PVC water pipe tank

[Peeeeda]

I was going to put some pvc tubes in my tray under a false floor to carry some water but am a little bit put off now cos PVC downpipes probably aren't made from food grade virgin plastic. I'm sure a lot of people use them though regardless of whether they are made from recycled chemical/sewage plastic containers. Has anyone who has them noticed a peculiar or nutty chocolatey taste when drinking from them?

 

[Nevyn]

Cheaper to buy a plastic tank from BCF!
59L Water Tank - BCF

Cheers Brad

 

[terryc]

I actually have a collection of 20L square foot print water containers that are the centre line of the ute load. the trick is to get lids that hold the tap underneath, so you transport them with the bung in and install the tap when you need to use them.

Actually, i also have a 25L one and when it gets low, we just plonk a full 20L on top and have a 6mm tube syphon the water down into it.

The only thing i have against tanks is that can be about 40kg of weight flopping all over the place.

 

[terryc]

Also, forgot to add, the problem with pipes is not the tube, but the fittings at $5-$25 each.

Personally, i would use the black 90-mm stuff, but look at 100mm or bigger white plastic. I think there is a potable water version, rather than the sewage version.

 

[Old.Tony]

PVC pipe must come in food grade as well, in rural areas it's used to direct collected rain water.

Don't bother getting food-grade hose to join them up. We tried using a couple of brands and were disgusted by the taste. Oddly enough, the 13mm and 20mm garden plumbing hose imparted no taste at all, so we use that instead.

 

[KraftyPg]

Go and ask a country dweller who relies on tank water and not chlorinated town water what they think of water stored in plastic pipes. There is ways to cure anything from a slightly off taste to dead worms in water storage but the one thing you wont find many people relying on tank water doing is using so called food grade pipes, it's usually all standard grade hardware store type crap. Don't leave water stored in their for long periods without replacing it or airing it out, make sure it's well sealed and clean it after every use and you should get away with PVC pipe no worries.

 

[bullwinkle]

Country dweller right here. Totally dependent on rain water, but have access to a bore for backup. The plumbing in our house built 5 years ago is bog standard. Standard colourbond guttering, standard 90mm PVC downpipes, straight into a standard Fibre Reinforced Plastic tankworld tank (they make a world of difference!). No filters anywhere, other than a screen where the water enters the tank. Beautiful water, never cleaned out the tank, no smell or taste.

I've never cleaned out the gutters, but nothing gets in there as my trees aren't big enough yet. Get a bit of scum in the gutters, but that doesn't hurt you so I've never worried about it.

So I wouldn't worry about food grade stuff. I wouldn't be getting around with tanks full on the ute, only fill them up for a trip as water can go stale, so I've been told.

 

[KraftyPg]

If you want to taste stale water just get a shop brought water bottle and leave it 1/4 full of tap water for a week or two. You smell it more than you taste it and conditions have a bearing on how stale it gets but it's not something you would choose to drink if you had the choice.

Not sure what is available for such a small water storage but our concrete tank was 30,000 litres and it did from time to time get worms in it and occasionally the scum from the gutters got in and tainted the water a bit but we used to get water cleanser stuff in tablet form from the tank place and it would clean it right up in a day or so, we only once in 14 years ever had to empty the tank to clean it the rest of the time it was tablets so there are ways of ensuring your water stays drinkable.