On 30/11/2015 7:00 AM, John McGaw wrote:
On 11/25/2015 4:43 PM, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 25/11/2015 2:38 AM, songbird wrote:
Hypatia Nachshon wrote:
...
What do you mean "not very good"? Are you saying that the first rains
caught
in rain barrels should NOT be saved for irrigating plants? Or?

many rain capture systems include some sort of
arrangement for rejecting the first number of
gallons of water so that contamination (from
dust, bird droppings, etc.) is reduced. when
using the water for a garden most of what is
there isn't harmful anyways so i'd not worry.
the concern is more geared towards those in areas
of harmful dust fallout and those who are using
the water for drinking, cooking or other house-
hold uses.

A friend of ours used to have a first flush diverter on his household
rainwater tank (cistern in USian) but took it off after a year or so
because he found it flushed away too much water and a short passing
shower
would result in his not getting any water into his tank (cistern). And
dust or crap settles to the bottom of the tank in a very short time
and is
not a worry until it becomes time to desludge the tank. the tank
(cistern)
was to supply water for all his household use so the loss of any water
was
a problem.

I'd have to disagree a bit with the cistern vs. tank and the 'Usian'
nature of either. Cistern is very much in long-term usage in the UK; it
was common when plumbing became popular in old homes to have a cistern
constructed in the uppermost reaches of the attic to provide a head of
water. The local council-provided water was likely to be at low pressure
and volume and keeping some in your own cistern could alleviate both
problems. It is even true that the 'tank' of a flush toilet is referred
to as a cistern in the UK. If you get right down to the meaning of the
words themselves, a cistern is a container with no top while a tank is
enclosed all around.

I'm not in the UK. The only use of the word "cistern" here is the one
that sits on top of the toilet.

Since I've never managed to identify any poster here who is from the UK,
(other than a few strays who post once using gardenbanter) I don't
bother to try to post so that Brits can understand what I am saying. I
do try to make sure that the majority of posters (Americans) CAN
understand. I won't bother in future.