This post has nothing to do with Panzers or Shermans, nor is it related to an (expensive) call to the local Caltex service station for a fill ‘er up either.
We’re talking nature, we’re talking weather, we’re talking water reticulation. In short, rain water storage tank stuff.
Like any other family, we need and use clean safe drinking water. Unlike so many other families, we are luckily not exposed to that municipal-treated chemical-laden liquid euphemistically called purified drinking water; we rely on Ma Nature to send us our quota from the clouds. It is therefore up to us to ensure that we use water carefully, sparingly and responsibly, ‘cos Ma Nature is sometimes forgetful in Summer.
We have a 20 kilolitre storage tank (I call it “20K”) connected to our roof catchment. Connected to this is a 5 kilolitre reserve overflow tank (called “5K”), both near the back of the garage. On the other (southern) side of the house stands a 4 kilolitre tank (yes, we’re quite sharp today, he’s aptly named “4K”) which was used for the garden on that side of the property, but it filled rather slowly and emptied through a conventional stopcock tap even more slowly.
Bearing in mind that we will hopefully be laying out a “new” improved veggie patch and herb garden on the northern ground behind the garage in the near future, we re-examined our water needs relating to garden irrigation, and the time and effort which will be required for irrigation. As a result we came up with the cunning plan to move 4K around the house to keep the other tanks company in a sort-of tank “farm”.
Saturday came, with Clayton at home. This was an ideal opportunity to move 4K – if I tried this on my own, I would be doomed from the start. We emptied the small amount of water remaining in the tank, and after some pushing and shoving, grunting and huffing and puffing, the tank was dislodged from its site which it had occupied since 1994 (the manufacture date moulded into the tank base). Ten minutes later, after sessions of rolling, twisting and shoving (to avoid breaking anything, especially the tap sticking out the side), we introduced 4K to his new neighbours-to-be 20K and 5K.
(Above): 4K, with his “lid” off, after his journey from the south, at the back of the garage.
(Above): This was the tap-contraption fitted to water the southern garden. With a 1.5 metre pressure head, one can only imagine the painfully slow dribble which it could manage. If we are to pump water at a reasonable rate, this tap needs to be pensioned off and replaced by something faster, something which will not rust!
Two jobs were on the cards: (1) Prepare the site, and (2) Prepare the tank.
(Above): Job (1) We prepared an area of appropriate side by compacting a layer of hardfill, covering with a heavy PVC sheeting and then levelling off with a layer of fine builders sand.
(Above and below): Job (2) consisted of pressure cleaning the tank inside and out, lid, vents and tap included.
(Above): 4K was eventually wrapped up in bed for the night next to Big Brother 20K
(Above): A close-up of the remains of the tank shows clearly why the discharge had been so painfully slow. The plastic/metal outlet parts were heavily caked with corrosion and restricted the flow. Diagnosis: the tank had clearly had a mis-spent youth, probably with poor nutrition and definitely too much drinking, leading to this clogged artery caused by iron-cholesterol build-up.
Now, we’re off to the shops to find a valve that will fit and do the job, hopefully. A sort-of artery-transplant is on the cards, but don’t let 4K know, he’s still a bit iunsettled…
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