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22nd February 2009, 08:10 PM
Since it has been so dry and our (rationed) rain water tanks only have a few hundred litres left, I am thinking of putting our grey water to better use.
We currently run grey water by gravity from shower and washing machine to our front yard. Our block is undulating and sloped so distributing the grey water without a pump is difficult.
I am thinking of getting using a sump pump to distribute water around the garden more effectively, probably pumping it to one of two holding tanks on stands, then gravity feed to some kind of dripper or spikes-in-the-ground distribution system.
My concerns are that grey water unfiltered is likely to block the pump, any solenoids used and any drippers especially with hairs in the pump (my gravity feed system from the shower needs flushing to move the grey gunk that blocks it up periodically).
Someone has tested filters on grey water and many of them don't seem to be very good (http://www.greywaterreuse.com.au/ind...stigation.html (http://www.greywaterreuse.com.au/index.php/Greywater-Reuse-Systems/Filter-Investigation.html)). It seems the best "filter" is a large settling tank (a small tank is ok for me but not a large one). Paradoxically the 200 micron filter they tested worked better than the 100 micron filter.
I initially thought of using a pool filter but they are a bit expensive (starting at several hundred dollars). I have also thought of using the "Lazy Lizard" (see http://www.silvanh2o.com.au/products...hp?category=11 (http://www.silvanh2o.com.au/products/products.php?category=11) - a 240 micron filter intended for prefiltering rain tank inflows) to filter the water before the pump.
Can't seem to find out much info on how deep the water needs to be before the sump pump turns on. For example, looking at the cheapest Davey sump pump (which can be bought for a reasonable price on ebay).
Lastly, how noisy are sump pumps? I can't seem to find info on the noise produced but the pumps (even on, say, the Davey website). I have a cheapy QB60 pump (as often sold on Ebay) for one rain tank, and it is very quiet - I also have a cheapy Bunnings pressure pump for the other rain tank, which although it has a higher throughput, it is also much noisier. I suppose noise from a sump pump might not be much as it operates while underwater much of the time. However if it made as much noise as the Bunnings pump, it'd probably bother the neighbours when we have showers late at night (we're night owls).
Questions:
1. Anyone got any experience with pumping grey water for irrigation and what clogs up (pumps, drippers, solenoids etc) and how often?
2. Anyone got any experience with grey water filters, either home-made or fairly cheap commercial (up to say two hundred dollars)?
3. I presume that the leaky rubber hose type of dripper is most likely to block with grey water - can anyone confirm or deny?
Read the full thread at RenovateForum.com... (http://www.renovateforum.com/showthread.php?t=75370&goto=newpost)
We currently run grey water by gravity from shower and washing machine to our front yard. Our block is undulating and sloped so distributing the grey water without a pump is difficult.
I am thinking of getting using a sump pump to distribute water around the garden more effectively, probably pumping it to one of two holding tanks on stands, then gravity feed to some kind of dripper or spikes-in-the-ground distribution system.
My concerns are that grey water unfiltered is likely to block the pump, any solenoids used and any drippers especially with hairs in the pump (my gravity feed system from the shower needs flushing to move the grey gunk that blocks it up periodically).
Someone has tested filters on grey water and many of them don't seem to be very good (http://www.greywaterreuse.com.au/ind...stigation.html (http://www.greywaterreuse.com.au/index.php/Greywater-Reuse-Systems/Filter-Investigation.html)). It seems the best "filter" is a large settling tank (a small tank is ok for me but not a large one). Paradoxically the 200 micron filter they tested worked better than the 100 micron filter.
I initially thought of using a pool filter but they are a bit expensive (starting at several hundred dollars). I have also thought of using the "Lazy Lizard" (see http://www.silvanh2o.com.au/products...hp?category=11 (http://www.silvanh2o.com.au/products/products.php?category=11) - a 240 micron filter intended for prefiltering rain tank inflows) to filter the water before the pump.
Can't seem to find out much info on how deep the water needs to be before the sump pump turns on. For example, looking at the cheapest Davey sump pump (which can be bought for a reasonable price on ebay).
Lastly, how noisy are sump pumps? I can't seem to find info on the noise produced but the pumps (even on, say, the Davey website). I have a cheapy QB60 pump (as often sold on Ebay) for one rain tank, and it is very quiet - I also have a cheapy Bunnings pressure pump for the other rain tank, which although it has a higher throughput, it is also much noisier. I suppose noise from a sump pump might not be much as it operates while underwater much of the time. However if it made as much noise as the Bunnings pump, it'd probably bother the neighbours when we have showers late at night (we're night owls).
Questions:
1. Anyone got any experience with pumping grey water for irrigation and what clogs up (pumps, drippers, solenoids etc) and how often?
2. Anyone got any experience with grey water filters, either home-made or fairly cheap commercial (up to say two hundred dollars)?
3. I presume that the leaky rubber hose type of dripper is most likely to block with grey water - can anyone confirm or deny?
Read the full thread at RenovateForum.com... (http://www.renovateforum.com/showthread.php?t=75370&goto=newpost)