Filtering the Village Water Supply

mario299 said:
AussieBill
I had it correct,
Village water to filter, then to holding tank, then pumped to house.
The holding tank will still have a small amount of dirt in it even after passing through the filter, our plan is to empty it and clean about once a year..

As I previously mentioned, the "crystals" in the filter are good for about ten years before they need to be changed, and we back-wash the filter about once a month. This is done with a setting on top of the filter that runs the village water through the filter and then it drains out a pipe.

I put this back-wash water into the clay urns and use it for watering plants, etc.
We didn't need digging much, just chose to hide the PVC piping, but if you want to use Pepper for some digging, he loves water! :smile:

Mario299
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When I had this set up, I also bought a small brass check valve type of thing, in one of the DIY shops in Surin. It had a small filter 'cup' that could be unscrewed and cleaned periodically. The reason I bought that was because whenever a repair was made to pipework before my house, sand always got into the water and eventually burnt out my pump.
Just food for thought???
 
System as described sounds good to me. The only thing not mentioned is the pressure in the supply line or, if you like, the head of water. I have a similar system for the town supply but I choose not to filter the water - not necessary. The problem I have is that the holding tank, 2100 liters, needs a water feed that has to go up to the top of the tank and that is 2 meters above ground level. In practice, I need a 2 meter 'head of water' before the town supply will start filling my tank. I usually have water in the stand pipe all day long but its lacks sufficient pressure to fill the tank. The head of water necessary to fill the tank is usually only available during the night. The only trouble is that without looking into the tank each day you do not know if the tank filled the previous evening.

I have recently designed and installed a prototype water level indicator. Basically, it is a piece of 3/4" PVC pipe sealed at both ends that slots into a piece of 1" PVC pipe. This is held in place by a 2" to 1" connector epoxy resin-ed to the top of the tank. This allows the 3/4" sealed pipe to act as a float and this provides a visual indication of the water levels inside the tank.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so .....................

View attachment 8733 View attachment 8734

Not shown is the inside of the tank and the need to fit a 10" section of 1" PVC pipe to the inside of the mount. This stabilizes the float and allows free movement.

P.S. The arrangement works well and I now have a visual indicator of how much water is in the tank. If the float drops down to the stop, about a meter, then I know the tank has not been filled and that I need to monitor my water supply more closely. Ordinarily, the 2100 liter holding tank is sufficient for a weeks supply of water for the shower, washing and other household chores.
 
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Some interesting gadgets coming into the possible equation.

Our village water usually runs from about 6am to 1pm and again from 3pm till it runs out (8-12pm). It runs with sufficient pressure to provide a strong shower (at sometime, each day). Since the shower heads are above the intended level of the top of the proposed water tank, there should be enough pressure to fill the tank daily. The village water tower is only about 250metres from our house. The main problem at present is the increasing number of houses sharing the available water that is delivered via a very basic 1" pipe system.

From all the photos, I gather that blue pipes work better than other colours!
 
To the best of my knowledge, the blue pipes are the standard PVC used for water. The yellow and white pipes are for electrics, while the black pipes are for garden watering systems. Alan the Builder will put you right I am sure.
 
AussieBill said:
Some interesting gadgets coming into the possible equation.

Our village water usually runs from about 6am to 1pm and again from 3pm till it runs out (8-12pm). It runs with sufficient pressure to provide a strong shower (at sometime, each day). Since the shower heads are above the intended level of the top of the proposed water tank, there should be enough pressure to fill the tank daily. The village water tower is only about 250metres from our house. The main problem at present is the increasing number of houses sharing the available water that is delivered via a very basic 1" pipe system.

From all the photos, I gather that blue pipes work better than other colours!
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Our holding tank is 1000 liters and has a float valve installed, so as long as the village water is running (and we are on the same approximate schedule as you), the tank keeps full. I wouldn't imagine you need more than 1000 liters a day, so it should get topped off daily when the village water is turned on.

Mario299
 
For AussieBill, Mario mentioned "Our holding tank is 1000 liters and has a float valve installed". I am guessing that his 'float valve' is the same as our 'ballcock'. Most definitely, do not forget your 'ballcock' that is located inside your tank and fitted to the water inlet connection. This is what turns off the water supply when the tank is full of water. Its the same as what you have in the bathroom in the WC. Without such an arrangement your tank will overflow.
 
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mario299 said:
Our holding tank is 1000 liters and has a float valve installed, so as long as the village water is running (and we are on the same approximate schedule as you), the tank keeps full. I wouldn't imagine you need more than 1000 liters a day, so it should get topped off daily when the village water is turned on.

Mario299
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Thanks, Mario. That matches the opinions of my plumber mates who are holidaying here in Pattaya (testing their plumbing, I think). They had determined that 1,000 litres (similar to liters) would be ample for my situation.
 
After more than 20 months and the addition of many new houses to the existing water supply, I simply must now undertake this project.

I would appreciate any further information or suggestions and the location of businesses that could do this for me.
 
AussieBill said:
After more than 20 months and the addition of many new houses to the existing water supply, I simply must now undertake this project.

I would appreciate any further information or suggestions and the location of businesses that could do this for me.
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If your village water supply is both clean and reliable, then a holding tamk is possible.

Water in my village was awful, and only flowed a few hours a day with of course little pressure.

I went for a deep well and pump. Many folk in my village followed.

My bore is 44metres deep. water being drawn up in a 1" pipe. from a special deep bore pump. Complete package around 15,000baht. Some villagers pump to a tank, with another pump to feed the house. I draw water direct from the well
 
Prakhonchai Nick said:
If your village water supply is both clean and reliable, then a holding tamk is possible.

Water in my village was awful, and only flowed a few hours a day with of course little pressure.

I went for a deep well and pump. Many folk in my village followed.

My bore is 44metres deep. water being drawn up in a 1" pipe. from a special deep bore pump. Complete package around 15,000baht. Some villagers pump to a tank, with another pump to feed the house. I draw water direct from the well
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Nick I have a very similar set up to you. I pump the water from the borehole to a 1,000 lrt holding tank, from there another pump
feeds it to the house, feeding bathrooms x 2 + kitchen sink. Do you have any filter system to enable you to drink this water?
 
mahdam said:
Nick I have a very similar set up to you. I pump the water from the borehole to a 1,000 lrt holding tank, from there another pump
feeds it to the house, feeding bathrooms x 2 + kitchen sink. Do you have any filter system to enable you to drink this water?
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No, we dont drink it. Just use it for everything else.
 
Nick, do you clean your teeth with it?
If so you might as well be drinking it.
Just a thought!
 
johnb said:
Nick, do you clean your teeth with it?
If so you might as well be drinking it.
Just a thought!
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Interesting thought john.

I think I will stick to bottled water for drinking -although sometimes I think that is quite possibly unfiltered well water.
 
You'd need to be mindful of the calcium build up in your body if you drank it (bore water) on a regular basis.
just boil a jug with the same water and notice the reaction around the element.
 
I have been considering installing a small triple filter system with a UV. Just to filter enough of the bore hole
water to use for drinking, cooking ect. Does anyone else use a similar system?
And if so how efficient is it?
 
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