DIY first flush rain diverter

-
There is some concern about using rain water to water vegetables due to potential chemical leaching from asphalt roof tiles (the most popular roofing material in the US).

Most people seem afraid of any lawsuits if they state that water collected from an asphalt roof is safe to use on edible fruits and vegetables and it turns out it's not safe at some point down the road.

Until someone can step forward and take that responsibility of declaring the water safe, it makes sense to try and take some precautions even though there are plenty of people who have been doing it for years without any adverse effects.

A first flush contraption is supposed to divert the first bit of water that washes off your roof (presumably containing organic contaminants and non-organic contaminants such as melted/leached asphalt based chemicals) and capture it.

DIY First flush holds about 1 quart of water

parts list:

3/4" slip X 3/4" slip X 3/4" FPT
3/4" galvanized nipple
1.5" X 2ft sched 40 pipe
1.5" X 3/4" SPGXFPT reducer bushing
1.5" cap FPT
1.5" male adapter SXMPT
1.5" coupling SXS

I intended to put a ping pong ball inside the contraption to act as a valve when the column of water is full but I didn't have one handy, nor did I want to buy a pack of 6 ping pong balls just for this project which has already cost me $12.

I have not studied fluid dynamics, but I'm guessing that once the tube is full there will be little exchange of "fresh" water with the first flush water as the rain fall continues to pour into the rain barrel at the top of the tube of water.

The threaded cap at the bottom of the column of water is loosely threaded on so that any captured water can leak out slowly.  I have some pieces of scrap wood supporting the tube in case the added weight of water might cause any problems with the barrel connection.

It was pointed out to me that any roof chemicals captured by the first flush contraption might be added back by any leaching that comes out of the rain barrel itself. I guess you really can't win, but I haven't seen any warnings specifically concerning rain barrel leaching outside of the need for a "food grade" barrel when locating a used barrel suitable for capturing rain water.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My experience converting an e-Bike

-
Image
I purchased a decent inexpensive "Nashbar Flat Bar Road Bike" ~$230 from Bike Nashbar back in April 2017 and rode it twice over the next 2 or 3 years. Life got in the way, I became even more sedentary.  With just a few months to go before I retire, I decided it was time to get back on the bike and spend my days being active walking and biking. Thinking that an eBike could help me up the hills, I figured I could probably get some more seat time for more exercise.  I found this reasonably priced kit on Walmart.com to convert my regular hybrid bike to an ebike for as little money as possible.  A new project with new stuff to learn will be a good time.   After looking at tons of options on Amazon and Walmart and trying to figure out if I should purchase a 48v or 36v motor, I decided to go small for my first project because lower voltage would mean fewer batteries, lighter weight and lower overall cost. I didn't want a front wheel drive bike though it might be slightly easier
Read more

Zero pressure bucket drip irrigation

-
Image
There are several great reasons everyone should be using drip irrigation compared with simply using a hose or a watering can. Water conservation : by delivering water directly to the roots of the plant there is less water lost from evaporation and less water lost to run-off since the soil has a chance to soak up the water before it can drain away.  We can also use recycled water or captured rain water to further save precious water resources (OK, you can do this in a watering can too). Lower risk of disease : wet leaves can lead to fungus when they can't dry off quickly enough and plants almost always do better when the leaves are dry. Effective Nutrient management : Decreasing run-off also helps to keep the nitrogen in the soil from being diluted or washed away.  Fertilizer can be added to the bucket and distributed easily with less waste. Weed management : Delivering water directly to the plant means less water for weed germination Effective labor utilization : Fill the
Read more

Retreading Lawnmower tires for next to nothing

-
Image
I've had my lawn mower for roughly 5 years. It's a front wheel drive push mower and I never imagined that wheels could wear out just from mowing a lawn but I have 2 bald tires. This current adventure started when I went online shopping for replacement wheels. I found a part that looked like it would fit but after paying $25 to get it delivered, I discovered that the part was only for 1 wheel. I'm not paying $50 for 2 wheels so I went looking for alternatives to get some traction.  I just replaced the tires on a bicycle with smooth city tires and thought these knobby tires would be great on the lawn mower and they're replaceable when I have 2 bald tires in another 5 years. So here we go Need a heavy duty cable cutter to cut the bead on the tires, but a sharp knife can be used to cut just the tread for our project. Trimming the side walls because we only need the tread area Measure, cut and line it up.  A couple of self tapping screws to
Read more