Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 04, 2010 4:06 pm Alrighty, after laying down our strip footings we worked out a way to fit in a tank under our decking with a little bit of excavating We can now manage to fit in a 4000ltr tank Now the dilemma - originally we thought we'd only be able to fit a small tank so was just going to use it for gardening, cars etc At the moment we have 5 tank taps located around our home, should we consider plumbing the tank to the toilets aswell? I know that their are two options - when the tank gets low to automatically switch to mains. Or when the tank gets low an automatic tank top-up thingie. We'd obviously go with the first so that we can still use the tank for watering etc Why would we not consider it? We've been told that the water in the toilets can get browny and that slime etc may build up inside our pipes (I assume toilet pipes only) So Im after your opinions and experiences please Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 2Jul 04, 2010 4:14 pm I'd have thought using rainwater to flush the dunny would be a waste of good water... Better you flush with that other stuff that smells like a pool. Save the good stuff for drinking, cuppas and cooking. ...but just my opinion BTW what is this about the water going brown and slimy?? After 20 plus years of living with tank water(Rainwater) I am yet to see the slimmy brown stuff you are talking about. Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 3Jul 04, 2010 4:35 pm Sorry Onc, grew up on mains water so I think it'll take some hard time convincing to show me tank is better than mains As for the slimliness, good to hear! Is that because you clean your tanks regularly? Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 4Jul 04, 2010 4:47 pm Bam not sure of the actual workings but here in Newcastle as part of our Basix requirements our toilets HAVE to be hooked up to the tank. We have a 22000lt tank and all 6 of our toilets plus our washing machine are hooked into it. Only when the tank is empty - which so far has only happened when we filled our swimming pool - will any of these revert to mains water. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 5Jul 04, 2010 4:51 pm I have no need to convince you Bam. But a quick test is to have a cuppa made from mains and a cuppa made from Rainwater. They get a clean out in summer. Checkout what the guys wear when they add chemicals to the mains water system. Have fun with your bundle of joy! Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 6Jul 04, 2010 4:53 pm Thanks kyton We have a choice of either connecting tank to toilets or having solar hot water. We're definately having solar hot water, so have the choice with the toilets being connected to the tank. Any comments on having your toilet connected to tank? Brown water or anything? Oooh Onc Shame I dont know anyone with a rainwater tank! How odd does that sound given that so many people have them... Bundle of joy is very sick, so she's enjoying sleeping on mummy 24/7 Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 7Jul 04, 2010 5:06 pm Our toilets are flushed with tankwater. The toilet bowl itself at the bottom needs a bit more cleaning. I guess becasue the mains water has the chlorine etc in it and may keep the bowls are bit whiter? Sometimes I look at our toilets and think, didn't I only just clean them? All in all I don't find any problems with it so far. I have a tank tak for my washing machine next to the mains tap but I am yet to use it. (Hope bundleofjoy is well again soon, lots of viruses going around, my DD was 38.8 this morning. ) www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 8Jul 04, 2010 9:50 pm Bam - hope E is feeling better. Sometimes Mumma is the best medicine (I think Master 6mths is teething so lots of Mumma and an amber necklace are doing the job for us) when you are a teeny tot. We haven't noticed any hassles with the loos or our washing for that matter. The only thing we notice is that because we have so many loos that don't get used they can become a little stinky from not being flushed - simple solution we make sure that every toilet is flushed once a day. But not sure whether this would have occurred even on mains? Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 9Jul 04, 2010 10:14 pm kyton Bam not sure of the actual workings but here in Newcastle as part of our Basix requirements our toilets HAVE to be hooked up to the tank Quote: We have a 22000lt tank and all 6 of our toilets plus our washing machine are hooked into it. Only when the tank is empty - which so far has only happened when we filled our swimming pool - will any of these revert to mains water. Our builder installed a piddling 3000lt tank, which really is a waste of money & space. With 7 people in our house using toilets, our tank is pretty much empty ALL the time If we had been clued in to these issues & been less naive, we would have invested in a monster tank of kyton's size. Built the Eden Brae Cambridge 34 Family with Boston Corner Facade Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 10Jul 04, 2010 10:19 pm Bugger Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 11Jul 04, 2010 10:28 pm IN SA now, all new houses are required by law to have at least one toilet plumbed to a rainwater tank. We have a 5000L tank plumbed to ours and it did run dry a couple of times during summer - admittedly we are in very low rainfall area on west coast. The mains water then tops up the tank. We always drink rainwater and have cuppas made from rainwater, I think rainwater tastes so much better and DH will not drink tea made from mains water - anyway we installed a second 1000L tank just for our consumption and watering plants. This tank is 'pure rainwater' and doesnt get contaminated from mixing with tap water as builder's installed tank does. Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 12Jul 04, 2010 10:31 pm Love ya siggy too Helyn Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 13Jul 04, 2010 10:38 pm kyton Bam not sure of the actual workings but here in Newcastle as part of our Basix requirements our toilets HAVE to be hooked up to the tank. Also in NSW (I'm not sure though but correct me if required) at the near the washing machine area there are supposed to be three taps for the washing machine - hot, cold & rainwater? Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 15Jul 04, 2010 10:43 pm **** yeh Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 16Jul 04, 2010 10:44 pm HomeImprovement kyton Bam not sure of the actual workings but here in Newcastle as part of our Basix requirements our toilets HAVE to be hooked up to the tank. Also in NSW (I'm not sure though but correct me if required) at the near the washing machine area there are supposed to be three taps for the washing machine - hot, cold & rainwater? We're in metropolitan Sydney & we only have 2 taps at the washing machine. Built the Eden Brae Cambridge 34 Family with Boston Corner Facade Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 17Jul 04, 2010 10:48 pm So you have to go outside for a drink? LOL Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 18Jul 04, 2010 10:58 pm Southies We're in metropolitan Sydney & we only have 2 taps at the washing machine. But I think (a guess here) in your situation Southies that possilbly like me the rainwater tank is connected to your cold water tap at the washing machine. The surefire way to test it is this: Go to the metal box near the rainwater tank. Inside the box, there should be a switch to turn off the mains water in the box. Turn the mains water switch to off. If the rainwater pump doesn't kick in to keep the water flow going, go to your outside rainwater taps, turn them on and should find there isn't any water flow. The same might apply to your cold water tap at the washing machine. The reason I'm interested is that I built with Clarendon and in speaking with HellDad, he says he has three taps where the washing machine is. Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 19Jul 04, 2010 11:11 pm Southies HomeImprovement kyton Bam not sure of the actual workings but here in Newcastle as part of our Basix requirements our toilets HAVE to be hooked up to the tank. Also in NSW (I'm not sure though but correct me if required) at the near the washing machine area there are supposed to be three taps for the washing machine - hot, cold & rainwater? We're in metropolitan Sydney & we only have 2 taps at the washing machine. Us too. I'm on the north side of Sydney, and we only have 2 taps to the washing machine - hot and cold. The cold is connected to the rainwater tank. So are the toilets. And we have solar hot water. I have 17,000 litres worth of tanks (above-ground and underground), and haven't knowingly run out. Judie Re: Connecting rainwater tank to toilets - what do you think 20Jul 05, 2010 1:35 pm Yep only two taps here on our washing machine so am assuming that it is the same as Judie and Southies. Love that you can run the washing machine / flush the loos whilst someone is in the shower and not end up scalding them!! Some things are worth waiting for. 18 90476 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair But if it is a ground level open pit, then it is not a charged system. No surprises there. The pipes have obviously been altered and there would be a reason for this.… 3 31280 Grate, thank you! RexChan if thats the reason i could sleep well without thinking about additional cost. But 1st i'll need to read about NRV cleaning/replaing stuff. I… 7 31149 |