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AllenB
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# Posted: 30 May 2022 08:21pm
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Hey all! It's been a while. My email is no longer accessible so I had to create a new account. My old name was Smawgunner.
Anyway....we use a 55 gallon barrel for washing dishes and showering. If it sits for long, it gets pretty smelly and a bit discolored. I've used bleach in it and it does a decent job but I end up smelling like bleach after a shower. Any of you have s similar system? If so how are you treating the water?
Thanks!
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 30 May 2022 08:58pm
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Our 50ish gal. Black utility rain barrel is filled off only the section of metal roof above it (no eves-trough feed) and filtered through layers of Koi pond filter media. If using eves-trough a diy 1st flush diverter would be very good.
In the fall, before freeze up I empty the barrel and scrub it up. It hasnt been very dirty.
In spring I give it a quick wash out and set up. When about 1/2 full it gets a short pour of household bleach, then stirred in.
1st of each month it gets another 'treatment'. It never smells of bleach, doesnt grow algae or sketters.
And, of course, its soft water.
I can pop the top and see clear all the way to the bottom.
Never had it tested but have been thinking that to use as potable in an emergency we could pour through a tight fabric 'strainer' just because, boil, then pour through a PUR water filter jug and it should fine.
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razmichael
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# Posted: 31 May 2022 07:13am
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Quoting: AllenB but I end up smelling like bleach after a shower.
I would suspect that you are using too much bleach (and/or not letting it sit for long enough). I pump water from the lake into a rain barrel, add a calculated amount of standard household non-scented bleach (I also have a supply of Calcium Hypochlorite on hand to make my own bleach if needed - tends to be easier to just buy a jug every once in a while). After sitting it should not have much Chlorine odor - just similar to city tap water. We also use this to filter through a Berky set of filters for drinking water.
The guide I use (can't remember where I got it but it was an official site) is:
Use non scented household bleach 5.25% available chlorine. (Remember, 1/8 teaspoon and 8 drops are about the same quantity.) Available Chlorine Drops per Quart/Gallon of Clear Water Drops per Liter of Clear Water: 1% 10 per Quart - 40 per Gallon 10 per Liter 4-6% 2 per Quart - 8 per Gallon (1/8 teaspoon) 2 per Liter 7-10% 1 per Quart - 4 per Gallon 1 per Liter (If the strength of the bleach is unknown, add ten drops per quart or liter of filtered and settled water. Double the amount of chlorine for cloudy, murky or colored water or water that is extremely cold.) Mix the treated water thoroughly and allow it to stand, preferably covered, for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight chlorine odor. If not, repeat the dosage and allow the water to stand for an additional 15 minutes. If the treated water has too strong a chlorine taste, allow the water to stand exposed to the air for a few hours or pour it from one clean container to another several times.
Use Calcium Hypochlorite to Disinfect Water Using granular calcium hypochlorite to disinfect water is a two step process. To make a stock of chlorine solution (do not drink this!) dissolve 1 heaping teaspoon (about one-quarter of an ounce) of high-test (78%) granular calcium hypochlorite for each two gallons (eight liters) of water. To disinfect water add one part of the chlorine solution to 100 parts water to be treated. Let the mixture sit for at least one-half hour before drinking.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 31 May 2022 07:43am
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Is your barrel opaque? Do you have any organics in the tank?
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 31 May 2022 09:50am
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I was thinking late last night that if you have a rank odor from that barrel you must have some decomposing organic matter.
If a good scrub out doesnt help, change the barrel or only use it for garden watering.
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mj1angier
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# Posted: 31 May 2022 12:02pm
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We use a rain barrel for our shower. Its a black tank. I put heavy "pet proof" window screen on the top to catch the bulk of the trash the makes it past the gutter screen. We also put in some lavender bleach to keep anything from growing. Then a rough filter before it get to pump. So far it has only had an off smell one time after a long week of rain that washed out the bleach out.
I have been thinking about a way of putting a chlorine tablet setup so when water comes thru gutter spout it, get some added to it but does not set and melt all the time
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 31 May 2022 12:16pm
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I have a simple rain gauge at the cabin, always curious about how much rain has fallen in our absence. If it has been much, which could have kept the 'overflow line' running, I could pour in a little more bleach, but havent.
This may be because Im not running the whole roof into an eves-trough feeding the barrel, it is only that metal roof section right above. It has kept up with our needs so the short section of trough waits in the wings.
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AllenB
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# Posted: 31 May 2022 03:18pm
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Thanks all. It's a black 55 gallon drum and the filter is crude going into it, but a fine filter coming out of the barrel. I know I'm not filtering out all the organic matter that comes out of the gutters (which have guards on them). Maybe that's the issue.
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jhp
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# Posted: 31 May 2022 04:41pm
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Do you have open top inlet system? The more air and sunlight can get at it the harder it will be to stop from getting funky.
I have a system that is plumbed into the side of the barrel. With the bung caps in place and the flexible inlet pipe being acting a bit like a p-trap it's almost airtight and definitely light proof.
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AllenB
Member
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# Posted: 31 May 2022 06:43pm
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Got any pics jhp?
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jhp
Member
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# Posted: 1 Jun 2022 09:11am - Edited by: jhp
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Actually no I don't think I have any. Pretty straight forward setup.
I used a Fiskars Rain Diverter Pro I got on Amazon for like $30. I liked this one because it had a simple filter to catch pine needles and the dual outlets. Another feature is that when the barrel is full it you don't need a second overflow outlet on the barrel, the water just won't flow through the output pipe.
I hooked the diverter up to the first barrel through the side of the barrel, not through the top. My barrels still had lids and bungs intact.
At the bottom of the first barrel I installed a Rainpal brass bulkhead fitting and spigot for about $20. I then connected two barrels together at the bottom using two more bulkhead fittings and a 3' section of garden hose.
Because water will seek its own level, once the first barrel gets maybe 5 gallons in it, the water starts flowing through the hose to the second barrel and both fill up from the bottom. When they get full, the water will no longer flow into the first barrel and it goes back through the diverter and out the gutter like normal.
Because there's a little of a droop in the inlet line that acts as a bit of a water trap. With the bungs still in place I'm not sure any significant amounts of air or light gets in there at all. I do wash my barrels every season and bleach them in the beginning but even late in the year with few rainstorms in between I don't notice any funky flavor.
All in all I think I have maybe $100 invested in my two barrel kit.
I don't see the Fiskars brand on Amazon any more so you may have to look at others. I had looked at the Oatey and that got good reviews as well but I think I'd try and figure out a way to make it easily removable to clean out debris.
This site shows pretty much exactly what I did.
https://www.eavestrough.ca/blog/automated-rainwater-harvesting/
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Just
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# Posted: 6 Jun 2022 08:47pm - Edited by: Just
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Been up and running for ten years cleaned it the first year no need I learned. Water is clear before treating so not much chlorine needed . We drink it after boiling.
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SE Ohio
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2022 01:24pm
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A sand filter is great, and a freeze-friendly system is even better!
I have a diverter but no sand filter yet. If you do use a half barrel with the sand filter drawn above, consider adding an overflow as big as or bigger than your downspout pipe. The water will pool and go slowly through the sand, so you might get overflow in a good rain.
I add 1/4 cup non-scented bleach per 55 gallons (sorry metric folks!) You should have a bit of chlorine odor but not overpowering. If other odor or no chlorine odor, you may need to add more chlorine. You might give the chlorine a half hour or longer to do its work. The colder the water, the longer you'll need. I try do add chlorine as one of the first items when I arrive at the cabin. I let my wife unload the car... 
One of my barrels is buried so it doesn't freeze; I got water from it all winter using a pitcher pump mounted indoors at my sink. I use (freeze friendly) flexible PE food grade piping from barrel to pump. Year round water is a requirement for me.
There are some old threads on subject elsewhere in the website.
SE Ohio
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