Water Installations offers clients a range of services, including the purchase, delivery and placement of rainwater tanks. Including installation of the pumps, water switch, and connection to the existing downpipe within 1 m of the home only.
A complete range of tanks are available and some types include, polyethylene tanks, Steel Liner colorbond colour tanks. Steel Liner tanks available with a capacity of up to 320,000 Litres.
Kingspan Steel Liner Rainwater Tanks
What are the benefits of rainwater tanks?
Collecting rainwater has many environmental benefits, as well as benefiting you! Some reasons for harvesting rainwater include:
Making fresh water available to flush toilets or to provide a laundry source.
Using rainwater for drinking purposes.
Supplementing the watering of garden areas.
Reducing our use of mains (scheme) water - a very valuable, limited resource.
Saving some money – buying less water from a service provider.
Providing a water source which has reduced levels of salts and other substances.
What Options are Available
You can install any size of rainwater tank. Most people want to use the rainwater - either for drinking or to flush toilets or to wash clothes. Water Installations mainly installs tanks which enable the household to use the water in the house usually for the kitchen, bathroom, toilet and/or laundry.
Connections to the House
Pressure Tank
Rainwater is most often pumped to the house, although gravity can be used in some cases to direct rainwater to fixtures in the house.
A pressure-tank pump is used to supply rainwater when required. When the tap is turned on, or the toilet flushes, the pump is activated and gently pumps water to fill the cistern, or enter the kitchen sink or washing machine.
The tank on top of the pump permits water to be pumped under pressure. Instead of the pump turning on every time the tap is opened, the pressure inside the cylinder may be enough to supply the water to the house fixture. The pressure-tank pump system is only one of many ways to supply the household. GRS provides advice on a number of different types of pumps, as each has particular applications.
Onga WaterSwitch
Acqua Saver
What happens when I run out of rainwater?
If you only install a small tank (e.g. less than 20 000 L) then it is likely you will run out of rainwater during the summer period. This, of course, depends on the uses of the rainwater. Providing a full laundry, kitchen and bathroom service rapidly depletes the volume you can collect during rainy times.
GRS integrates the mains (scheme) water source with the rainwater source. Generally, a double check valve is connected to both, and when the rainwater is depleted, you simply turn a couple of ball valves to enable mains water to enter the system. The double check valve is the minimum requirement recommended by the Water Corporation to prevent any cross-contamination of mains water and rainwater. A Waterswitch device is an automatic device that allows scheme water to enter the pipework when rainwater is depleted, switching automatically. The Waterswitch will also sense when the tank has enough rainwater, and it will automatically switch back over to rainwater. (see diagram below)
Optional Extras
Every rainwater tank comes supplied with a basket (leaf) filter, tap (usually brass) and overflow pipe. Each tank manufacturer has their own fittings, but generally the basket filter is made from moulded plastic, the tap is either a simple stopcock or a gate valve, and the overflow pipe is a length of PVC which directs overflow to the ground. In addition to these standard fittings, a number of optional extras are available for your rainwater tank system. These include:
Filter bag – a 20 μm cloth filter which removes most sand and dust as the water enters the tank.
Vermin proofing. This is often necessary for steel and steel-liner tanks to prevent insects, frogs and small rodents from finding their way into the tank.
Garden overflow. Either a subsurface piped trench or a simple gravity-fed dripper system is installed to direct overflow more effectively to garden areas or beds.
Venting. Condensation is common is rainwater tanks. This is not a problem for poly (plastic) tanks but can cause minor corrosion in steel and steel-liner tanks.
A ‘whirlybird’ vent or similar is installed in the tank lid to duct excess water vapour to the atmosphere.
Dripperline can be supplied or installed to enable excess overflow from a full rainwater tank to be used to water garden areas.