# Next project,greywater Recycling



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Next project will be a greywater (washer,bathtub) recycling setup.

Neighbor will get me a 55 gallon barrel from work,it houses liquid soap they use with steam cleaners.

Then I will put washer outflow,about 50 gallons per load! to it.They use Gain detergent and plants doing fine. I will add an overflow pipe to house drain.

Then using a 12 volt pump I will use that to drain bathtub water to barrel,and use the pump to water with.

Soooo...free water so to speak,and free 12 volt solar electric for pump

Pat says she has cut watering bill by 1/3rd

Water company guy came by as someone reported 'water in street' Ruined his day when he couldnt ream Pat about 'water restrictions'

Also wasnt happy she wasnt using their water,but instead waste water. They want you to conserve,but when it means free water,no charges by THEM,well.....he didnt look pleased.Bummer Dude,eh?

System is simple and a real cost saver.I ordered new 12 volt pump from Harbor freight,38 dollars delivered....A few connectors and some connecting hose and will be saving a ton too! Gotta love it.

So when Mike gets the next barrel I will do a pictorial on it.


----------



## damoc (Jul 14, 2007)

if this is the 12v harbor freight pump i think you will be disapointed
ive purchase 3 now with varying problems

http://ww2.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=9576

next time i buy one it will be from grainger.

have you thought of recycling the water through a algae pond followed
by reed pond? prior to reuse to clean the water some?


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Bummer ,thats the pump alright,I want it to pump about 7 feet high.

No,really havent thought about filtering it,rather like the earthship recycling process.Darn nice way to do it.I will just use it straight,working like a charm for the neighbor.

And they just passed a resolution out here making shower,bathtub and washer greywater recycling legal,but not for edible plants.Hmmmm....I think Ill still water my garden,just keep the water off the vegetables and wash good when harvest.

We used grey water in an old house,including kitchen sink water,that went to citrus trees.House plumbed that way in the 1920's,smart system and takes a huge load off septic,septic never required any care at all as load was so light with just toilets.


----------



## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Modern septics are designed to handle water from all sources so I don't know how better it is. When I worked building septic systems one of the biggest problems was not enough grey water going into t he system to keep it working. Simple enough solution you just get the tank pumped regularly. Which reminds me I need to get that lined up for here next. Neat sounding system though boo I hope you can get it running soon and pictures would be great


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Was perusing info on the new law for greywater in state.

No code inspections,no permits,and unfiltered water OK from showers,bathtubs and washer machines.NOT to be used on edible veggies.

Beats the old law where it had to be used ONLY subsurface and not touchable by man or beast.

Cool,eh? They are FINALLY seeing the light!

Interesting comments Ross,thanks!


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

BTW,sent an email to a guy who has/had? 275 gallon totes for 20 bucks,havent heard back,Im guessing they sold in 30 seconds?


----------



## justmyluk (Apr 28, 2005)

damoc said:


> if this is the 12v harbor freight pump i think you will be disapointed
> ive purchase 3 now with varying problems
> 
> http://ww2.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=9576
> ...


 
That's the pump I've been using for over a year now without any proplems...
I have a 12v line run off my solar panels/wind generator in my shop run down to my chicken coop. I have 3 rain barrels tied together collecting rain water of the coop (8x32 tin roof). I mounted this pump on the side of the coop to a switch and I can turn it on when needed to water my garden.

In the summer months it gets a 10 to 15 minute workout about 3 or 4 times a week. IMHO...Great little pump!!


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Neighbor delivered barrel.Pump should be in post office per tracking,so I should be able to start this tomorrow.


----------



## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

I'm looking forward to seeing this but my washer only puts out 6 gals per cycle!


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

mistletoad said:


> I'm looking forward to seeing this but my washer only puts out 6 gals per cycle!


Good job but every little bit helps.Unless you have good water resource you still might want to try it even with only six gallons. We are in a major water shortage here so Im really glad they loosened restrictions on recycling.If this pump works worth a darn I might even try to get bathtub water out into the yard.

We shall see,in any event it will be fun to try and if my pump doesnt make it I'll just get a 120 volt submersible sump pump like Pat and Mike are using.


----------



## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

Oh absolutely, I fully intend to do this. I was just a bit shocked at how much water your washer puts out.


----------



## PulpFaction (Jul 23, 2009)

Has anyone here rigged up a greywater recycling system that uses the waste water to flush the toilets? I'm going to do this with my Airstream reno, but it seems like it should be able to work in a real house, too.


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

mistletoad said:


> Oh absolutely, I fully intend to do this. I was just a bit shocked at how much water your washer puts out.


You and me both! I will for sure let you know my water wasted per load.Cant get to it til next week,I work this weekend.

Yep PulpFaction,friend uses a sawdust toilet.Ive offered him a low water usage RV toilet my BIL gave me if he wants to use his sink water in it,sounds like a super answer to me too.He uses sawdust as his water resource gets limited in summer sometimes.

I take it you will run a pump from greywater tank to toilet?


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

More info on greywater

http://greywater.net/


----------



## kbabin (Aug 1, 2006)

This guy used rain barrel water to flush a toilet. Check page 8, he talks about using a backflow preventer. This could be code and needed to protect your water quality.

http://www.geocities.com/pmm1018/rain_barrel1.html

Kev


----------



## ihedrick (May 15, 2005)

I've had a 5 gallon bucket with grey water next to the toilet for flushing (especially good idea when power goes out!). Use a old butter container/coffee can size to scoop the water from the bucket and pour directly into the toilet. All flushes down the drain.


----------



## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

what kind of lint/hair trap and grease trap do you plan to use ? 

In our old trailer since we had a very small speptic tank , I ran all the grey water lines seperate . They first went into a 3x4ft tile "tank" buried with concrete poured in the bottom which acted as a trap. then it ran to a leach field of cat tails and finally to the pond .
We generally have plenty of rain here but Im tempted to work on recycling the grey water in this house . 
my thought on a system would include a trap barrel followed by a sand type filter and finally a barrel of charcoal or possibly a filter system using a water garden and plants.


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Im going to use a sock and a nylon stocking ,one or both,on the end of the washer hose prior to barrel filling.I sure dont have size for any pond,I barely have room for chickens and a small garden,and thats all on a tiered hillside lot.


----------



## CamM (Dec 6, 2008)

I would use that gray water pretty quick, though. I've heard it'll go rancid after 24 hours. I know from collecting rainwater that even it begins to smell.


----------



## mondakkid (Oct 17, 2006)

PulpFaction said:


> Has anyone here rigged up a greywater recycling system that uses the waste water to flush the toilets? I'm going to do this with my Airstream reno, but it seems like it should be able to work in a real house, too.


Hi...Most books that I have read about re-using greywater do not recommend that you use it for flushing the toilets. You should have extra special filters to do this...this cost is just too high. If you Google "greywater filtration systems" there is a good company in Colorado that has all kinds of good stuff and offer good advice when you buy from them.


----------



## Explorer (Dec 2, 2003)

When I built my house six years ago I added an extra 1 1/2" black plastic line that collects gray-water from a shower, two bathtubs, my dishwasher and cloths washer. No filtering and the water goes directly year around into planting beds around my house. Each bed, three, has a separate surface gravity flow distribution system. No odor and minimal scum, but the plants are so lush it is not noticeable except in early spring before green growth starts again.


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Sorry I havent got to it yet.Mike just upgraded his to a 160 gallon square thing,they are super pleased with it.


----------



## Shavings (Feb 10, 2009)

I've been using this pump for 9 months now to irrigate gardens with lake water: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_527_527

Not had any problems with it.


----------



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Shavings said:


> I've been using this pump for 9 months now to irrigate gardens with lake water: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_527_527
> 
> Not had any problems with it.


Yes,shur-flo makes great pumps for sure.


----------



## adamtheha (Mar 14, 2007)

IMHO greywater is only usefyul for irrigation. Otherwise you have to treat it almost as much as sewage! We use very low flush toilets here anyway.


----------

