Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Rainwater Harvesting | Things The Books Won't Tell You

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Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Rainwater Harvesting | Things The Books Won't Tell You
These are some issues we've run into when setting up a rainwater harvesting system. They might be easily overlooked but important to consider.
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We are Jim and Jessica, a husband and wife team who made the leap from city life to an off-grid homestead in Southern Arizona. We've started this lifestyle equipped only with two Permaculture Design Certificates and a whole lot of determination.
We’d like to share our journey of starting a sustainable homestead from scratch with all its ups, downs, and lessons learned. Watch us take on the challenge of modern homesteading, off-grid life, and turning this barren piece of land into a desert oasis.
#greendreamproject #rainwaterharvesting #offgrid

Пікірлер: 263

@ourselfreliantlife 2 жыл бұрын

Don't forget you can find us on Instagram here: 🔹️ instagram.com/greendreamproject 🔸️And Facebook here: facebook.com/greendreamproject1 🔹️Check out our Facebook group here: facebook.com/groups/greensteaders/

@hildebertocarreiro9232 9 ай бұрын

U pile those rocks nice .u can build a home like Spain rock n cement house vila

@hildebertocarreiro9232 9 ай бұрын

Get gutter guards

@hildebertocarreiro9232 4 ай бұрын

Get pressure cookers still water 💦 safe

@vincentalaimo7527 2 жыл бұрын

If you’re going to use silicone please use aquarium safe silicone… other silicones have toxins in them.

@thebirdsnest9396 2 жыл бұрын

Great warning. Thanks.

@lmlowe9100 2 жыл бұрын

@@sandhills2344 maybe he does care about toxins but didn't realize there were toxins in either...or maybe he plans some type of filtration system down the road.

@bigglilwayne7050 Жыл бұрын

E -6000 and/or NP-1 are by far the best

@theupsideofdownsizing 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us Jim! It looks like you have your system really dialed in. Let the rain begin!

@ourselfreliantlife 2 жыл бұрын

It's definitely a lot better. I think going as simple as possible is always the way to go. Much more sustainable and less chances of things going wrong.

@deborahmcsweeney1650 2 жыл бұрын

We studied with Billy Kniffen who was with Texas A&M Extension. I think he trained the guy who wrote those books. We got a book from Billy called Rainwater Harvesting Planning and Installation offered through Texas A&M Extension. It has so much critical information that we call it our rain water bible. LoL! You might look for it! I hope your tanks fill up this summer!

@hilaireoloughlin 11 ай бұрын

Simple, no pretence, straight to the point. Thanks for the great tips.

@jensv874 12 күн бұрын

Best tip I can give you is dont use plastic tanks but concrete. Concrete counteract/neutralise acid rain water.

@robertbuckley9303 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! These are tips that would be hard to anticipate without the experience that you've gained the hard way. One of the functions of any pioneer is to scout the territory and report back to the folks following behind. Thanks for breaking trail.

@wdwerker 2 жыл бұрын

Always wise to listen to folks who learned the hard way !

@christineherrmann205 2 жыл бұрын

This video made me wonder why you guys didn't drain the poly tanks while there was no rain and move them closer to shed, so that initial catchment was poly tanks with cistern as overflow? Probably something I'm missing.

@honthirty_ 2 жыл бұрын

The poly tanks are their ONLY supply of water. That is why they didnt drain them.

@donaldwarriner1640 10 ай бұрын

You're so articulate with thoughtful presentation that inspires me to do this in the future. Thank you.

@capistranogardener6100 2 жыл бұрын

Jim...great job!!! May I suggest that you form the filter screens over a ball or cone before installing them...that way any debris will deflect and not clog the screen. Keep up the great work...very inspiring indeed.

@lnwolf41 2 жыл бұрын

Why not get a couple of 55 gallon drums, use the first one for a debris filter, the second one fills 3/4 before dumping into your other tanks. Some people set up a diverter, so the first 5 gallons dump on the ground taking all the crap with it, so you just get clean rainwater.

@elizabethblane201 2 жыл бұрын

Such a great, organized, concise video. Seriously underrated channel!

@StoneKathryn 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jim for going over how you have changed your system since the first time you were harvesting rain water. I really enjoyed this.

@Doitgood52 2 жыл бұрын

There is no substitute for good planning/design 🔥⛈🦠

@hirsutusi5536 2 жыл бұрын

It might be wise to add a cleanable U trap between the horizontal collector pipe and the down-across-up link to the tank farm. Your filters will keep out most bugs and big particles but dust and sand may get through and over time block that underground gray pipe.

@kennethalmond8922 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. One thing I notice is those looooong horizontal stretches of pipe over the cistern. They will sag within a year based on my experience. This may be OK for you and if not, think about support to keep them straight before they kind of melt-sag based on sun :)

@foamer443 2 жыл бұрын

Good point and being black won't help.

@CherylSpelts 2 жыл бұрын

Can you show us how much you've collected with the last week of storms? I am so looking forward to seeing the payoff, to all your work, with rainwater pouring into those plastic tanks! :)

@ourselfreliantlife 2 жыл бұрын

It's dark in the poly tanks, but I know we've collected close to 500 gallons so far.

@teddiriggs517 2 жыл бұрын

Flex seal....yeah baby! Glad you used it.😁

@scottrobinson491 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you guys for your time and energy in sharing your journey with us.

@paulaaron1109 2 жыл бұрын

Jim. Excellent video. Straight to the point. Thank you.

@samyoungblood3740 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you both for sharing your experiences in this whole process.

@brucestmartin777 2 жыл бұрын

Such a ambitious and ingenious system.. just amazing Jim .

@bruce-le-smith 25 күн бұрын

super informative, thank you!!

@anapilarshaw2823 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Jim and Jessica for sharing your rainwater harvesting experience. These are very helpful considerations and I appreciate your generosity. ❤

@Mouse2677 2 жыл бұрын

Nothing will seal the gutter when they are 100" long as the expansion and contraction of the Aluminum is going to either take the joints apart or take the screws loose and then they come down.

@TerraFirmaX 2 жыл бұрын

hmmm, that's a good point.

@kebertxela941 2 жыл бұрын

Hopefully that will take a couple years(or better a few),might be a good time to start a fund to start saving to replace.

@ard8785 2 жыл бұрын

Gutters don't need sealants esp. IF they are properly spaced and placed, correctly angled and sloped and well-placed proper supports. Sealants have chemicals which are dangerous to health and unsafe for drinking... I am speaking from experience. Many decades thriving on rain-water for drinking and other house use from my rain-catcher.

@captnjerry4950 Ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. This will help many!

@ReapWhatYouSeauxLeJeune 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome video thanks for sharing

@EricWhiteChooseGod1st 2 жыл бұрын

Beautiful rainbow. Very well thought out, I appreciate the tip about the 90's most.

@lukeblackford1677 2 ай бұрын

Thank you.

@duwomaiishgabrielle9498 2 жыл бұрын

❤️❤️I love you two! You are so down to earth! 😂😂it’s such a wonderful undertaking!

@PaullaWells 2 жыл бұрын

I hope to build a small system for my garden one day. I appreciate the info. Thank you!

@Tunzbig Жыл бұрын

Thanks for Taking the time to make this

@anthonyromero2605 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for your humerus you and knowledge

@janettaylor3182 2 жыл бұрын

Good to see you'll be saving and using you're own water supply and looks good how you've done it to me...I understood why you changed it now from the old system all trail and error but that's how you learn love watching you both always amazing 👏

@tanja8907 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you sir.

@hq7108 9 ай бұрын

Thank you

@conquererification 11 ай бұрын

Dreamed of moving out there before I moved. When googling the areas I always saw these gaint green circles. I hope those who can drain wells are listening and reevaluate thier systems. Will check out your other vid and pick up a copy of those books. Thanks

@RVBadlands2015 2 жыл бұрын

Super good info when I set up my rain water harvesting.

@drgunsmith4099 2 жыл бұрын

Great explanation 🙏

@dilsaliosatos8797 2 жыл бұрын

Tank you for you information

@ncooty 22 күн бұрын

Great video. Totally agree about Brad Lancaster's books.

@tortugalisa4748 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks guys💯💙

@glines 2 жыл бұрын

I live in Bermuda and every house in Bermuda has a tank underneath it and catch is it’s own rainwater. You should do some research on the gutters we use on our Bermuda roofs. I think you will want Do what we do on your domes

@bobjoatmon1993 2 жыл бұрын

I'd be interested in how much water you end up getting in the underground cistern (during the monsoon season) Also, please answer why you didn't move the poly tanks closer to the end of the shed (between the shed and underground cistern) as that would have simplified your piping considerably

@bobjoatmon1993 2 жыл бұрын

@@onlyscience7120 yes, that's theory I'm asking what he ACTUALLY got

@bobjoatmon1993 2 жыл бұрын

@@onlyscience7120 that's ridiculous logic. I'm not asking for that level of precision and no one else expects that either. I lived in a RV for years and know about what a person uses per day on average and it's 8 to 20 gallons. Yes, they've got plants and livestock but the day after a rain in that large of an underground cistern their use MIGHT be 1/10 of an inch, if that. So a BALLPARK estimate of the water he captured is entirely feasible and practical.

@diasporareturnee 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for these! Very helpful

@ChennaiPaiyan739 Ай бұрын

Thank you it was helpful to generate my system in the woods 🎉

@tropicalshrimp 2 жыл бұрын

thank you

@tessahugo5448 2 жыл бұрын

It`s always such a pleasure looking at your videos.. I really love all Jess arts, she is so talented. Love all the types of work that you do, we can learn from you. Cape Town South Africa

@UpperSkyDJ 2 жыл бұрын

Its so true that you learn by doing and sometimes re-doing.😉 Thanks for sharing, you brought up ideas that I can incorporate into my eight yr old water catchment system. Also love Brad Lancaster's books 📚.

@georgetucker336 2 жыл бұрын

Great information.

@davec9244 2 жыл бұрын

jest gutters, live in Oregon have to clean my gutters twice a year they plug up, I know down in your neck of the woods no gutter on any houses you are going the right direction thanks

@jmbpinto73 2 жыл бұрын

Someday in the future, You could expand the roof a bit to cover the RVs, and colect a bit more rain while saving the RVs roof from the scorching sun.

@bobjoatmon1993 2 жыл бұрын

Well, hopefully eventually they will move into the earth bag house and not be living in the RV at all.

@carolynchatham6338 2 жыл бұрын

Good suggestions

@brusselsprout5851 Жыл бұрын

Amazing trailblazing!

@jayfroman3257 5 ай бұрын

I like making dirt, catching rain and converting sunshine into energy. I have other hobbies but those are among my favorites.

@TomBTerrific 2 жыл бұрын

Good information and tips. Experience is the best teacher.

@jellyellis6813 2 жыл бұрын

Love yall

@jacklily999 18 күн бұрын

Well spoken thoughtful video. Thank you for sharing all these tips. You might have read Geoff Lawton, an expert on water retention for soil.

@andrewyang1446 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video! Was recently wondering about filtering the water from harvesting which might contain bird poop. Would love to see a video on how people treat harvested water. Thanks!

@CBsGreenhouseandGarden 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tips Mr. Jim. Time to catch some water now! Good luck and keep us updated.

@ourselfreliantlife 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks CB! Will do.

@jeanhawken4482 2 жыл бұрын

Research is the way to go. Your doing a good job

@MISSIONRIDERMOTOVLOG 10 ай бұрын

thank you for those tips. I am planning also to build a house that catches water

@saintracheljarodm.holy-kay2560 2 жыл бұрын

Good usable information, take care and God bless amen.

@seekerbee4494 2 жыл бұрын

To think you could have only put out such an excellent video on water catchment was from all your previous missteps. Nice job!

@KrissBartlett 2 жыл бұрын

Good Job there Jim !!!!

@petersamios5409 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the information. You are absolutely correct about the hard 90's - you want to avoid those, You may want to split to multiple 30's or 45's to make the bends and limit those. Also, as someone else mentioned, I'd move the two tanks closer to the roof. I'd also cover them to try and keep the water cooler and less evaporation. Why the exposed black pipe- is that for cold nights?

@kevinwilliams8662 2 жыл бұрын

Enjoyed the show

@dethmaul 2 жыл бұрын

I didn't know that about silicone, thanks!

@jamesramey3549 2 жыл бұрын

Curios, have you thought about moving your poly tanks closer to a direct flow and then have the overflow go to your cistern? Just a question since you brought it up. I am interested in moving somewhere to the desert and your videos as well as others are a big help.

@BR1967FE 2 жыл бұрын

great information 😎

@bfox5767 2 жыл бұрын

It looks great! I hope you collect a whole lot of water from your system.

@ahbushnell1 2 жыл бұрын

Great video

@PaulOtis 2 жыл бұрын

having the screens like you do now can allow you to remove and clean/replace as needed as well. Great info Jim & Jess!

@ourselfreliantlife 2 жыл бұрын

Exactly right! Thanks Paul!

@cmilimt 2 жыл бұрын

Me encantó este tipo de reflexión de aprendizaje.

@farmyourbackyard2023 2 жыл бұрын

Great job on this video.

@catgynt9148 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing this video and your rainwater harvest tips. How often do you sweep the perimeter of the cistern roof to minimize dust and dirt from entering your cistern? Wishing you and Jessica a blessed summer season with abundant rain and moderate sleeping temperatures. Peace brother.

@mikeunum 8 ай бұрын

Very well done but logical things to think about.

@mzimmerman1988 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video! :)

@ourselfreliantlife 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Matt!

@jefferybublitz7968 2 жыл бұрын

Hello friend, I've watched about 8 episodes of ur efforts out there, & I'm enjoying ur progress, as ur moving along. That 14,000 gallon cistern was an impressive build. Nice design too.***!!! Love Brthrn Jeff B.

@timklassen421 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jim one of are customers might try water harvesting her well only yields 2 gpm and she has a lot of horses she has a indoor riding arena 200 by 75 feet and may opt to only use halve of it we get a lot more rain here in Alberta thanks for the tips.

@AnAlaskaHomestead 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the good tips. If your only water source is rain water you need to have the ability to catch as much of it as you can while it’s raining. We get pine needle build up in our gutters and in the screen that covers the downspout. We lose some water because of it but luckily for us in SE Alaska, rain is not in short supply😂

@thelonghorncow5084 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! Most of Arizona have desert like environment but I wonder Why people/you don't live in the Northern part like Flagstaff areas??

@Mwaidavid 8 ай бұрын

As a young farmer...you have really inspired

@bvisel4558 2 жыл бұрын

Great info, and the editing was awesome

@joansmith3492 2 жыл бұрын

super good video!! great info. I hope it makes you lots of money.

@Melicoy 2 жыл бұрын

thanks nice

@jimh4167 2 жыл бұрын

Ha I have a request Please You have a large rain roof With a wet drain to your tanks When you get heavy rain.. With your rain gauge You can monitor the flow in the 4inch PVC. If If hits maximum flow the screened tees in your system should over flow And which ones started / where over flowing If you can keep tract of those numbers That could help some of us designing a similar system.. ,(I have read what the books say their flow rate should be But yours is the real world) 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 Thank You

@robertvincent4847 2 жыл бұрын

I do not know if you do J but if you don't have a screen over your over flow pipe as you do all your inlets it will allow all things alive small enough to get into your water

@jmbpinto73 2 жыл бұрын

From where i see, the second overflow pipe is redundant, as it's about the same level as the overflow opening at the other pipe.

@lmlowe9100 2 жыл бұрын

Two questions... 1) Why didn't you build your pole barn high enough to park your RVs under? 2a) Why drop down to (under)ground level, the ten foot section at the end of your gutter run? 2b) Why not just run the pipe straight across to the cistern and then over to the black holding tanks? (Ok, technically three questions...lol} Thanks and I enjoy your videos.

@foamer443 2 жыл бұрын

My thoughts precisely. Adding those four? extra 90's plus the rise on the other side will be a huge resistor in the water flow. Installing a pipe stand either beside or on top of the cistern I think would have been far more practical and probably less work in the end.

@TripleBRanch Жыл бұрын

I thought the same thing. As he was saying “keep it simple”, he’s got that drop, 10’(?) stretch underground and then 6’+ back up to the top of the cistern. Why not just run that span overhead? 🤔

@funkydave100 3 ай бұрын

how large is your poly tanks and your cistern? and how did you size it because im in a similar situation here in mexico where i have some what similar weather patterens as you do in arizona

@bobbebbington5356 2 жыл бұрын

Jim, if you are anything like me you will do it at least three times before you get it right. The system you have should work well but you will have fine dirt build up in the pipe underground which will be a problem over time. Build a diverter to catch the first flush and this should solve the problem.

@dyannejohnson6184 Жыл бұрын

Yep thumps up here too!

@kezzatries 2 жыл бұрын

You should also put a slight down turn on your sheets of iron, this will stop water running back under the panels

@mosbysmen 2 жыл бұрын

jim , great job on the video

@beachlife9419 2 жыл бұрын

Nice 👍👍👍👍 work

@jimh4167 2 жыл бұрын

System looks great If you find the 4 inch screens building up with dirt They make 4" to 6" PVC adaptors Might help with clogging Also if some of you may have problems thinking these sweeps may be to restrictive In electrical the 4" PVC sweeps have a much larger radius

@charolettewilliams8834 Жыл бұрын

Thx for the video. My question is regarding freezing temperatures. Do you have to insulate pipes to keep from freezing? I am using 55 gal blue barrels and worried about water freezing and cracking my barrels. I havent seen anybody address this.

@jonijones8123 Күн бұрын

Excellent information but I have a problem with having screened catchers a little ways down from my roof and when it rains really hard they overflow. Somewhere I read that there is an optimum distance between the heights of the downspout intake and the height of the intake on the storage tank. Do you know what this distance should be. The distance between the downspout and the top of the tank is now is about 12". thank you

@FresnoJoe2 2 жыл бұрын

Amen~!

@SpringRiverHollar 2 жыл бұрын

Hi guys , I'm far from being a expert like some of the people so I'll just follow along and pay attention . Keep it close , keep it simple.....gotcha👍