Rainwater tank and the cold

syboit

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right section, but looking for some information on rainwater tanks and what happens in severe cold. For tanks that are above ground, is there chance they can freeze?
Is there some kind of insulation you can get to prevent this ?

heinbloed

Can water freeze? I'm not sure

There are heating elements available for this issue. Rainwater colllecting containers should be made freeze proof, for example by placing them in a non-freezing enviroment.
Underground stored water won't freeze and will stay cool as well, keeping growth of harmfull algea and bacteria etc. at bay.

syboit

heinbloed wrote: »

Can water freeze? I'm not sure

There are heating elements available for this issue. Rainwater colllecting containers should be made freeze proof, for example by placing them in a non-freezing enviroment.
Underground stored water won't freeze and will stay cool as well, keeping growth of harmfull algea and bacteria etc. at bay.

thanks for the reply, never even considered something like bacteria growing. In my case the tank has to be above ground.

We were looking at a kingspan system, so I guess I'd need to ask them again about cold/bacteria from storing water.

Do you know if water direct from a storage tank is ok for a washing machine or would it have to be uv filtered first?

thanks

heinbloed

The hygene question is important, so the safe usage of rain water depends on the usage itself.
Once the water is contaminated it should not be used for cleaning purposes or human consumption.

A test result will tell you more.

If the effort is worth it to filter and UV treat it depends on the situation.
The UV treatment gives only satisfying results if there are no (porous) particles in the water sheltering bacterias against light.

There are specialists out there, hygene advisors, check also with the water works for advise, in some areas the freshly gathered rainwater can be safer for human consumption than the delivered tap water.

RealExpert

There will be bacteria in the rainwater harvesting tank.Here is one way The birds sit on top of your house and crap all over the roof then the rain washes it all into your tank.We have an underground tank for a number of years and the water is going through all of the house except the cold tap on the kitchen sink.Thankfully no one ever got sick from washing their teeth etc in this water so i would say dont worry too much about it.You can always throw a half liter of milton into the tank at regular intervals if it would put your mind at rest but I wouldnt think there is any need for an uv system.

Joey the lips

I would not use rain water for brushing my teeth without a uv system and a filter system for debris. This is not based on fear but on recs from local authority