This idea crossed my mind as I saw 5 gallon buckets of water being dragged from the bathroom area out to the parking lot “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could make that trip shorter?” and so now I have to pop this off my stack or it’ll sit here bugging me forever. I can think of a number of reasons why this is not a good idea, starting with whether the landlord/city/county/other tenants would allow it, but I must run it up the flagpole.
What about one of these big water tanks? That is just an example, but if I read the advert properly, for $100 you could have a tank with spigot that would put 250+ gallons of water almost at the point of use (for blacksmithing) and at least more handy (maybe) for the other consumers in the back of the facility. I can’t say I would suggest this for potable water, but for clean wash water (filthy automotive hands), smithing, or pottery, it should be fine, and you could just run a hose over to refill when needed.
Roof installation would make it most usable, but…
Yes. Feeling less bloated already. Thank you for considering!
Wow, that’s a great price! I do rainwater harvesting at home, and I use the cheapest containers I can find (32-gallon trash cans and 500-gallon wading pools).
It might be possible to fill it by collecting rain water; it depends on how much collection area the landlord would allow us to have. I have trash cans all around my house to collect rain water runoff from my roof, and then I siphon the water into my tanks. I collect about 2000 gallons of water a year without using gutters. I probably could collect much more, if I had a purpose-built system and the capacity to store it.
Texas has laws protecting rainwater harvesting, so I don’t believe you would have a problem with government if this were used for rainwater harvesting (such as for gardening). Even HOAs are restricted from banning them. I don’t know about the landlord, though.
This is the sort of project that Bio has discussed doing.
I’m not sure if this will even be relevant, but I’ve got one of the blue water barrels in my backyard. I’m sure one day I’ll eventually set it up to catch rain water (you know, when I get around to all those other 4000 personal house projects) but right now it’s just sitting in the way.
If anything comes of this discussion and it’s determined that you can use a blue rain barrel, consider it donated.
I’m not sure which “drain” is in question. The “tap” for such a tank will vary, but this photo shows a “typical” “spigot”, there front and center, at the bottom.
If you mean “wastewater drain”, then it depends;
if you mean overflow, as might be needed for rainwater harvesting to prevent over-filling of the container, I have to say “I do not know” and “I think you would need to add that feature”.
If you mean “how does this resolve the lack of sanitiary sewer access for wastewater management”, then I have to say “it does not”, although I have a couple thoughts on that which are probably worse than this one…
If possible, rainwater seems like a great idea (and might help mesh with many projects, goals, etc. about the ‘space).
If nothing else, 200’ of garden hose temporarily run from an existing tap. Probably would only be needed every 6 months or so, if my guesstimates of current consumption are correct. Keep the garden hose on a nicely wheeled roller the rest of the time, and out of the way…
I really don’t want to be a buzz kill, but is it possible we’re trying to solve a problem with a solution bigger than the problem?
I assume you’re speaking entirely about water outside (water inside the shop does have all sorts of “fun” drainage issues)? If it’s for outside use only, is it anyone but the smithing group who would actually use it? Pottery is inside only AFAIK?
If smithing is the sole use case, I think Mr. Haskins would argue it’s not worth the effort involved to coordinate permanent structures like tanks or rain collection systems etc. He’s currently working towards some other permanent structures outside, and maybe if that gets green lighted, this might be something he’d want to add to his plans. For now though, I think he’d be okay with taking out 5 gallon buckets with his smithy forearms…hehe.
I’ll make sure he’s aware of this thread just in case I have completely misjudged how he feels about all of this.
Some of us in Bio have bounced around the idea of moving our gardening outside. Natural light might be more effective than the artificial lighting we’ve been trying to use, and we might have more space outside. One suggestion is that we put a greenhouse on a trailer. I’ve asked about using a small plot of land for straw bale gardening. So far, those ideas haven’t gone very far, but if they did, then outside water might be beneficial for them.
I realized we are talking about 2 separate conversations. Original post is for outside not inside, I was thinking inside.
I was thinking as well the sump pump my only major concern is what people end up putting in the sink and where it drains too I originally was thinking the sink in the Janitor Closet.
But honestly have never had a basement that was lower than the drain line where I needed a sump pump anyone have any experience with it?
As mentioned elsewhere, by others, hereabouts, smithing happens to be what I witnessed water being carried by the 5gallon-bucket-load, but I know there has been discussion about Bio, pottery, and automotive needing non-potable water as well.
As to a sump pump to accommodate wastewater:
I know to get a trash pump; they run even if debris causes some issue whereas a clearwater pump, though cheaper, WILL fail. This was among the solutions I had thought of for wastewater, but it requires a fair bit of plumbing, and should probably accompany running new lines for fresh water, relegating the tank idea to a project of its own, if we want to do a rainwater harvesting project for educational and/or other purposes besides strict practicality of water avaialability.
Thank you to each of you for your consideration. Good conversation, I think!
Water needs for pottery are pretty much handled. Disposal is more of a problem than access for us.
Water for potter is currently handled by filling buckets at the mop sink and using that directly, or filling the 5 gal bucket cistern for the hand washing station that John K. made. “Clean” waste water is either recycled, or left to evaporate. “Dirty” waste water is taken outside and dumped down the drain in the parking lot, or poured on a patch of grass. Hands are always rinsed before any interior sink is involved with handwashing.
It’s not 100% ideal, but it works well enough that it makes pottery practical at the space. It also is a bit of a reminder to be mindful of water usage.
—“Clean” - has muddy clay rinse water, but no other contaminents.
—“Dirty” - floor water, glaze water - anything that may contaminate recycled clay.
Appreciate the consideration but don’t do it on blacksmith’s account. The water buckets aren’t that light but they pale in comparison to everything else we move. So I’m with Kent, cool idea but probably not all that important in the grand scheme. Thanks
That’s awesome! We use those around here to compact freshly layed turf grass. What an awesome repurpose!
As Mr. Haskins has just weighed in, along with my other envisioned beneficiaries, I reckon it should be dropped, unless bio wanted it as a rwh project. I have to say, though, most of smithey tools are, I thought, on wheels
