[Greenbuilding] Living with a rainwater cistern (was Re:hotwater)

[John O'Brien]

I'm aware of the temperature. We all are up here. It's kind of hard to
avoid it. ;)

That was sort of my question.. Is it practical/possible to survive on
buried rainwater cistern over a winter. The frost line in most areas
is not below 4', so with some insulation, I guess it would be
possible... Whether it would be a good idea in comparison to a well is
more the point I was trying to resolve in my mind.

j

On Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 9:00 PM, Douglas E Lamb
<douglaslamb at columbus.rr.com> wrote:
> Mr. O'Brien,
>
> Doesn't it get prety chilly up in Canada?
> I mean like 20^F below and 50" snows average winter conditions?
> Water freezes when it is exposed to sufficient time below the freezing temp.
> Makes it kind of difficult to collect water unless you can boil a lot of
> ice.
> This would require a lot of fuel and time.
> Not to meantion that the perma frost in Canada has got to be prety deep.
> Digging to palce a storage tank below the perma would be very costly.
> What happens when you run into bed rock?
> Then you have to keep the undergrond piping heated in winter so to be able
> to pump it to where ever you need it the most.
>
> Regards,
> Douglas E Lamb
> Design Technics
> Sustainable Facilities Specialist
> dlamb at designtechnics.net
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org
> [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of John
> O'Brien
> Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 8:03 PM
> To: Green Building
> Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Living with a rainwater cistern (was
> Re:hotwater)
>
> How unreasonable is a rainwater system for Canadian winters... Would the
> tank size required make it unfeasable?
>
> j
>
> On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 7:56 PM, Nick Pyner <npyner at tig.com.au> wrote:
>>> On Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:52:26 -0500, <bill.allen at verizon.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> > I'm in the middle of the woods and was thinking about a rainwater
>>> > harvesting system instead of drilling a well.  Can anyone comment
>>> > pro or con on RWH systems, especially for drinking water?
>>
>>
>> I can't comment on wells, I have never known anybody who does it but,
>> if you read anything Carmine Vasile writes, you can be pretty sure you
>> are better off with water from the roof.
>>
>> Your local government authority and your rural hardware supplier shoud
>> be your first ports of call.
>>
>> But essentially:
>>
>> use a metal roof
>>
>> use screens over the gutters
>>
>> use a first flsh diverter, or at least check on the local practicality
>> of these.
>>
>> use 1.2mm mosquito screens at the tank
>>
>> use a food grade poly tank. They last as long as metal, are more
>> manageable than concrete, and are usually cheaper than both.
>>
>> always use a round tank if you can.
>>
>> Having said all that about tanks, I am currently doing a partially
>> buried 36,000 litre concrete tank which is square. It is essentially a
>> swimming pool with a lid. The lid serves as a patio. The patio
>> determines the size, shape, and position of the tank.
>>
>> Nick Pyner
>>
>> Dee Why   NSW
>>
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>>
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