Hi Baldrick,
Just to disclose, I have a proprietary interest in the unique product you have inquired about.
They are good questions but you really must stop talking to plumbers!
Water tanks supplied by Supadivertas are usually not fitted with overflows and several Supadivertas can feed to one or several tanks. A Supadiverta can also priority fill one tank and only start filling another tank when the first tank is nearly full or it rains heavier, even if the tanks are at opposite ends of the property. It can also fill a tall tank first before automatically filling a shorter tank but the lower tank will need an overflow. A single horizontal pipe would supply both tanks but the larger tank will remain full and not flow back to the shorter tank.
The anti vortex outlets generate syphonic full flow and divert water at high velocity to a larger horizontal pipe that connects to a large inlet fitted no less than 100 mm above the bottom of the tank. The size of the horizontal pipe and inlet depends on the area's rainfall pattern and the number of downpipes harvested. The emptier the tank, the greater the potential flow rate and a 50 mm pipe with 32 metres of friction loss will drain at more than 200 litres per minute with a 1 metre head.
On a brick house, you simply follow a mortar line to fit all Supadivertas at the same height to the downpipes. You choose the tank size to suit your needs and the top of the Supadiverta's internal reservoir wall is height adjusted so it is a couple of cm below the bottom of the tank's overflow meshed fitting. The meshed fitting does not need to be fitted and the website printed on the Supadiverta's outer wall is level with the top of the reservoir wall to enable the fitting height to be accurately judged. Water stops flowing to the tank once the flow path level is equalised.
Water diverted to a tank MUST pass through mosquito proof mesh and a .75 mm self cleaning filter mosquito proofs the internal reservoir without obstructing the flow path to storm water.
Note that the tanks in this photo (harvesting 2 downpipes and 84 sq m of roof) do not have the meshed overflow fittings fitted. These tanks are also partially buried on a compacted sand base but if conventional harvesting methods were used, the tanks would have needed to be much lower. The photo presents an optical illusion as you will see if you count down the bricks. The top of the reservoir wall is fractionally more than 6 bricks down from the very top.
Mains water switching devices sense a pressure drop when there is no tank water and then change over to mains water. I have no time for them as they are expensive, require plumbing, some prime the pump with mains water everytime the pump starts, use stand by power and are just something else that can go wrong. Rather than spend money on an unnecessary device and additional plumbing, why not just buy a larger tank?
If you have tall tanks, it is likely that you will be able to gravity feed a toilet for most of the year as do the tanks in the photo. The average person flushes the toilet 2,200 times a year. A pump, even if fitted with a pressure tank, will let water flow through it if it is switched off and the flow path is open. I can post fitting details of low pressure connections if required.
Re your washing machine, water diverted to a tank from a Supadiverta is substantially cleaner than water supplied by standard systems as there is an internal .75 mm filter plus continuous sediment extraction of any debris that passes through the filter and settles on the reservoir floor.
To have the cleanest possible water feeding to the pump, you should use a settling tank system. This is where water is diverted into a holding tank or tanks and decanted water is then supplied to the tank that supplies the pump.
The pump's draw outlet should also be fitted a minimum of 100 mm above the bottom of the tank. Most tanks have a very low fitted outlet that supplies the pump. This is sub standard.
A simple low cost DIY sediment trap can also be fitted into the infeed pipe to capture a lot of the bed load before it gets to the tank. Simply fit an upside down Tee into the infeed pipe, connect a 90 degree female threaded elbow, fit a male poly barbed director to the elbow and then fit the director with some polypipe that has an inline tap fitted to the end. You then just need to open the inline tap to give it a quick flush to dischage the captured debris.
This system will supply the washing machine with exceptionally clean water.
Provided your Melbourne region house is elegible for rebates, connecting tanks with a storage capacity of 4,000 litres or greater to both a toilet and the laundry will entitle you to a refund of $1,500. The ATA website has information and links. Done correctly, you should be less than $1,000 out of pocket.
The method by which water and sewerage disposal is charged is changing for Melbourne metro customers next year and fees are going up.
Posted Thursday 29 Nov 2012 @ 10:30:55 am from IP
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