Rain water diverter valves
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2004 6:25 pm
A friend of mine here in Deer Lodge used Australian diverter valves on the house he built last year. They are 4-inch equivalents, and he had trouble making plumbing connections between metric and standard pipe sizes.
I need 6-inch diverters to use on my barn. Flo-True <http://www.flotrue.com/page/page/485471.htm> says they will have 6-inch valves available early this year (but apparently not this early). Has anyone had experience with other valves for rainwater collection systems?
The do-it-yourself roof washers look good, but I'd have to super-size the design in order for it to adequately handle my roof. The design I've seen is a see-saw contraction with a small bucket on one end of a lever. The bucket catches the first water coming out of the downspout. When the bucket fills with water, the weight of water causes the lever (2x4 board) to swing, while the opposite end of the lever opens the pipe leading to the water storage tank.
Another option would be a solenoid valve that is activated by a flow monitor. When enough water has passed through the monitoring pipe, the solenoid opens the valve leading to the storage vessel. I'd hate to see the price of a 6-inch solenoid valve, though.
Thanks,
Ralph
I need 6-inch diverters to use on my barn. Flo-True <http://www.flotrue.com/page/page/485471.htm> says they will have 6-inch valves available early this year (but apparently not this early). Has anyone had experience with other valves for rainwater collection systems?
The do-it-yourself roof washers look good, but I'd have to super-size the design in order for it to adequately handle my roof. The design I've seen is a see-saw contraction with a small bucket on one end of a lever. The bucket catches the first water coming out of the downspout. When the bucket fills with water, the weight of water causes the lever (2x4 board) to swing, while the opposite end of the lever opens the pipe leading to the water storage tank.
Another option would be a solenoid valve that is activated by a flow monitor. When enough water has passed through the monitoring pipe, the solenoid opens the valve leading to the storage vessel. I'd hate to see the price of a 6-inch solenoid valve, though.
Thanks,
Ralph