IBC tanks; rainwater storage; jet wash; booster pump?

[Hernibles]

I've just acquired a couple of 1000 litre IBC tanks and intend to use the for rainwater storage. Good timing because I expect prices will shoot up now a drought has been announced. (Tanks were =A345 each)

In addition to keeping the plants watered I aspire to using this with my jetwash to keep the cars clean....but in my scenario there will only be about 1 metre of head on the water supply. Much less as the tank empties of course.

I am therefore on the lookout for a reasonably high flow rate, 12 volt in-line booster pump with an integral flow switch.

Can anybody recommend such a device?

D

[Paul D Smith]

I assume these will be well covered so mosquito proof but if not gardeners' world suggested a small amount of cooking oil to ruin the surface for them - it's been working for me for the last few years and my plants (watered from these water butts) haven't suffered any ill effects.

Paul DS.

[Andrew Gabriel]

You'll need to paint them, to stop light getting in, or they'll fill with algae.

You don't need one. I run a pressure washer from my water but, and all you need is enough pressure to prime the pump (a few inches). The hose will need to be slightly rigid too (standard garden hose is fine), but not one of the collapse flat space-saving types.

Make sure the outlet is a few inches above the bottom of the tank, so you don't suck up the muck which settles out to the bottom.

[Hernibles]

I plan on gift wrapping it with a large butyl pond line offcut I have. That'll keep the sun out.

Another thing I am pondering...what happens in -10 degree frosts as we have recently had? I assume if a tank is full in such a frost it will self destruct!

Interestingly the tanks contained aircraft de-icer....but there is not enough left to make a difference.

D

[Andrew Gabriel]

,

The water butt ends up with some inches of ice on the top, and the outlet frozen, but nothing more. It would take a long time to freeze the whole thing, probably longer than it normally stays that cold. Even a large builder's bucket of water on the patio only half froze in the -10C we had here for a few nights. I tipped it upside down and ended up with a large ice bowl where it had frozen at the top and down the sides of the bucket, but not in the middle or base.

However, you should probably arrange the filling so it's not filled to the point where the sides start curving in, so there is some expansion capability.

[Andrew Gabriel]

The lavae can get washed in from puddles in gutters. Then when you open the lid, thousands of mosquitos fly out.

When I had that problem, one drip of washing-up liquid on the surface caused all the mosquitos standing on the surface to instantly drown. Very effective, but probably only for a minute or so until the washing-up liquid disperses below the surface skin (unless you put loads in the tank).

[The Natural Philosopher]

One drop of chlorine would probably do more..

[Newshound]

I have two as holding tanks for spring water at my stables. I've had the outlet pipes freeze, but no sign of freezing solid.

[Andy Dingley]

We had a couple of m^3 IBCs for washing the wagons. Even a cheap pressure washer seemed to cope with just a dip tube and a no more than a foot of head. It did seem important to keep the dip tube, and its strainer, a good few inches above the bottom and the crud layer.

[Dave Liquorice]

Does it still stop the mozzy larva?

Don't have the problem in our water butt, wrong climate for mozzies and ants come to that.

[grimly4]

Just lower a submersible pump into the container.