Bore Water Supply And Storage For House

[khunandy]

Hi all,

I am due to go up to the village where my house is 60% completed now and the builder wants me to discuss what my plans are regarding water supply etc. The reason for the urgency is that I only have 3 more days of internet access before I leave for LOS

My plan is 3 fold.

1/ Collect the roof rain water into either a cement tank or a prefab tank/s

2/ Submersible pump (2 - 5 hp) for both agricultural and domestic use

3/ Town supply for back up and emergency use and for when I am not there perhaps

I want to have the bore drilled before the dry season is over and the builder will be plumbing the roof gutters to a yet to be determined area for the tank. Here are my questions.

Roof collection: Am I better off having either a subterranian concrete tank built or install one or two linked Stainless Steel or Poly tanks? Do I require the tank to be on a tower or will the domestic pressure pump take care of this?

Bore:

Any recomendations for bore size (4 inch or 6 inch) I would prefer to go a bit over the top with the pump capacity as I want to maintain the water levels of two ponds during summer and 2 rai of market garden

Any recommendation regarding hp of submersible pump and suppliers in Khon Kaen / Chum Phae /Loie area?

The only thai supplier I have found on the web is Bruno Pumps but they dont reply to my emails for prices.

Schematic:

Any suggestions how to plumb all this up? The final pressure to the house would be through a domestic pressure pump after filtering, the emergency town supply would dump into the reservoir/tank via a ballcock, I would use the bore for filling as required but doubt that I need to automate from the submersible pump.

I need to be able isolate the bore pump outflow from the reservoir to enable the agricultural use, I am guessing that a gate couple of in-line ball valves will allow this on the outflow line before the reservoir.

Filtering:

Pardon my ingnorance but I havent got a clue about the different filters, I have walked past them in Global Supplies in Khon Kaen and thought they look simple enough (not). A few threads I have read state that all is not as it seems and they can be a bugger to maintain and difficult access to clean. Has anyone got any recommendations and tips?

Where would be a good place to insert a three stage filter in-line? After or before the domestic pressure pump?

All advice, recommended brand names, suppliers etc; and if possible- sketches would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Andy

Edited January 27, 2007 by khunandy

[macb]

Khun andy

have a look at the pinned Topic on bore holes as well

[chownah]

I wouldn't try to make these decisions in such short order. It seems like three days would not be enough time to gather information, consider and analyze it, and then make a decision and it doesn't seem that waiting a bit would be a serious problem since your house is only 60% complete at present.

Your domestic pump can be plumbed to pump your roof water so no need for a tower.

Since you like to be over the top on pumping ability then go with the 6inch if you think you might want to install a submersible pump and not a jet pump. If you want to pump alot of water the submersible will probably be the most economical in the long run even if it initially costs more because it uses less energy per unit of water lifted. The 6 inch casing will allow for a significantly more powerful submersiblel I think.

I have slow sand filter. It is a tank 1 metre in diametre and 3.5 metres tall constructed on site....it works great and you only have to either clean the sand every few months or replace the dirty sand with clean sand. It's not a particularly popular filter among farangs but in the village here it is what everyone uses.....no filter materials to buy but you do have to climb up a ladder every few months (or hire someone to do this) and service it by removing and replacing some of the sand.....it takes me about 2 hours every six months to do this....how often will vary depending on how dirty your water is (or isn't).

Chownah

[khunandy]

I wouldn't try to make these decisions in such short order. It seems like three days would not be enough time to gather information, consider and analyze it, and then make a decision and it doesn't seem that waiting a bit would be a serious problem since your house is only 60% complete at present.

Your domestic pump can be plumbed to pump your roof water so no need for a tower.

Since you like to be over the top on pumping ability then go with the 6inch if you think you might want to install a submersible pump and not a jet pump. If you want to pump alot of water the submersible will probably be the most economical in the long run even if it initially costs more because it uses less energy per unit of water lifted. The 6 inch casing will allow for a significantly more powerful submersiblel I think.

I have slow sand filter. It is a tank 1 metre in diametre and 3.5 metres tall constructed on site....it works great and you only have to either clean the sand every few months or replace the dirty sand with clean sand. It's not a particularly popular filter among farangs but in the village here it is what everyone uses.....no filter materials to buy but you do have to climb up a ladder every few months (or hire someone to do this) and service it by removing and replacing some of the sand.....it takes me about 2 hours every six months to do this....how often will vary depending on how dirty your water is (or isn't).

Chownah

Thanks guys, yes I have been reading the Bore Hole topic on this and other sites for quite a while and have a pretty good idea of what I want or think I want

It isnt quite panic stations yet as the builder just wants to know what general layout I have in mind, still time to worry about the nuts and bolts of it all and I want to make sure I am on the right track. The jury is out on the filtering method and at this stage maybe I am being premature on the type of pump I will need until I know what sort of depth the water table is.

My land lies between two mountain ranges and is basically a river plain so it may not be too deep.

I would really like to ask other bore hole owners but there are none that I am aware of apart from the Govt one that supplies the village.

If I can confirm a general layout I would like to have the tank made (if I go with the concrete type) while the builders , cement mixers and labourers etc are still on the site.

Thanks so far gents.

Andy

Edited January 27, 2007 by khunandy

[Naam]

sketches would be very much appreciated.

******

for additional explanations please PM me. i'd be glad to be of assistance.

[Naam]

"The final pressure to the house would be through a domestic pressure pump after filtering"

*****

not such a good idea to filter before collection tank in which always some muck and dirt collects. better solution is from tank to pressure pump to filter to water supply of home.

[Naam]

"Filtering:"

*****

sky is the limit as far as cost is concerned for treating your water. reasonably good systems on the market are dual-filters (charcoal and resin), adjustable with valves for water hardness, backwashable, filter material every few years depending on volume usage. cost including installation -depending on size and material of filtertanks (stainless steel or not)- between 11.000 and 25.000 baht. up country most probably cheaper.

[Naam]

"Am I better off having either a subterranian concrete tank built or install one or two linked Stainless Steel or Poly tanks? Do I require the tank to be on a tower or will the domestic pressure pump take care of this?"

*****

it is quite difficult to link subterranian tanks and even more difficult to repair a broken link. i also don't understand why you would go through the hassle of collecting rainwater when well water is (presumably) available.

stainless steel for a storage tanks is a pure waste of money. a poly tank is the best solution.

no need to build a tower. pressure pumps ranging from 250 to 800 watts in every home market and Tesco available will do a perfect job. price 3.500-8.000 baht.

[Naam]

"Any recommendation regarding hp of submersible pump"

*****

as you are planning water supply for agricultural and filling up ponds too i suggest at least 3HP or even higher. but you are not compeletely free in the selection of the pump! even 5HP is useless if the water flow to the pump is insufficient. before final pump selection this flow has to be checked. normally the well-driller provides this service. overdimensioning the pump could cause serious damage if the pump runs dry for an extended period.

[khunandy]

Thanks again, I just sent you a PM. I think I will hold off the pump selection until it becomes clear the depth and volume of the water and then buy a suitable pump.

I will also probably get a better idea when I meet the driller next week.

Andy

[Pond Life]

If youre going to use cartridge filters they must definatly be after the pump.

Collecting rain water is a great idea but to be of any use for covering your domestic needs you need a very big tank, so it will see you through a large part of the dry season, a 2000 lt poly or stainless tank is a waste of time for this, you need to be looking at minimum 10,000 lt, personaly I think 40,000 lt is more like it.

If your house is 10 m x 10 m it will have 100 sq m of roof area, if average rainfall for sept is .25m you could collect 100x.25= 25 cubic m (25,000 lt), thats alot of water, but if you work out your average daily water usage (google it) you'll see you need alot of water. eg a washing machine uses something like 200 lt per load.

To find average rainfall for your area google "average rainfall (name of nearest big city)".

Big tanks are expensive, take a look at the "Irrigation" thread for a link to how to build ferrocement tanks, which is your cheapest option. 40,000 lt tank is approx 5m diameter x 2 m high.

Spend it while you've got it, tomorrow you might be broke but you'll have free water.

[kiwijack]

If youre going to use cartridge filters they must definatly be after the pump.

Collecting rain water is a great idea but to be of any use for covering your domestic needs you need a very big tank, so it will see you through a large part of the dry season, a 2000 lt poly or stainless tank is a waste of time for this, you need to be looking at minimum 10,000 lt, personaly I think 40,000 lt is more like it.

If your house is 10 m x 10 m it will have 100 sq m of roof area, if average rainfall for sept is .25m you could collect 100x.25= 25 cubic m (25,000 lt), thats alot of water, but if you work out your average daily water usage (google it) you'll see you need alot of water. eg a washing machine uses something like 200 lt per load.

To find average rainfall for your area google "average rainfall (name of nearest big city)".

Big tanks are expensive, take a look at the "Irrigation" thread for a link to how to build ferrocement tanks, which is your cheapest option. 40,000 lt tank is approx 5m diameter x 2 m high.

Spend it while you've got it, tomorrow you might be broke but you'll have free water.

Excellent advice PL & keen to find the information you referring to re large concrete tanks...must be stupid as can't locate the details re construction & costs. Can u clarify pls & thanks for patience.

[Pond Life]

Hiya Kiwijack

if you goto the thread titled "irrigation" the last post on page 1 has a link but I stuffed it up a bit.

So goto the first post on page 2, there's another link (thanks to Ramdomchances), with instructions underneath. Follow the instructions & you should find a page with a cutaway diagram of a round tank, underneath is a couple of lines of text saying something like blahblahblah for detailed construction info click "here", click on the coloured words "here", should take you where you want to go.

May the Farce be with you.

[Pond Life]

Ok even easier, I've put a new link in the "irrigation" thread.

Just make sure you click the bottom of the 2 links.

[kiwijack]

Thanks for the link details. Have got it now & looking at maybe 2 of them inground as have an area near proposed house that needs to be filled a couple of meters anyway. Much appreciated.

[macb]

"Am I better off having either a subterranian concrete tank built or install one or two linked Stainless Steel or Poly tanks? Do I require the tank to be on a tower or will the domestic pressure pump take care of this?"

*****

it is quite difficult to link subterranian tanks and even more difficult to repair a broken link. i also don't understand why you would go through the hassle of collecting rainwater when well water is (presumably) available.

stainless steel for a storage tanks is a pure waste of money. a poly tank is the best solution.

no need to build a tower. pressure pumps ranging from 250 to 800 watts in every home market and Tesco available will do a perfect job. price 3.500-8.000 baht.

I got two tanks 1600 litre Stainless steel and the rain water is very from this tank and we use this for drinking with no treatment at all:

The other is a 1500 litreBlue poly tank but this water is used for cooking and the kettle because the Ultra violet rays from the sun create Algea inside which I treat with a mug of bleach, then leave it a few days before use when its clear and the bleach has evaporated. Any other inf re the poly tank and keeping the water clear would be much appreciated

[GuestHouse]

Before you go spending a lot of money on having a bore hole drilled, check with your neighbours to see if they have bore water and then check if their bore water is fit for use.

Depending on where you are you may find that your bore water has too high a salt content.

Also ask around to make sure you get a bore hole contractor who knows what he is doing.

Common problems are:

Not using enough mud when drilling

Using overlong screws to secure the down pipe sections (these jut into the pipe prevening maitenance of the submerged pump).

Placing the pump right at the bottom of the bore and therefore subjecting it to silting up.

[khunandy]

Before you go spending a lot of money on having a bore hole drilled, check with your neighbours to see if they have bore water and then check if their bore water is fit for use.

Depending on where you are you may find that your bore water has too high a salt content.

Also ask around to make sure you get a bore hole contractor who knows what he is doing.

Common problems are:

Not using enough mud when drilling

Using overlong screws to secure the down pipe sections (these jut into the pipe prevening maitenance of the submerged pump).

Placing the pump right at the bottom of the bore and therefore subjecting it to silting up.

Ahhh bugger it for now. The poor contractor drilled 75 metres (20m through granite) and was gutted that his drilling depth capacity was 75 metres which only produced 15 litres a minute flow. In the meantime the village supply has been upgraded and is producing what we need for the building project and we will get together with the driller again in a month or so. No water...no charge at this stage but dammit..I want him to hit water and the missus wont pay him unless he does.

Andy