Adam Klaus wrote:I have a rainwater catchment system working successfully in zone 5/6 Colorado mountains.
One key is to keep the snow on your roof, using snow stops. Another key is burying your cistern totally underground.
If you have any specific questions I would be happy to help.
Hi Adam,
I came across this post and great forum after researching cold climate rainwater systems. I am designing a system for my new build house in Nova Scotia, Canada and would be grateful for any advice from a cold weather harvester! We get about 4 inches of rainfall a month and I plan to catch about 1800 gal per inch from my house/garage roof and store 8000 gal in a buried concrete cistern. The system is design to supply all domestic water for a family of 4. I've been worrying about freezing in the piping system between the gutters and cistern which includes the "first flush diverter" that I want to leave connected year round. I like this vortex filter due to simple design as compared to a "ball valve" diverter -
http://www.jrsmith.com/file-library.aspx?productcategory=121&useproductcategorytext=True&Page=5. I have been thinking about adding heat tape along gutters and piping that connects to the buried cistern but would rather avoid this as I am building a low energy house and every watt is precious. My initial questions are:
- do you find any issues with your above ground piping in winter? I figure as long as I pay attention to slope towards the cistern and avoid standing water in the piping I should be ok
- you mention snow stops on your roof. Is this to try and keep gutters clear of packed snow/ice?
- how did you do your overflow and any issues with freezing?
- do you have a connection for hauled water and how did you do that?
Thanks for any help or advice that you can provide
Craig
