The Rest of The Story
March 5, 2021
A lot of details to be skipped over here. Long story short, a neighbor and I finished installing the gutter boots.
The rain harvesting system was in full swing, as complete as it was going to get. The last step was to install safe guards so as to protect this valuable resource.
The first and easiest safety mechanism my father and I installed was the Water Hero. This is essentially a smart valve installed inline of the main water pipe after the pressure tank. It monitors the flow of water, down to 1/100 of a gallon and can be configured to automatically shut off when it detects water flowing constantly for a set amount of time. It has 'away' and 'home' modes for easily switching between two configurations. It is remotely accessible so I can monitor, and control, my water usage - even when away from home.
This special valve protects in the event that water is running AFTER its installation - that is, after the pressure tank (which is all pipes and faucets and spigots in the house and barn, etc). It has been tripped extensively when the kids turned on spigots without my knowledge, or hoses were left on watering the horses, etc.
As an extra failsafe, and to help protect in the event that there is a burst pipe BEFORE the pressure tank, my dad and I also installed the Grundfos Pressure Manager 2. This is a multifunctional device that can be configured to maintain pressure, but more importantly to me, it can be configured to turn off the pumps directly (cut power to them) when they have been running for 30 minutes.
And thank you to my dad and Carl for tidying up the Dr. Seuss network of pipes and diversions around the filtration system. It was the finishing touch to a very long journey.
It is sad that the co-inventor of the system did not stick around to experience his opus in its full glory.. but that is the way of things. This rain collection system has served me, my children, and our menagerie of animals (including no less than 3 thirsty horses), flawlessly for over 5 years.
Now it is time for me to leave this desert gem to the next lucky people who will never have to worry about their water source.
Amen.
| Description | Cost |
| PM2 | $250 |
| PM2 Power Cord | $41 |
| Water Hero | $539 |
| Hero Shipping | $30 |
| A lot of love, blood, sweat, and tears | ... |
| Total | $... |