Toilet with rain water?

[The Natural Philosopher]

I assumed that was what was intended..

[Andrew May]

Just a thought. Are you likely to run into problems when the ball valve gets covered in rainwater. They are not normally used in a mode where there is any alternative supply. I don't know if the regs would have anything to say about this.

One solution might be to put the valve at the top of the water butt, opposite the overflow but engineer a long reach ball that floats at a much lower level.

Andrew

[David in Normandy]

There is legal and assumed legal. I could find out exactly what the legal building requirements are in France in this respect which frankly would be complicated as my grasp of French is not fluent yet. Or I could do as suggested which I would *guess* would not be illegal. :-)

[David in Normandy]

Possibly but not sure. The water in our other water butt is crystal clear all the time, presumably because it has a lid so no light gets in.

However, I've noticed on television when eco-friendly houses are shown that the (rain-water) toilet bowls have a distinct brown stain around them. I don't know if that is down to the water or the owners not bleaching or otherwise using chemicals to clean the loo.

[Man at B&Q]

Number 1s can go direct on the compost heap, no need for a toilet.

MBQ

[David in Normandy]

Yes, I think I'd need to buy a quality UK ball c*ck & valve=20 though, not one of those plastic / polystyrene French ones=20 which seem to fail after six months.

The thing is, most of the time the ball c*ck would be=20 submerged under several feet of water, so there would be=20 quite an up-force on it which could sprain or snap a cheap=20 mechanism.

--=20 David in Normandy

[David in Normandy]

They do already! Urine makes excellent compost accelerator.

--=20 David in Normandy

[Huge]

Coprophobia, actually.

> And who in

Yes, but it's horrid.

[Martin Pentreath]

Personally this sounds more attractive to me for "number 2s" as well, rather than keeping a bucket of shit in the bathroom! Just keep an umbrella down the garden.

[Skipweasel]

Only if you're an acrobat in our case, since there's a lilac tree in the way. I offer it a jugful of morning best from time to time though - when it's looking dry.

[Matty F]

Here in New Zealand, I can tell you that NZ's largest water supply company (and sewage treatment plant) takes a dim view of you putting water that they have not supplied down their sewer system. Rainwater is fine for washing cars and watering the lawn and garden as long as it doesn't go down the sewer. So if you wish to use rainwater for flushing the toilet, I suggest a hidden pipe is best. :) And the rainwater tank would seldom be empty. It's easier and much cheaper to walk around and turn taps on or off a few times a year rather than have an automatic changeover system which may go wrong.