• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

Planning a productive greywater system zone 3~4

 
Posts: 26
Location: Västerbotten, Sweden
14
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi everyone!
I've been lurking around permies for some time now and finally decided to pipe in.
I'm about to start building a house and smallholding on a piece of farmland/woodland in the north of Sweden. As has been pointed out elswhere in this forum, the greywater situation is one of the hardest parts to solve, with long winters and deep freezes.
My plan at the moment is as follows;
Outfall from the washhouse to pass through a basic grease and scraps filter (possibly vermiculture), then into half of a 1000 litre IBC, which will be filled with gravel and will drain into a complete IBC below ground. The connection between this gravel 'funnel' and the underground sump will be sealed, so when the sump is full, the funnel will fill up to overflow into a leachfield.

Ok, with me so far? Now the (hopefully) clever bit...
The other half of the cut-up IBC gets supported above this setup, a wind-powered pump draws water to it from the sump and a bell syphon empties it periodically into the 'funnel'. This top tank also gets filled with gravel and both half-tanks will be stocked with greenery to feed the chickens.

The whole setup will be inside a small polytunnel and the leachfield will begin in the ground inside to make more chicken food. On the downhill side of the tunnel, the rest of the leachfield will be planted with fuel wood trees to feed the RMH.

Enough rambling, what do you all think ?
 
Posts: 73
Location: Finland
2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I think you should draw simple picture so it would be more easy to understand the idea, as english isnt my native language and I am a bit simple also: it is hard to understand this idea!
 
Tony Hedgewolf
Posts: 26
Location: Västerbotten, Sweden
14
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Henri-
That's a fair comment, I did wonder about that while I was writing. I'll have to figure out how to get a picture on here!
 
pollinator
Posts: 1793
Location: Wisconsin, zone 4
97
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Tony Hedgewolf wrote:Henri-
That's a fair comment, I did wonder about that while I was writing. I'll have to figure out how to get a picture on here!



Tony, to post pictures, just click to add a reply and then directly under the box you type in there are two tabs, option and attachments.  If you click on the attachments tab, and then the browse button, you just browse to the picture on your computer and click submit.
 
pollinator
Posts: 11853
Location: Central Texas USA Latitude 30 Zone 8
1261
cat forest garden fish trees chicken fiber arts wood heat greening the desert
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Tony Hedgewolf wrote: a complete IBC below ground



It is in this underground sump tank where the greywater is likely to turn to blackwater, based on my experience with storing greywater in a tank until it got full enough to overflow.

http://oasisdesign.net/greywater/misinfo/
 
Tony Hedgewolf
Posts: 26
Location: Västerbotten, Sweden
14
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Thanks for the replies!
Particularly, thanks for reminding me why I'm doing this (and to go back and read Art's book again...)
I realised the only reason the tank crept into the design was in an attempt to appease the planning department by giving them something familiar. The application form basically wants to know how many chambers our settling tank will have, how big the leachfield is and how far away is the nearest groundwater access.

During our meeting last year, I was told to attach an extra sheet of paper, describing the planned system so it could be considered on its own merits.
So, I'll go back to designing the system I believe in and then educate where necessary.

Thanks again!
 
What consumes your mind controls your life / tiny ad
Perennial Vegetables: How to Use Them to Save Time and Energy
https://permies.com/t/96921/Planting-Perennial-Vegetables-Homestead
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic