When we took over the property for Rally Creek it came with a large RV shed fitted with a rainwater catchment system. The collection worked well, despite needing a cleaning and basic maintenance. Since we are only at the property for a few days at a time, the 5000 gallon rainwater storage will more than meet our needs.
The issue with using that rainwater for anything other than basic irrigation is a whole different issue. We want to create a system that generates potable water, primarily for a shower setup at the moment — but possibly as drinking water. Our initial goal is to generate potable water to connect to the RV as well as get an outdoor shower setup to clean up after working the property.
The Pump House
The initial concept we are going to try is to create a pump house that uses the 5,000 gallon rainwater catchment as a water source. This will take the place of a well. By using a pump house we can later replace the rainwater system with a well if necessary.
This pump house will contain the pump to draw water from the rainwater catchment, the UV and 3-stage filtration system, and any other items we find we need along the way. The idea is non-potable clean water into one side of the pump house and potable water out on the other side. Later we may even add things like an on-demand water heater.
Thankfully we have 100A service on the property so we can power it with grid power for the start of the project. Hopefully we can replace this with a solar panel system in the near future.
Water Demand
Typical GPM:
- Shower : 5 GPM
- Toilet : 4 GPM
- Kitchen Sink : 5 GPM
- 1/2 in. Garden Hose : 3 GPM
Shopping List
- Pump
- Spin Down Filter
- 3-Stage Carbon Filter
- UV Filter
- Electrical
- Conduit for break to in ground
- 110V 20A wire
- Plumbing Connections
- 1 inch FPT Pipe
- Shut off valves
- Bath House Fixtures
Punch List
Setup Pump
First step after getting our current setup in order is to setup the pump to draw water from the catchment. This pump should be at least 1 HP to push the volume of water we want for showers and tap water to the RV and outdoor setup. It will also need to have float switches to stop the pump from running “dry” in the rainwater catchment is low.
Pump Requirements
- 1 HP minimum
- 5 GPM Minimum
- Support 2ft Inlet Rise
- Low water cut off
- 110V low Amp is ok
- 12V low amp is better if we want to not to deal with inverters when converting to solar
- Support 125ft TDH
Total Dynamic Head (TDH)
- Vertical Rise : 12 ft
- Friction Loss (SCH 40 Plastic Pipe)on 1″ pipe at 5 GPM over 100ft : 2 ft
- Pressure Tank @ 40 PSI (40 x 2.31) : 92.4 ft
Pumps With Controllers
RainFlo MHP150A : 1.5 HP Automatic Pump
1.5 HP
110V – 120V @ 10A Max
1″ FPT Inlet / 1.0″ FPT Outlet
Max 145 PSI In / 65 PSI Out
Water Temp: 32 – 158 F
Air Temp: 32 – 122F
Automatic start on user demand flow
Dry Run Protection
Removable/replaceable controller
127′ TDH = 55 PSI @ 15.2 GPM
Pump Controllers
RainFlo PC115 : Automatic Pump Controller
115 V @ 16 A Max
Max 44 GPM
Adjustable Start Pressure: 22 – 36 PSI
Max Operating Pressure: 145 PSI
Control up to 1.5 HP
1 in. Inlet / Outlet Fittings
Dry run protection
PSI Gauge
Setup Filtration
Install this after the pump and pressure tank. Water should be mostly debris-free at this point. For our setup we will use a spin-down filter to help remove remaining debris, then run into the filter system.
Pressure Tank → Spin Down Filter → Carbon Filter → UV Filter → Fixtures
Spin Down Filter
ISPRING WSP-50 : Spin Down Filter
$50
20 GPM
1 in. Fitting
Express Water WHP1 : Spin Down Filter
$50
15 GPM
15 – 115 psi
40°F – 113°F
Home Depot $50 7-10 day delivery
Water Filter With UV
Pentair Pelican PC600-PUV-7 : UV + 3-Stage Carbon Filter
$1530
7 GPM
Home Depot $1530 7-10 day delivery
3-Stage Carbon Filters
Pro Aqua Elite Pro-100-E : 3 Stage Carbon Filter
$535
15 GPM
1 in. Fitting
$150 for replacement filter set
Home Depot $535 7-10 day delivery
ISPRING WGB32B-PB : 3 Stage Carbon Filter
$535
15 GPM
1 in. Fitting
Sediment, Carbon, Lead Filter
$200 for replacement filter set
Also look at ISPRING WGB32BM which filters iron and maganese
Amazon $466 3 day delivery
Home Depot $536 3 day delivery
UV Filters
PUR PUV15S : UV Filter
$260
7 GPM
Replacement lamps / sleeve $50 each
Home Depot $259 3 day delivery
ISPRING UVF55FS : UV Filter
$290
12 GPM
1 in. Fitting
Final Setup
The valves and fittings to have outlets for the RV and bath house.
Resources
Water Pumps
Rain Harvest – How To Choose The Right Pump
Rainwater Filtration
How to Set Up a Rainwater Filtration System
on World Water Reserve by Jeremiah Castelo published January 4th, 2021
- Gutter guards
- Downspout diverter
- Rain storage cover
- UV Disinfection – part of whole house filter
- Carbon Filter – part of whole house filter
- Pressure Tank
Catchment → Storage → Pump → Filter → Pressure Tank → Fixtures
on CDC.gov
Rainwater Shower
https://practicalpreppers.com/how-to-harvest-potable-rainwater/
How to Set Up a Rainwater Filtration System the Right Way
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