Drinking Rainwater From A Tile Roof

[siamdivers]

Oh, that's interesting, Canopy. Makes sense. My system right now is a three-way pipe inserted vertically with a shower drain cover on the downside so that I can catch the dry leaves. It works OK, it's a 4" pipe so I can get my hand in there.

I saw one of the fancy Aussie ones at a products show in Phuket a few years ago, but they wanted 28,000 THB for the leaf catcher. My system cost 150 baht, maybe less. So it was not worth it. I just put a hose in there every once in a while to clear the leaves out and and usually have to catch it quickly when it starts to rain otherwise it backs up fast from the leaves on the roof flowing quickly down. But this is no big deal as long as we're not away for a long period. If we are, then I have a valve to divert the water to the lawn instead which is easy enough.

What's wrong with the blue PVC? They use it for all water systems (except hot water, mine are copper) here so one would assume people are not dropping like flies from it. Do you have a link to an article? I have seen other options, usually imported, in ads in "House and Garden" but not at the local store or even HomePro or HomeMart.

Thanks.

[canopy]

Exposing pvc to sunlight causes poison to run into the water which is why in developed countries it is absolutely illegal to have pvc pipe used for drinking water exposed. It's probably illegal in Thailand as well, but like most things people do what they want and no one cares. Here is some reading: pvc pipe and your health.

[Nignoy]

We have been doing it for 8 years now though we generally let 4 or 5 heavy rains go past first. Last year we filled 2 x 3,000 litre tanks in 2 days/nights of heavy rain and that generally does 4 of us for 6 months or so.

So you'll be using this stored rain water for showering, dishes, toilets, etc. But do you actually drink water that has been stored in a tank for 6 months? What does it taste like? What is storage tank material? Do you use any filtration? Genuine curiousity as I am thinking of catching rainwater for consumption, and many other uses.

Here on the Darling Downs in Australia ,we exist purely on rain water,we have two 5000litre re enforced plastic tanks(3000litre tanks with down pipe 645$ Australian, good quality) and a couple of old wriggly tin ones for the garden, there is a simple first run off trap on the down pipe,and 2 carbon filtration fittings before and after the pump, by the end of winter we are halfway through the 2nd tank the water is still great quality for drinking no after taste,what I do recommend is always buy a pump with a good maintenance free filtration unit, cheaper pumps have filters that have to be changed or cleaned every 4 weeks, and they always get an after taste, hope this helps1!

[billd766]

We have been doing it for 8 years now though we generally let 4 or 5 heavy rains go past first. Last year we filled 2 x 3,000 litre tanks in 2 days/nights of heavy rain and that generally does 4 of us for 6 months or so.

So you'll be using this stored rain water for showering, dishes, toilets, etc. But do you actually drink water that has been stored in a tank for 6 months? What does it taste like? What is storage tank material? Do you use any filtration? Genuine curiousity as I am thinking of catching rainwater for consumption, and many other uses.

Firstly my apologies for missing this post

We use the water stored in the stainless steel tanks for drinking only and we use no filters. It has no real taste other than water I suppose.

The rest of the household consumption comes from the local water main (until it runs out) and gets stored in 5 rows of 4 concrete ongs. It the is gravity fed to a well pump (which sucks it down as well), through a washable nylon filter and then through a Mazuma charcoal filter and away to the houses etc.

The reason we store it is because there are times when no government water flows for weeks at a time usually around March and April.

[nocturn]

Gary, do you have to replace or re-activate the charcoal periodically?

Of course it depends how much water you put through it. Just using it for drinking water, it will last for several years and then it should be replaced. It cannot be cleaned. If the water has any taste or odor, it needs replaced.

In fact, I'd like to replace it anytime now. If anyone knows where I can get a decent bulk price please advise. I need about 18 liters of it. All I can find locally are those little plastic bags for the sink top filters.

My water filter outside was made by a compny called Mazuma and I ordered the charcoal from them the last time I replaced it.

Their website is here.

http://www.mazuma.co...boutus_eng.html

page 6 gives the contact details.

I have emailed Mazuma and so far, no answer. Emailing Thai companies rarely gets an answer for some reason.

did you email them in thai?

[Gary A]

No email in the Thai language. All three emails were in English. I am able to use Google translate so they should be able to do that also. It surprises me that a business shows no interest in potential customers.

[Gary A]

My wife got the following information from Mazuma;

95 baht per liter

Transportation cost for 18 liters - 400 baht

I still need to have her get the banking details to make a bank transfer.

[Farma]

FWIW i'm good friends with a health ministry mobile lab team who do the quality checks on food markets and water factories. They advise against drinking any roof water collected from areas near farms due to the high levels of farm chemicals blown by the wind onto the roof. It's good for washing only. They all buy bottled water for drinking.

[canopy]

Roofs do collect harmful farm chemicals to dangerous levels and even if you aren't near a farm roofs also collect things like dead bugs, bird droppings, and dust since the last rain. That is what a first flush water diverter mentioned earlier in this thread is for. It's just a matter of proper design.

[klikster]

"Taste" of water varies per individual -- and depending on dissolved solids and aeration. A really old experiment was to boil water for some period of time, let it cool, then taste it. Next part of the experiment was to take an eggbeater to the water for a couple of minutes, then taste again.

I don't know how long water stored in unsealed containers (tanks, lagoons, boreholes) holds up. I would guess it depends on exposed surface area. But water stored in sealed containers holds up very well.

Most folks think pure water (especially distilled water) tastes too bland. TDS in the range of 25 ppm (as I recall) is near ideal. Once upon a time, drinking water sellers in the US used real R.O. (not ultra-filtration membranes), then activated charcoal, and had a stage of aeration in their process.

Actually, they could afford it with their prices. I can remember Sparklet's delivered water costing more per gallon than gasoline.

Edited August 26, 2012 by klikster

[billd766]

My wife got the following information from Mazuma;

95 baht per liter

Transportation cost for 18 liters - 400 baht

I still need to have her get the banking details to make a bank transfer.

Did you ever get the charcoal?

I spoke to Mazuma today using the number 029114100, waitng for the automated system which told me dial ext 322.

That got me a lady who spoke some English and who seemd to know a bit about their product and said they would call me back.

A lady called K Wantana I think called me about 5.10 this afternoon and after finding where I lived there is a supplier at Phitsanulok 180 km from me the lady told me I needed about 50 litres for a Mazuma S-27 at 95 baht a litre plus delivery costs.

I said I would call back next week.