Water collecting and storage... again

First time Posting so if this is in the wrong place let me know and ill move it around.

There is a lot of discussion here about catching and storing rainwater. I've not seen anyone answer my specific question as of yet so here it is.

I'm trying to catch the rainwater off of the roof of my tiny house. I will then filter it and pipe it into a large 800 gallon tank. This water will then be pumped electrically though another filter and used in said tiny house. My question is this. I need to keep this 800 gallon tank outside in PA year round without it freezing. Zone 5a. As well as keep all the pipes going to and from it to the house from freezing as well. My soil is quite rocky and my house is built in such a way that getting large machinery there is very difficult and costly. My frost depth is 44 inches. I'm wondering if I bury this tank part way in the ground, maybe two feet or three feet, and insulate the top half. Maybe paint it black as well. And keep my water lines 2 feet or so under the ground. Will this keep the tank from freezing? If not, is there any other way that I can make this work? Is there anyone that lives in central PA who has experience doing this? Keep in mind that I will be doing all this digging by hand with a shovel. So just burying the tank 6 feet under ground would take me a year or so.

I can't help with your basic question, but as to digging in rocks - I grow rocks *really* well, and rather than "just a shovel", I would recommend you get a small mattock with the three fingers on one end. If you've got the money, I'd get its big brother also - same shape but heavier and beefier and longer handle. I'd also get a 6 ft pry bar, and if you have BIG rocks, a rock drill and feathers and irons are a big help as they allow you to turn BIG rocks into a bunch of smaller rocks. Lastly, I'd suggest you decide where you might eventually like a lot of rocks for a rubble trench foundation, or the edge of a key-hole bed, or to alter a slope, so the rocks can at least move in the right direction.

Welcome to permies!

Hello Jay. Thank you very much for your post. I sort of lie. By "just a shovel" I meant to say "by hand" I have a pair of shovels and a breaker bar, a pair of sledge hammers and a post hole digger... the sort of giant tongs type one not the gas powered auger. I will try a mattock. Ive heard of them before but I try not to get new things if I can help it. Finding one second hand has been a challenge. I will keep looking for one though and explore more ways to break stone to move it with drills and wedges. I have also been doing the "toss the rocks in that big pile over there" thing which is kind of silly now that you mention it. Ill make sure to put them in the places I need to use them from now on.

Thank you again
Matthew

I hear you about not buying new stuff, but I suspect the only other way you'll find one is to find an old farmer and ask if you can buy one from him! Or trade for some labor job he's too old to want to risk.

I admit that I'm married to a guy who *loves* tools and can afford to buy them for him or me. I try not to break too many of them... Hubby says I fail at this. At least he's also good at fixing them.

I grew up in northern NH so I know about your frost line and how difficult it can be to dig below it, after all NH isn't called the granite state for nothing.  That said, we have some experience with off grid living but it's in the northwest.  We have a 1000 gallon black water tank (black is a necessity or you will have an algae problem) that is about half buried in the ground.  We pump water up to it and get water out via gravity.  Even with the pipes buried far below the frost line (which is only 16" there) we still had a valve freeze and break a few winters ago.  For your location, unless you go below the frost line it's almost not worth burying it at all (IMHO).  Best case scenario you would bury everything, a tank and all the piping, then you would be fine and never have to worry about freezing pipes.  If digging is as difficult as you say, it might be easier to build an enclosure around the tank and pipes if you can.  Basic insulation and a 100w light bulb would keep the space warm enough to keep it from freezing during the coldest days.  My $0.02 worth.

Thank you both for your responses

Jay. I do know a few farmers who may be able to help me with that. Ill check around my local bartering networks for something before i try buying it. Still it seams like a good tool to own all the same.

Jason. Thank you for your input. Building a small building around my tank might be a beater idea then digging a hole. I had some questions about the tank system you described though. The Tank was half in and half out of the ground? Was the top half of the tank insulated or covered in any way? or open to the sun? Also do you recall if the buried pipes and lines were insulated in the ground by anything other then earth? I had wondered if wrapping them in some sort of pipe insulation would do anything at all. I'm sorry to hear about your burst line. How did you go about fixing it at the time? Is there any other method then just digging up the whole section of pipe and replacing it?

You're welcome!  The upper section of the tank was just exposed tank, no insulation.  It was black so the sun did help keep it warm however in the winter we still drained it (the house wasn't occupied in the winter) just to be safe.  The previous owner said they would sometimes leave it half full for winter with no issues.  The pipes are just plastic and are not insulated either, just under the dirt.  Our frozen line presented itself as a slow leak down of the tank, it was 1000 gallons and would lose about 200 overnight.  Ended up the 3" brass gate valve at the bottom of the tank had frozen and split, even though it was empty of water (must have been just enough left to freeze).  Only fix was to dig it up and replace the valve.