Hello, I am an environmental engineer sharing my design for a ~300 gallon IBC tote rainwater collection system. What makes this different and beneficial for self-sufficiency is the low cost per gallon. This tote also provides a large enough storage tank to use a dedicated irrigation pump for reuse. You could make this as simple or as complex as you wanted to.
IBC totes are frequently used for storing and transporting food grade materials, so there is an aftermarket for cheap used totes, you just have to verify what they were used for. I got this 275 gallon tote off of marketplace for $100 USD. It was previously used to transport food dye. They are highly durable because they’re built out of HDPE and galvanized steel.
Other Materials:
Leaf filter, from $10 to $70 - my preference is the Leaf Eater Advanced ($66)
Downspout diverter, my preference is Earth minded Flexifit diverter ($20)
PVC pipe and valves, figure $50
Total entry cost including tank: $180 - $240
Optional:
Lid adapter for two inlet ports $10
1 HP irrigation pump $140
Discharge splitter $10
Wi-Fi controller $30
Piggy-back Level float, alternative controller $50
Ozone injector to keep the water fresh and odor free: $400 (luxury) JED Engineering model 203
What would one use 300 gallons of rainwater for? I’m not trying to sound judgemental or whatever, I’m actually curious because 300 sounds like a lot. Is it mainly for irrigation? Would that make sense for a larger garden? I’ve heard that some people use graywater for flushing toilets, is this part of that?
When there isn’t much rain in the summer and you try to keep your plants alive with collected rainwater, I assure you that it empties fast
It’s just water bro. Shower, laundry, drink it, whatever. I have a thousand gallon tank, nice family home might have 10k. No other water source
I am not the OP, but even if it doesn’t have practical use, I just think this is coolest thing ever. It also aligns with self-sufficiency and resilience values of this solarpunk server