Re: Water Tank Installation [long post]

["Frank Mc Alinden" <frankmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Simon

> Superb project there!

Thank you


>This is something I had completely overlooked when
> planning our selfbuild, but now it looks like I didn't have to, this
is a
> perfect retrofit idea

It certainly is.......

> Does your bung completely stop the flow of water out the old exit
pipe?

No ...theres a small amount of weepage that gets through and as i mentioned
in my post im going to use one of my waterboards to sense excessive
leakage........

What i like about this setup is that you dont have to have water tanks
located close to the house and that if i decide to wash my car  in my
driveway the water im using  makes it s way back into my tank...

Frank




----- Original Message -----
From: "Simon McCaughey" <simonmcc@xxxxxxx>
To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 5:22 PM
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Water Tank Installation [long post]


> Superb project there! This is something I had completely overlooked
when
> planning our selfbuild, but now it looks like I didn't have to, this
is a
> perfect retrofit idea
>
> Does your bung completely stop the flow of water out the old exit
pipe?
>
> Simon
>
> 2008/7/14 Frank Mc Alinden <frankmc@xxxxxxx>:
>
>> Hi Guys
>>
>> Have just completed my Watertank installation which has taken up
all my
>> free
>> time over the last 6 weekends....I have a zoned water irrigation
system
>> sitting idle for the past 12 months or more due to water
restrictions
>> here
>> in Oz...So at long last i can now put it back into action....
>>
>> When contemplating installing a water tank i initially thought i
would
>> design my own pic based controller for it, i then decided to
purchase a
>> Splatt Controller for it but ended up using an old TSX17
Telemecanique
>> plc
>> since i had a handheld programmer for it and the plcs can be
picked up on
>> ebay for approx 50 Euros....Even got some spare units and another
>> programmer
>> cheap..
>>
>> I didnt want the water tank located near the house so decided to
put a
>> pit
>> in near the stormwater drain located at the rear of my
property....While
>> doing a google for a suitable inground tank i came across another
>> solution
>> which i thought was better ....what i liked about it was that no
pit was
>> required.... and also it captured a lot more water .....Have a
look
>> here.....
>>
>> http://www.everydropwaterharvester.itaustralia.org/webpage.html
>>
>> I contacted Phil the designer and ordered one of his
systems..........I
>> used
>> his controller to initally fill my water tank, as i was building
my own
>> plc
>> based controller.... I had some issues with his drain plug and
ended up
>> using a homebrew one (plunger based see pics)......
>>
>> My eldest lad Dan got me a 6000L  water tank at a good price which
he and
>> i
>> installed on the first weekend...Phils controller was also
installed at
>> this
>> point and with a couple of good days of rain the tank was
full.....
>>
>> Meanwhile i built the plc based controller and valve stand......
>> I have programmed the plc for two main modes
>> Harvesting Mode...
>> A float switch in the drain triggers this mode and causes the 2
>> harvesting
>> valves to energise followed by the pump...The harvesting valves
direct
>> the
>> water from the drain into the tank...This mode is exited if the
drain
>> water
>> drops below the drain float low level or the water tank full
floatswitch
>> is
>> activated.......
>>
>> Irrigation Mode
>> This mode is activated by a plc input which is connected to a
relay
>> connected to one of my HV I/O Expanders....So when Homevision is
ready to
>> irrigate it turns on the required zone and sets this "start
irrigation
>> relay"....The 2 irrigation valves on the "valve
stand" are turned on by
>> the
>> Water tank plc followed by the pump....This mode is exited by
Homevision
>> turning of the "start irrigation relay"...
>>
>> Theres actually a third mode which i call "Forced
Irrigation"
>> Forced Irrigation
>> If the Water tank is full and theres water in the drain to be
Harvested
>> the
>> water tank plc operates a relay which is connected to Homevision
PortB 1
>> ...This is a request "forced irrigation"
input....Homevision will then
>> operate my irrigation zone 3 valve (this zone is mostly under
cover) and
>> then Homevision will turn on a relay (Forced Irrigation Ack) which
is
>> connected to the Water tank plc allowing it to start Forced
>> Irrigation....This mode directs the water from the drain to the
>> irrigation
>> system (using 1 harvesting valve and 1 irrigation valve) and  runs
until
>> either the drain float indicates low level or Homevision zone 3
timer
>> expires (approx 5 minutes)....The idea is to make use of the
access water
>> rather than letting it go down the drain......Theres also a timer
in the
>> plc
>> to stop this mode from continually be triggered..........
>>
>> I also wanted some visual indication of how much water i had in
the tank
>> and
>> depending on how much water was left i could make decisions on
wether the
>> garden beds get watered or just the vegie garden or both  (vegie
garden
>> irrigation yet to be done)....I designed a pcb around a microchip
based
>> controller sold by an Oz company here in Melbourne...
>> http://www.coolon.com.au/download/DS_CL4L.pdf
>>
>> I made a mistake with the pcb...i forgot the relay coil was
polarity
>> sensitive and got the connection wrong....But instead of cutting
tracks i
>> mounted the relays under the board  and all was well...The relay
contacts
>> are connected to the Water tank plc inputs so its easy for me to
modify
>> the
>> program to suit my needs... I made up my water level probe using
plastic
>> conduit and coupling with some jubilee clip (see pics)..........
>>
>> Have got the system working quite well now and i can control
everything
>> using an x10 rf remote (using xPL) or via scheduled events in
Homevision
>> ....So hopefully this summer my wifes garden beds wont be as dry
as last
>> year......
>>
>> Things yet to do
>> Theres a spare water board mounted in the waterboard panel and im
>> considering using two of its inputs as backup for the drain
floatswitch
>> ....The other 2 inputs on the spare board im thinking of connected
one to
>> the main drain point and the other to the water tank overflow
inspection
>> point (see pics)...with these two inputs i can assume the
>> following........
>>
>> If i sense water on the main drain sensor and also water on the
overflow
>> inspection point this means my full float switch has failed....
>>
>> If i sense water only on the main drain but not the tank overflow
>> inspection
>> point this means my Plunger (drain plug) is leaking so requires
>> checking.........
>>
>> I also need to put guttering on my pergola and connect it to the
>> stormwater
>> drain....Im getting enough water now of the roof but during summer
we
>> need
>> to catch every possible drop.......
>> Heres a link to the photos ........
>> http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z38/frankmc_2007/
>>
>> Frank
>>
>>
>> www.armaghelectrical.com.au
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------
>>
>> **** Sponsored By http://www.Berble.com ****
>> ****       Computers You Carry          ****
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Regards
>
> Simon
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> **** Sponsored By http://www.Berble.com ****
> ****       Computers You Carry          ****
>
>
>
>
>


------------------------------------