Help! Run out of rainwater.

[JoceAndChris]

1 gallon = 1 Victorian style bath (squatting and pouring).

1 bath a week = 300 weeks = see Ma and Pa every 6 years. I think they might be a bit upset if I were that infrequent in my visits.

 

[Penners]

1 gallon = 1 Victorian style bath (squatting and pouring).

Mrs P (known in the Olgonquin tongue as "She-Who-Immerses-Her-Chin") may never forgive you for that.

 

[Aidan]

It's very damp, and the rainwater tank which is located on the other side of it could be responsible if it's leaking.

I doubt that welding would be effective. Welding in a confined space is a nasty job anyway. Have you looked for a tank liner? Google suggests this lot;
http://www.butylproducts.co.uk/Products-Services/WaterTanks/TankLiners/

I've recently seen new sprinkler tanks which were a bolted steel construction with a liner; I can't recall what material the liner was.

I could work out many days are left in those 5.5 metres.

That will give you the water volume in the well, but the well is just a shaft to tap into the porous, saturated aquifer. As you pump water out, it will refill as water oozes in. The stone lining was built without mortar. If you are pumping out the water quicker than it flows in, you'd get a 'cone of depression' in the water level around the well/bore hole.

Would Beacon Cottage be on a Beacon Hill? There's a hill in Lincolnshire? :shock:

 

[Flyfisher]

I agree with Penners that 300 gallons isn't really that much water, but I was suggesting it as a reasonable volume for a towable bowser to be used for emergency shortages and topping up the existing storage tanks. A 500 gallon bowser might be a little better but, including the weight of the trailer, would be be a pretty heavy thing to tow and could be nearing the legal limit of a 4x4.

 

[JoceAndChris]

1 gallon = 1 Victorian style bath (squatting and pouring).

Mrs P (known in the Olgonquin tongue as "She-Who-Immerses-Her-Chin") may never forgive you for that.

Why? Having read all this, are you about to set her to a new regime? :shock:

I agree with Penners that 300 gallons isn't really that much water, but I was suggesting it as a reasonable volume for a towable bowser to be used for emergency shortages and topping up the existing storage tanks. A 500 gallon bowser might be a little better but, including the weight of the trailer, would be be a pretty heavy thing to tow and could be nearing the legal limit of a 4x4.

Also, I haven't passed my test yet. Start me out gently with the bowser towing please!

I doubt that welding would be effective. Welding in a confined space is a nasty job anyway. Have you looked for a tank liner? Google suggests this lot;
http://www.butylproducts.co.uk/Products-Services/WaterTanks/TankLiners/

I've recently seen new sprinkler tanks which were a bolted steel construction with a liner; I can't recall what material the liner was.

Would Beacon Cottage be on a Beacon Hill? There's a hill in Lincolnshire? :shock:

I hadn't even thought of a liner, so once again, a huge thank you. It would be great to get in there, clean it out, fit it out with a new liner, and fill it up with fresh water- that's just so exciting. And then monitor that wall and see if it dries more.

Yes, we have a couple of hills here. I've got one, I think Biff's got another. I took this pic of Beacon Cottage from about halfway down the hill.

 

[Flyfisher]

Also, I haven't passed my test yet. Start me out gently with the bowser towing please!

Ah, good point. You might want to have a word with your instructor because I believe the licence rules for towing changed a few years ago and you may now need to take a separate driving test for trailers.

I'm vague on the details because it didn't apply when I took my test and a car test automatically covered trailers (up to the car limits). It was also legal to drive off into the sunset on a 250cc motorcycle armed with only a provisional licence and an 'L' plate. Happy days.

 

[Feltwell]

I think bowser towing may be out of the question for a new driver. Joce, I hope you don't mind me saying, but you don't sound like the most confident driver - in which case I'd avoid trailers completely until you've built up some confidence in any event.

Until a few years ago you could quite legally pass your test in a mini, then jump straight into a 7.5 ton air-braked truck.

Now you are restricted to, I think, 3.5 tons total weight - that's been the case for a few years. You don't say what sort of 4x4 you have but it could well be up to 2 tons, then the self-weight of the trailer - doesn't leave much for water.

You don't want to have a trailer that is heavier than the towing vehicle, recommended limit for an inexperenced driver is for the trailer to weigh no more than 85% of the towing vehicle weight.

And you definitely don't want to tow a part-filled bowser - the water sloshes about, moving the centre of gravity of the trailer, making it very unstable.

Sorry to pour cold water on the idea! :roll:

 

[Hatster]

Having just returned from a week excavating a 18th century landscape garden, I rather dozily remember the National Trust archaeologist saying that until the 1950s, all the cottages on the estate were supplied with water through some kind of individual pump, and that this worked extremely well, would they had not replaced them and put them on the mains, etc etc. I can't remember the name of the sort of pump, but perhaps this is what you need? Perhaps this is what you get with a bore hole?

Sorry this is very vague - it was literally discussed in passing while talking about water management more generally, and I've just woken up.

 

[philpjuk100]

Could this have been a water ram or hydraulic ram,a device that uses the main flow from a stream or spring to move a smaller amount up to 100 feet vertically,only any use if you have access to a stream or spring,phil.

 

[JoceAndChris]

It was also legal to drive off into the sunset on a 250cc motorcycle armed with only a provisional licence and an 'L' plate. Happy days.

Indeed! I'm not even allowed to drive our 50 cc Vespa, until I do a one-day CBT.

I think bowser towing may be out of the question for a new driver. Joce, I hope you don't mind me saying, but you don't sound like the most confident driver - in which case I'd avoid trailers completely until you've built up some confidence in any event.

Sorry to pour cold water on the idea! :roll:

You're right. Once again it's Dad to the rescue, in his new Nissan X -Trail, which I hope will manage the weight combines with the gradient. I think it could finally finish off my poor battered Suzuki Vitara anyway.

Having just returned from a week excavating a 18th century landscape garden...

In cashmere I hope! :wink:

 

[Penners]

Now you are restricted to, I think, 3.5 tons total weight

Judging by some of the people I see coming our of our local hamburger joint, I don't think that law has been universally applied.

 

[Feltwell]

Judging by some of the people I see coming our of our local hamburger joint, I don't think that law has been universally applied.

I drive past "the golden arches" on the way to work each day, coming home in the evening their car park is a sea of £200 Vauxhall Novas or Ford Escorts each with £1000 worth of (badly) fitted bodykit and god knows how much spent on car stereo (car net worth after mods - £50 spares or repairs!). I can't quite work out if the car's suspension is lowered or if it's just the effect of the hamburger-addled occupants.......

 

[Flyfisher]

Once again it's Dad to the rescue, in his new Nissan X -Trail, which I hope will manage the weight combines with the gradient. I think it could finally finish off my poor battered Suzuki Vitara anyway.

A quick Google shows the Nissan X-trail maximum towing capacity to be 2000Kg (for the 2.2 TDi or 2.5 petrol versions). This is 4400 lbs. Subtracting 3000lbs for 300 gallons of water leaves 1400 lbs for the trailer weight, which sounds reasonable albeit at the upper end of the specified maximum limit. The smaller-engined X-trails (or the auto version) have a lower towing capacity, so you'd need to check the manual quite carefully as they may not be legal.

Based on these figures, 500 gallons is not going to be possible with any X-trail. For that weight you will need a more serious towing vehicle (e.g. Land Rovers are rated at 3500kg - a big step up). Remember, it's not really a case of capability, it's a case of legality and safety.

 

[CHRIS]

I have an Xtrail and would not tow that amount of weight especially up a steep hill as the clutch is quite a light weight one, I would go for a Patrol or Land Cruiser Amazon if you use a LR you may find that the steering is light with heavy weighs on as you can get the wobbles (I remember a nasty incident on Salisbury Plain back in my Army days with a heavy trailer on a 110 LR). Some of the US imports are great for towing but are too expensive and LHD.

My neighbor swears by Patrols as he delivers plant and boats all over the country and they never miss a beat unlike the Solihull made products (no doubt this will cause all the LR patriots to shout blue murder)

 

[Feltwell]

A quick Google shows the Nissan X-trail maximum towing capacity to be 2000Kg (for the 2.2 TDi or 2.5 petrol versions).

You have to watch those maximum towing capacities, the manuals can be misleading. I recently had to move a very large caravan, which is within the stated towing capacity for my car. However, on further checking it is recommended that the laden trailer weight should never exceed the towing vehicle kerb weight in any circumstance, and should preferably be within 85% of it. Makes sense really.

I played safe and borrowed a 4x4 which was heavier than the caravan.

I suspect an X-Trail will be lighter than 2000kg, it's not the biggest 4x4 on the road.

 

[worms]

Without getting drawn into the Land Rover/Toyota debate, I once looked into the options on getting an old 110 pick-up converted into a dedicated water tanker. The weight of water that could be carried versus the state of the roads and the intake rate of the cattle meant that it didn't actually stack up.

I would go for a fixed tank at the house (filled from well and roof) and pay for additional deliveries by dedicated water tanker through the dry months as and when required.

Have you looked a the water storage bags that the emergency services and disaster relief agencies use? (http://www.armedforces.co.uk/releases/raq449bdfcf2ba85)

 

[Flyfisher]

Another thought Joce; you may not have been at the house long enough to know the answer, but do you know if the existing water storage tanks overflow during the wetter months? If they do then adding some more storage might be the easiest solution to get you through a full year.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thank you for all the helpful comments about cars and water storage bags.

I've driven 400 miles this weekend and am not sure I want to see a car again, never mind tow with one!

Another thought Joce; you may not have been at the house long enough to know the answer, but do you know if the existing water storage tanks overflow during the wetter months? If they do then adding some more storage might be the easiest solution to get you through a full year.

I don't know the answer to that I'm afraid. When I saw that my supply was getting very high I went crazy washing everything in sight, which reduced levels significantly. I do wonder what would happen if we were away for a long period and there was continuous downpour: I suppose the rainwater would end up in the flower beds as the drains filled up and the well would overflow into the scullery and flood the undercroft? Chris thinks I'm being alarmist in my vision of a flooding well, that it would just stop filling up once it had reached maximum capacity.

Cross fingers for me tomorrow at 9.07, I need to pass this driving test.

 

[Flyfisher]

The well water level is really dictated by the water table. It should take an awful lot of prolonged raining to significantly raise that, so I doubt there's much risk of an overflowing well. More likely that your storage tank(s) would overflow, which should not be a problem except that it's wasteful not to collect enough water to see you through the summer and then resort to buying tankloads of water.

If your storage tanks do overflow during the wetter months then you have the option of installing more storage capacity, which hopefully will then see you through the drier months. If your storage tanks don't overflow then you are already collecting as much as currently possible, which might not be sufficient - on average - to see you through a whole year.

Might be an idea to just monitor the situation for another year to get a better feel for things before commiting to any significant expenditure. There seems to be no shortage of companies that can supply bulk water in case of emergency so you should never actually run out of water altogether.

 

[Hatster]

My nephew has some advice for you.

He says that you should stop having baths, and not brush your teeth any more either. He also says that you shouldn't do any more washing up, but just eat sausage rolls and things on sticks. He says he wishes he didn't have any water in his house either.

My nephew is 7 (and didn't want to have his evening bath).