In the attempts at naming this post as an Update to the original post, I discovered that somehow in all the work being done on the Work Box and the business housed within the box, the traveling for the Kid's sailing, and the general life busyness, I never once mentioned the day the Rain Water Collection System took effect. The system has been mentioned several times in several posts since installation, but never the installation process itself. Such an important key, I would even say it is the most important key to the existence of Plan473, yet it was never posted. Amazing how that happened. Even more amazing is the fact that this is the only picture available of the original installation. THE ONLY ONE. Doubly amazing.
Not wanting to go into too much detail of the RWCS without pictures I will just give a quick summary: the roof the Work Box will have 2" PVC pipe inlets on all four corners of each conex box collecting the rain that will then be transferred to the large 3000 gallon storage tanks.
Having lost our source for RODI water collection, once again yet another side affect of good ol' Uncle Harvey, and our water tanks quickly diminishing, the Planner installed one of the four collection points for the RWCS in the Work Box. The current water collection point is this 55 gallon drum in which sits a water pump that then transfers the water to the storage tanks via a garden hose. Not perfect or long term, but functional. That was June of last year.
Yes, June of last year. As in 16 months ago. Several thousand gallons of rain water have been collected via the RWCS through just this one down spout. Many times throughout the last 16 months, the 55 gallon barrel overflowed as the little pump could not keep up with the amount of water that flowed from the roof.
Having completely emptied one of the 3000 gallon storage tanks, the Planner was beginning to drive us crazy with his hyper awareness of water usage. Showers! You had a shower last night, tonight it is a 1 gallon sponge bath!
When the initial 2" PVC inlet was installed for the one working down spout, all four corners were drilled out, had a metal 2" threaded pipe welded into place, and then capped. As it turns out, PVC will adhere itself to metal rust and become impossible to remove. No amount of handy dandy tricks would remove it. First it was the standard blue water pump pliers that every household has in its junk drawer. Then it was a oil filter wrench. After much cussing and tool throwing, out came the grinding disk.
Removal with the grinding disk was not any easier either. The hand held grinder did not fit easily against the ceiling. If held flat, it would not cut the cap in the direction in which it would split the cap, it would only shave it flush leaving the threaded portion still intact. To properly see what was being cut as it was critical NOT to cut into the metal down spout from the roof, the Planner had to wedge himself against the ceiling and cut at this awkward angle. It worked in the end, it was just slightly scary in the safety department.
Once a small 2" slit was made, the usage of a large screwdriver acted as a lever, and off it spun. Sort of.
Having sand blasted and spot painted the roof a few weeks ago, between the rust and epoxy paint, it was evident as to why the PVC cap would not simply remove. It is good to know that the paint kept the metal insert from rusting into dust though.
The next time RWCS is installed in the Shop Box, something different will be done to eliminate this time consuming step. What should have been a quick hour or two project, once again turned into in all day affair. And that was just removing the caps. PVC pipes still needed to be installed.
Next on the list of steps was to 2" holes into the shipping container deck flooring. An 8' section of 2" PVC was lined up with the hole in the ceiling and then aligned with the floor using a level. This is not an easy task as this flooring is made with some kind of layered weather protectant and is hard as nails. Does a great job at keeping cargo safe but can drain a cordless battery in its efforts to remove it.
The cargo flooring is 3/4" - 1" thick depending upon container and is some of the most beautiful wood in its shavings. For all of the protectant materials inlaid into the grain structure, the wood never carries any chemical smell when drilling, never gives off an oily residue, nor does it ever burn or melt.
Lining up the PVC tubing to ensure straightness with the world not the only consideration into the design of the RWCS. The tubings must be accessible to repair yet out of the way for work reasons. They have to align with the flooring substructure underneath and not cramp corner box pockets. As you can see, even with a test hole drilled, the alignment is not always ideal. Luckily, this time, the PVC makes a bend directly below the hole and this corner pocket is avoided.
Installing the PVC piping in the back outside corner of the box was easy as it was exactly like the front outside corner, it was a straight pipe down into the floor. A union to the metal down spout and a PVC all the way out the floor to the underside of the box and it was done.
The inside front PVC tubing to the floor required more forethought and planning. Wanting to ensure there was little water flow restriction due to the bends in the tubing, the Planner doubled the size of the needed PVC diameter as compensation. With eight total 2" PVC down spouts, water loss over the side of the box edges will now also be kept to a minimum. Water overflow is always a possibility, it is nature of course. Deluges to occur but these were designed for the average rainfall over the average an amount of time.
What should have taken a less than a day to complete took two but the results are worthy. Plan473 is two more steps closer to a completed Rain Water Collection System in the Work Box. There is of course, the Shop Boxes, the House Boxes, and the Kid/Guest Box to complete. But hey, one step is one step. Did I mention that these two new down spouts only drain out in the world and are not as of yet collected to the temporary 55 gallon bucket. Oopsies...