that expensive . I have a 125 gallon pressure tank for my well that I installed when building our house .

[OutHuntn84]

I was googling and youtubing on this and saw that one. Definitely better have a extra pair of shorts to change into lol. I'm just going to hook up a hose directly at the well cap where my pressure is the highest and see if or how long it can take the pressure.

[OutHuntn84]

That would be an ideal solution Frank but checking the price those things run about a grand a piece... I can afford a $40.00 solution that would be awesome!

[MaryB]

I used to use the Caged 250 gallon tanks outdoors. Held up for 4 seasons then I sold them, were still in good shape with no signs of deteriorating. One would be a lot easier to plumb than a pair of tanks. You can find them in food grade(often held olive oil or other oils) on Craigslist

[jmorris]

I was googling and youtubing on this and saw that one. Definitely better have a extra pair of shorts to change into lol.

Just bleed out all the air so it's full of water before you let any pressure build. Results upon failure are much less dramatic, just wetter.

The large caged tanks Mary is talking about are what they used as shields in the video above. You can store water in them and pump it out but they can stand even less pressure than the smaller drums before they come apart.

[FrankG]

Source a couple used hot water heaters and gut and flush them out .

[jmorris]

Or just know that you have water in the ones in your house ;)

[Paper Puncher]

Another approach would be to use a non pressurized storage system. Don't have to worry about bursting barrels.

An example is a farm stock tank or toilet. A float valve would keep the first drum filled to a set level (an open top drum may be easier to set up). Multiple drums can be daisy chained to give what ever capacity you want. A Shurflo style 110v on demand pump would provide outlet pressure to washer ect. A overflow tube can easily be plumed in as a safety device in case the valve sticks.