Water tests

You're not going to get 25,000 gallons, but you can do enough for orchids.

1 inch of rain on 1000 sq ft of roof = 600 gallons. Even in San Diego, I could do 2,000 gallons a year easily if I wanted.

I'm rigging up a system thats pretty cheap, modular, and hidden. I'll post a link when I find it, but in essence I've rigged up a series of interconnected 55 gallon barrels that collect the diversion from my gutters. My test run is 4 55 gallon barrels, they aren't leaking so I'm moving up to 14 or so next year. Mine are currently on the north side of my shade structure/GH. I could also place the barrels underneath my benches.

Mixed 50/50 with city water gives me 250 ppm, and will be almost enough for the whole year.

 

It's illegal in Colorado to trap rain water. It's considered theft, and people were getting taken to court during our last drought because of it.

 

Y'all should be like the redwoods and harvest the fog! I bet you could erect some type of tree shaped structure (or a field of them) that would funnel the dripping fog into some kind of collection system. Do you get fog in San Diego? Santa Barbara? I dont' know how far south the fog comes in daily but ...maybe Marni can bottle it and send it southwards.

I currently have five plastic trashcans on my porch that are full of rain and icemelt. We're due for some rain in a few days and I'm already planning for how to grab some more or 'upgrade' what I've already saved. Around here, when it rains it pours, but when it doesn't rain...it REALLY doesn't rain. I think we've had a half inch since last September.

 

Jon, can you guys steal ice?

 

That is interesting Jon I never knew that.

My collection is small compared to most here (I don't really count but I am guessing only 300+ plants) so I collect rain in a 55 gallon barrel and move it into containers I store in the basement for the winter (otherwise it is one large ice cube!).

I saw an episode of "This Old House" where they put in a rain water collection system (in TX I think?) where it didn't rain much but the tank was huge and buried in the ground!

 

I knew your collection was large, but not that epically gigantic oke:. How many thousands of plants? What is your irrigation/watering system currently like?

You need to ditch all the Pleuros and Bulbos and start growing some Eulophias or something. :evil:

Well for the rest of us, rain water collection is a viable alternative for collections where you use 5-10 gallons per day on water.

 

People downstream of my house own the water that falls from the sky over my house.

 

I have 300 Gallon Poly-tank that catches rain water but that dosent made it through July/Aug/Sept our dry months so I recently had a GE Merlin RO system given to me by a friend that couldn't use it. It can make about 700 gallons of RO water, in 24 hr
It does have waste but I measured it in a 5 gallon bucket and it took about 6 1/2 min to fill. I have piped the waste to my fish pond which during the summer I have to top off regulary. I'll use rain water until I run Out then switch to RO for the 3 dry months Ro system Pictured

 

Performance Data & Specifications:
GE's Performance Specifications MIN MAX AVERAGE
Permeate Flow Rate 0.33GPM - 1.25 Lt/Min 0.75GPM - 2.84 Lt/Min 0.50GPM - 1.89 Lt/Min
TDS Rejection (NaCl) 90% 99% 93%
Production (lt/day) 1,800 lt/day 4,100 lt/day 2,800 lt/day
Production (GPD) 480.00 GPD 1,080 GPD 750 GPD
Outline Dimensions: L x W x H
CENTIMETERS 51.7 x 24.6 x 43.3
INCHES 20.34 x 9.68 x 17.05
FILTER TYPE DIMENSIONS INCHES (cm) FLOW RATE AVERAGE LIFE **
LENGTH DIAMETER GPM LT/MIN USG LT TIME
CARBON PREFILTER 17.0 " (43.2) 2.9" (7.4) 3.75 14.2 5.000 18.925 6 MONTHS
RO ELEMENT (x2) 18.75" (4.76) 3.16" (8.0) 0.25 0.95 --- --- 2-4 YEARS
CARBON POSTFILTER 10.5" (26.7) 2.6 (6.6) 0.75 2.8 --- --- 6 MONTHS

 

700 gallons a day is a killer system. Mine is a simple ol' 100GPD, and it doesn't keep up. I think it's either clogged or the cold water seriously hinders the performance. Our tap water in the winter is around 45f.

 

My post-filter, pre-membrane pressure is 90PSI.

 

Maybe I need to replace the membrane. ¡cha-ching!

 

Seriously? At the height of the drought here, the Govt were paying people subsidies to install rainwater tanks. I've never not had one, and never will.

 

Yup. Every drop of water that falls from the sky is owned by someone downstream. Our municipal supply owns a certain number of acre feet of snowmelt that occurs 50+ miles from here. Water rights are separable from real property rights, and old homesteads sold them separately for more money. Farmers have bought and sold water rights here for over a century. Water court is a BIG deal here.

Ok... so back from the hijack... Forrest... you're screwed if they implement restrictions.