I'm wanting to rig something up to divert water from two of my downspouts to fill the pool when it rains. My plan was just to use pvc or corrugated plastic to the pool but I wanted something to filter out the leaves, seeds, and asphalt shingle particles. The easiest thing I can think of is to rubber band some sort of screen or skimmer sock to the end of the pipe. Can anyone else that has done this post pictures of their setup or have an idea how to keep all the stuff from the gutters out of the pool? I do keep my gutters clean, but there are always a million little pieces from the shingles in them. Thanks!
Downspout / Gutter to pool ideas or pictures?
- Thread starter heugeneo
- Start date
I haven't done it but have done some research on roof water reclamation. This is what I envision doing if I ever do it.
Feed gutters into a barrel, 20 or 30 gallon. Either through a screen on the top or not to catch initial leaf and large debris, maybe chicken wire 1/2" grid. Then have a pipe outflow about 2/3 of the way up the barrel with a finer screen on the inside of the barrel. This way all the shingle granules and heavy stuff sinks to the bottom of the barrel and the light stuff floats on the top and the clean water flows out the pipe.
Feed gutters into a barrel, 20 or 30 gallon. Either through a screen on the top or not to catch initial leaf and large debris, maybe chicken wire 1/2" grid. Then have a pipe outflow about 2/3 of the way up the barrel with a finer screen on the inside of the barrel. This way all the shingle granules and heavy stuff sinks to the bottom of the barrel and the light stuff floats on the top and the clean water flows out the pipe.
I agree with the overflow basin idea that pooldv describes. Kind of what I was thinking if I ever did it.
If you try to actively filter the water with a screen, it could very quickly clog up and cause your gutters to overflow.
If you try to actively filter the water with a screen, it could very quickly clog up and cause your gutters to overflow.
Thanks for the replies, all great ideas. I should have been a bit more specific. My downspouts are already installed and go under my deck. It's about 20 feet from where they terminate to the edge of the pool and I have a fall of about 1.5 - 2 feet to work with. A barrel will not fit under the deck and the point where they come out is only about 1 foot above ground level. These two downspouts handle about 900 sf of roof area so it should be a decent amount of water depending on rain amount. If I just use a hose I believe I will be wasting water to overflow that could be going in the pool. I plan on only using the system when I'm home and can babysit it.
Maybe I can make a small version of the catch basin.
Maybe I can make a small version of the catch basin.
You might be able to use like a kid's plastic play pool that would fit under the deck and let the debris settle out and then run some kind of hose/pipe out of it and to the pool.
I like it! A kiddie pool with spouts coming into it, then tap a hose fitting through the side of the pool toward the lower third of the depth. Sediment settles in pool, clear water drains out through hose. The only maintenance would be spraying the kiddie pool out once in a while with maybe a diluted bleach rinse after doing so.
Knee high stocking over the end of corrugated black drain pipe, with a rubber band to hold it all in place.
The knee high and rubber band will get eaten by the sun, so they will have to be replaced fairly regularly.
The knee high and rubber band will get eaten by the sun, so they will have to be replaced fairly regularly.
My diverter only has to go about 6 feet to the edge of the spa. I use the spa as a settling basin. When the rain stops, I just isolate the spa and filter the dust out. The coarse shingle grit tends to get caught in the creases in the extension. I just slide the extension off and shake it out over the lawn or something. I have considered stretching a nylon over the end of the downspout before shoving the extension on. Haven't done it yet.
I use a pair of these
I use a pair of these
I've got 2 500 gallon tanks that we use to replace water due to evaporation each summer. We try to fill them up as much as we can with water we drain using a sump pump, however during dry summers we end up needing to haul them back and forth into town. I've been looking at this filter however never could jump on it due to the price as we don't have a huge need for it.
I'm nearing the completion stages of a large solar heater (420 sq ft) for the pool using a tin roofed parking structure that has been painted black. Today was the first day of use and it did show promise even though its not completed (Pool temp went from 62f @ 11am to 74f @ 5pm which was the limit of sun on the roof). To return the water to the pool after heating, I am using rain guttering with a filter cover for the gutters that can be found at Lowes. (Lowes Item #: 179783 (3' snap in gutter filter, Amerimax is the manufacturer)) It is basically a regular gutter cover with mosquito netting on it.
It snaps to the outer edge of the gutter and slides under the shingle. Thus far they work quite well for filtering out tree fluff, and pine needles. The size of the screen looks to be slightly smaller than the shingle gravel.
It snaps to the outer edge of the gutter and slides under the shingle. Thus far they work quite well for filtering out tree fluff, and pine needles. The size of the screen looks to be slightly smaller than the shingle gravel.
Thanks for all the ideas everyone. Gunna go cheap and easy first and see if it works with the knee high / rubber band. If that proves problematic will use the kiddie pool idea.