Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 27, 2020 9:39 pm Hi all, We are in a process of planning a KDR in Melbourne (SE) and have asked for a rainwater tank (home is 6+ stars so there is no requirement for this;) just want to be 'greener'). Area has no purple taps. Cost is about $4k to have one installed, 2000L plumbed to the toilets. My worry is that Melbourne can be fairly dry most of the year except for some wet winters. Just wondering whether this would be a wasted exercise. And what happens when there is no rainwater? Does the system then pump normal town water into the tank (seems like this would be wasted). Re: Rainwater Tank in Melbourne 2Jan 28, 2020 12:17 am A well designed harvested rainwater system has both tangible and intangible benefits. For example, a final rinse with rainwater will leave your car streak free. You are also not subject to water restrictions. Plumbing to toilets was highly beneficial during the days of 12 litre single flush cisterns but not so much now. You can however plumb to a toilet cistern at very low cost if you know how as opposed to others who pay for expensive mains water switching devices that switch to mains water when the tank gets low. Most homeowners are not told about optional manual mains water diversion systems and end up paying heaps more as a result. See link below for a simple dual cistern valve manual system. https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/__data/asset ... sterns.pdf Phumbing a separate cold water (rainwater) tap to the laundry won't cost much and is well worthwhile if you wash with cold water. The clothes are also softer when you wash in rainwater but DON'T use fabric softener! A 2,000 L tank isn't much storage, you may be better off looking at two or three or even four smaller tanks in different locations but linked together. $4,000 for a 2,000 L tank only connected to the toilets is not a bad price for an average standard system but a larger volume system that harvests a lot more water with greater utilisation can be done cheaper than that. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. 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 31284 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 31165 Once you know the basics, the rest is easy. Read my post in the thread linked below. viewtopic.php?p=1919271#p1919271 2 19520 |