Due to the current drought, and all the supply dams being at alarmingly low levels, we have official water restrictions. A saving of 15% on normal consumption is mandatory, and watering gardens using a hose, or topping up swimming pools, is prohibited. Our large portable puddle was losing water by the day, and I was afraid that soon it would be good only for going paddling with pants slightly rolled up. I thought of a rainwater tank, but we can’t afford one of those at the moment (other than 3 X 150 Litres I have acquired for storing backwashed water).
So, some invention was called for. I decided to find a way to convert downpipe flow into hosepipe flow. A mineral bottle seemed to be a likely candidate for the job.
Dismantled. Note brick as a support for the weight.
The nearest downpipe was too narrow for a Coke bottle, but the type with a waist was ideal for cutting down exactly where widths matched. Then I screwed, glued and taped a hose fitting onto the neck, and strengthened the part where it fits over the pipe with more tape.
The convertor in action.
The first rainstorm was a disaster. Just as the pipe had filled enough to lift the water over the lip of the pool, the pressure blew the whole apparatus apart with a mighty gush of water. Amazing how only a metre or so held in a pipe has so much pressure. Back to the drawing board.
Hose feed closeup
Hose into pool – distant
Two little holes a hose-width apart in the lip of the drain, using a masonry bit, and strong wire bent into a ‘U’ as a clip, and I had the answer. Plug the wide end of the bottle onto the pipe, the hose onto the neck fitting, and secure by pushing the U-support over the hose and into the two holes just behind the fitting, and the whole thing stays put even in a heavy downpour.
Pool level change from two thunderstorms.
Over two evenings of thunderstorms, the apparatus added about 1000 litres to the pool, and the tanks are full too.
Colonialist's Blog 
other than cutting the down pipe to make it higher than the pool, is there a way to pipe the water into the pool?
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The way a siphon works, no matter how far down the water is fed off from, as long as the top of the pipe is higher than the edge of the pool the water will flow. Think of a pipe bent into an upright U. If one arm is longer than the other, and water is poured into the top on that side, air pressure will cause a flow to start out of the top of the shorter arm.
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How does the water from the downpipe (seems to be lower than the hose in the pool) reach a level higher than the source?
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The top of the downpipe is a lot higher than the edge of the pool, so when the pipe fills to higher than the pool edge level the siphoning starts.
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oh well done col! as you say even if the dams are full, why pay for the water getting lost anyways. most ingenious
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It certainly works – and at the coast, nobody can accuse us of diverting water which otherwise would have ended up in the dams!
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Excellent, Mister N. You are one clever fella!
Kudos.
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*Torn between a modest cough and an, ‘Aren’t I just!’*
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you are a genius!
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It would be insulting to argue with you, wouldn’t it?’
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This is so clever and inventive…..thankfully in Scotland rain is a rich resource….it is really amazing how much you can collect from the roof gutters and down flows😊💕
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Even in a very rainy area, it makes sense to collect water which is not reliant on storage, pipes, pumps and filters beyond one’s control
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It does, and we do😊
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My son-out-law invented a similar contraption last year, but he removed part of the down-pipe, which I didn’t understand at the time, but thanks to philosopheretc,, now do! Son-out-law aso has a net filter contraption to trap any leaves, debris etc.
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My aim was to leave the existing simple feed from gutters to storm-water drainage undisturbed so that mere removal of the feed restores it. I am toying with filter options, too.
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ingenious. Necessity truly is the mother of invention. Will you keep doing it this way even after water restrictions are lifted?
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It makes sense to continue. Even if dams are overflowing, why pay for water if one can collect it for free? That would be like having a thriving vegetable patch, but continuing to visit the greengrocers instead of harvesting.
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Very ingenious. Well done!
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Thanks – it made the difference between having somewhere handy to swim during our hottest months – or not!
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Outstanding invention. My engineering-brained husband applauded. He said the downward head pressure in downspout is was creating too much pressure and blew apart. Another possibility is shoving a pipe/pipes (hooked to an elbow then a pipe to the pool) a couple of feet up the drainpipe itself or tap into the downspout up higher to reduce pressure….More than you ever wanted to know…he’ll probably be drawing out plans next. HA HA
We all get creative during droughts.
Congrats and enjoy the swim!
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Those are interesting possibilities, but this keeps it simple and very easily returned to the previous state – I don’t want to have a hose across the lawn to the pool as a permanent feature! And the simple clamp seems to hold up well even when the downpipe fills up completely.
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I’m on your side. Some people can’t help fiddling with things even when they work….The enemy of good is better.
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Brilliant. There was a drought in te 90s when we put a dustbin under the washing machine outlet and used it to water the veggie garden. Only partially successful as some of the plants didn’t seem to like detergent in their drinking water! Bath water worked a bit better.
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We have also found that bath water works well, but the bath is below the levels of the garden so it is either buckets or an electric pump. The latter is robbing Peter to pay Paul.
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We can’t collect rainwater here . . . by law.
http://www.lot-lines.com/collecting-rainwater-still-illegal-in-much-of-colorado
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That is a disgraceful infringement into property rights. In areas where water is short and that water is diverted usefully it might be understandable.
One’s swimming pool collects some of it by being there. Is that illegal?
Actually, the law is ridiculous. Most of the saved rainwater will find its way into the river systems after use by the landowner. Reserving rights to what is under and over land (mining rights eg) has always interfered with basic property-owners’ rights, and all authorities should have been prevented from starting it at the outset.
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Almost all of our water is from run-off. Plus, Colorado sold a lot of water rights to other states, and since most of the water is from runoff, we don’t “own” that water.
It’s ridiculous because the people who profited from that are long gone, and things have drastically changed since 90 years ago.
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