IBC water containers ???

Discussion in 'Tools And Equipment' started by chitting kaz, Feb 3, 2012.

  1. chitting kaz

    chitting kaz Total Gardener

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2011
    Messages:
    2,497
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    carmarthenshire
    Ratings:
    +2,616
    i have checked it originally had fruit juice :dbgrtmb:
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • chitting kaz

      chitting kaz Total Gardener

      Joined:
      Mar 10, 2011
      Messages:
      2,497
      Gender:
      Female
      Location:
      carmarthenshire
      Ratings:
      +2,616
      husband in now thinking if i am having one may as well have TWO :scratch:
      i dont think he realised how small our garden is and how big they are .... could always pop one into my daughters garden :WINK1:
      i could stack one on top of other ?
       
    • clueless1

      clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

      Joined:
      Jan 8, 2008
      Messages:
      17,778
      Gender:
      Male
      Location:
      Here
      Ratings:
      +19,598
      I wouldn't do that. The metal frames they come in aren't that strong, and the container itself is just thick polythene. 1000 litres of water = 1 metric tonne, the weight of a small car, and a lot more weight than I'd be happy to have balanced at head height in the garden.

      Why not build some wooden shelves around it, and fill said shelves with plants in pots. And maybe stack some containers on top of the water tank, so that you're not actually losing any growing space?
       
    • chitting kaz

      chitting kaz Total Gardener

      Joined:
      Mar 10, 2011
      Messages:
      2,497
      Gender:
      Female
      Location:
      carmarthenshire
      Ratings:
      +2,616
      Too be honest i would only have one as i feel me garden is too small to warrant two of thse

      i will only be able to use the top and one side, as the safest location in my garden to site this will be by the back door
      one side will be against a wall
      one side will be on the walk way
      one side i will access to for a window to open and for the tap:D
      so i will just have pots along the edge and may be a climber trained over it
      but i do intend to encase the IBC firstly because it is ugly and and secondly to help with weather extremes heat/frost :dbgrtmb:
       
    • chitting kaz

      chitting kaz Total Gardener

      Joined:
      Mar 10, 2011
      Messages:
      2,497
      Gender:
      Female
      Location:
      carmarthenshire
      Ratings:
      +2,616

      it has been used for OJuice no chemicals

      plan on insulating it and cladding to protect from weather
      :dbgrtmb:
       
    • Kristen

      Kristen Under gardener

      Joined:
      Jul 22, 2006
      Messages:
      17,534
      Gender:
      Male
      Location:
      Suffolk, UK
      Ratings:
      +12,669
      "The metal frames they come in aren't that strong"

      They are designed to stack, aren't they? (They are for pallet forklifts ... or are they only "stacked" using racking?)

      "the sun light, after a long time they will break"

      I have seen some people paint the outside black (which probably helps with Algae too)

      "husband in now thinking if i am having one may as well have TWO"

      I definitely think worth having as many as you can fit in, depending on cost of course. You might find that the delivery cost is the same for 1 or several ...

      Other thing to consider is the size of the roof that you will collect from. The bigger it is the more easily/frequently you will be able to fill it in the Summer, and also how long the Winter's water will "last" during the Summer.

      I don't know where abouts in the country you are C.K. (pop that in the "Location" on your Profile? That would help folk giving advice ...)

      Lets assume you are in Bedford (I picked that as somewhere in the middle of the country)

      Monthly average rainfall for Bedford is

      Jan 48.4
      Feb 36.6
      Mar 43.5
      Apr 47.2
      May 45.3
      Jun 56.9
      Jul 44.7
      Aug 48.6
      Sep 53.6
      Oct 56.8
      Nov 49.0
      Dec 53.8
      Year 584.4

      You can find yours at: Met Office: 1971–2000 averages

      You won't water from 01-Nov to 31-Mar (and probably not in October either, not April - but you might ...) so rainfall in that period is 231.3mm and if you can collect Oct + April then 335.3mm

      Beyond that you would expect 49.82mm per month, average, from May to September inc.

      NOTE: You can type a formula, with whatever units you want to use, into Google and it will do the maths with you. Just end the "formula" with an "=" so Google knows its a calculation, and not a search. Also use "*" for multiple and not "x" like you did at school!

      So you can calculate your shed's roof area something like:

      10 feet * 12 feet in square metres =

      will give you

      = 11.14... square metres

      The following use the same syntax, so you should be able to just pop your figures in

      So I calculate:

      If your roof is 10 sq.m. then you will collect (Nov-Mar)

      10 square metres * 231.3 millimetres in litres = 2313 litres

      or Oct-Apr

      10 square metres * 335.3 millimetres in litres = 3353 litres

      so that would fill between 2 and 3 IBCs (an IBC is roughly 1 cubic metre, or 1,000 litres)

      And the average monthly rain May-Sep would give you, per month,

      10 square metres * 49.82 millimetres in litres = 498.2 litres

      which is half an IBC "refill".

      If your roof is 20 sq.m. then double it, and if 5 sq.m. then halve it!

      How much water do you use? I reckon I use about 6 - 8 watering cans when I water the veg patch, and I do that about twice a week in dry weather. My watering cans are about 2.5 gallons:

      2.5 imperial gallons in litres = 11.4 litres

      so each watering session is

      8 * 11.4 litres = 91.2 litres

      Lets call that 100 litres, and I do that twice a week for a month (lets call that 4 weeks)

      (In reality I would not do that twice a week, every week, from May - Sep, but if I assume that I would then I will have more water than I need.)

      So ... watering 2 times a week for 4 weeks in a month and using 8 Watering cans each time:

      2 * 4 * 100 litres = 800 litres

      so I'm going to use 800 litres a month, and my monthly, sporadic!, rainfall (calculated above) is 500 litres per month.

      So my nett use is about

      800 litres - 500 litres = 300 litres

      per month from May to September [5 months], or in a bad/dry year from April to October [7 months]

      300 litres * 5 in litres = 1500 litres
      300 litres * 7 in litres = 2100 litres

      so I would need between 1.5 and 2 IBC's (based on a 10 sq.m. roof)
       
      • Like Like x 2
      • clueless1

        clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

        Joined:
        Jan 8, 2008
        Messages:
        17,778
        Gender:
        Male
        Location:
        Here
        Ratings:
        +19,598
        I think stacking them when empty as a means of storing them/moving them is fine. I wouldn't stack them and then fill them up though. Assuming they're all roughly the same as the ones my dad has, the metal framework is made such that it reminds me of an old fashioned car roof rack.

        If I saw two of them stacked, both full, I'd be worried that it would only need one side to start to bend slightly under the weight, and then it would just go over completely as once it starts to tilt, all the weight would shift to the already failing side. I'd hate to be stood next to it when it went.
         
        • Like Like x 1
        • JWK

          JWK Gardener Staff Member

          Joined:
          Jun 3, 2008
          Messages:
          33,063
          Gender:
          Male
          Location:
          Surrey
          Ratings:
          +51,752
          Just been and measured mine:

          They measure 1100mm high X 1200mm deep X 1000mm wide


          My two are about a third full and frozen solid this morning. Shows how cold it's been recently.
           
        • chitting kaz

          chitting kaz Total Gardener

          Joined:
          Mar 10, 2011
          Messages:
          2,497
          Gender:
          Female
          Location:
          carmarthenshire
          Ratings:
          +2,616

          i was thinking the same thing :thumbsup:
          i could have a second one but the garden is really not big and i am trying to gain space not lose more i would still be able to use my smaller butts as they can be positioned in between beds and between those i would have another 500 ltr
           
          • Like Like x 1
          • JWK

            JWK Gardener Staff Member

            Joined:
            Jun 3, 2008
            Messages:
            33,063
            Gender:
            Male
            Location:
            Surrey
            Ratings:
            +51,752
            If you stack them then there is the problem of you you fill them. I couldn't stack mine as the shed roof guttering is too low.

            I've kept my old water butts too, they are really useful elsewhere in the garden, like I've set up drip feeders connected to them in the greenhouse.
             
          • chitting kaz

            chitting kaz Total Gardener

            Joined:
            Mar 10, 2011
            Messages:
            2,497
            Gender:
            Female
            Location:
            carmarthenshire
            Ratings:
            +2,616
            oh bless you John thanks for measuring them :thumbsup:

            filling them would not be a problem i have a choice of 3 down pipes 2 off the house roof and 1 off the garage

            the garage is so big that a good down pour in a hour can fill 7 butts to overflowing :yess:

            i plant to insulate mine to try to lenghten the life span
             
          • clueless1

            clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

            Joined:
            Jan 8, 2008
            Messages:
            17,778
            Gender:
            Male
            Location:
            Here
            Ratings:
            +19,598
            My dad has two on his allotment. They are his only source of water there. He always manages to fill his whole plot with all manner of veg, plus he has some chickens and geese that need a regular drink, and he has a large greenhouse down there. Two of those big tanks sort out all his water requirements for his allotment. An allotment is roughly 1/8 of an acre, and up in the north east we don't actually get that much rain compared to some parts of the country, so maybe that'll give you some idea as to how many you need based on the size of your garden and your local rainfall stats.
             
          • Jack McHammocklashing

            Jack McHammocklashing Sludgemariner

            Joined:
            May 29, 2011
            Messages:
            4,436
            Gender:
            Male
            Occupation:
            Ex Civil Serpent
            Location:
            Fife Scotland
            Ratings:
            +7,429
            My job on Monday then
            There is a confectionery manufacturer in the industrial estate, I noticed outside stacked alongside the refuse bins are four IBC containers and about 40 blue plastic 20gallon buckets

            I wonder if they have a returnable deposit, or if they are waiting for the council to uplift
            My job Monday is to go and ask,, If you do not ask you do not know

            Jack McH
             
            • Like Like x 3
            • Kristen

              Kristen Under gardener

              Joined:
              Jul 22, 2006
              Messages:
              17,534
              Gender:
              Male
              Location:
              Suffolk, UK
              Ratings:
              +12,669
              And if they are paying to have them taken away offer to sell them on eBay for them, on an ongoing basis, and split the difference with them :thumb:
               
            • chitting kaz

              chitting kaz Total Gardener

              Joined:
              Mar 10, 2011
              Messages:
              2,497
              Gender:
              Female
              Location:
              carmarthenshire
              Ratings:
              +2,616
              oh jack i will be well jealous if you get some before me !!!:cry3:
               
              • Like Like x 1
              Loading...

              Share This Page

              1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                Dismiss Notice