Posted on 09/08/2014 6:05:27 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey
Just freeze dry it....
In some states collecting rainwater will get you thrown in jail.
It will cost a small fortune to build that fence. Better to design a yard with landscaping that doesn’t need so much water.
May he be blessed with some Honest Backing!!
Yea and we can rule out tornado alley, hurricane zones and flood plains. Might as well throw in earthquake zones and while we’re at it it doesn’t make much sense to build anywhere close to volcanoes either. It’s gonna get kinda crowded in all the other places though.
WHITE RAIN....Oh Nooooo
Just a few thoughts.
The water alone will be about 112 pounds per square foot. That means you are going to have to put this tank on some kind of foundation.
This kid has made his model fence out of Plexiglas. So I calculated what the price of Plexiglas to build a fence around a typical 100X50 foot residential lot would be. This is calculated using ½ Plexiglas sheets. It comes to just under $200,000. That does not include end caps or top cover. And as before you will need foundation, side supports and labor for installation. So you might as well double that price and then some.
Sure Plexiglas is not the cheapest building material but whatever the material I doubt this kid is going to get many customers for his product. Whatever the price of his fence it is going to cost at least as much as adding a new room on the dwelling and his fence will not add near as much to the value of a house as a new room.
A few prepers may go for the idea but if they do they will build the thing themselves and he won’t see a dime. And most prepers will just buy a poly water tank and bury it in the yard.
Homeowners in Oregon were prosecuted for storing rainwater runoff from their house roof in a barrel so they could use it for their garden.
I am not kidding.
It’s also going to have to stand being filled with water and possibly frozen solid in the winter. Kind of expect it might have something of an algae problem in the summer.
so much for Oregone....
I doubt that it would be build-able in a form that doesn’t leak. Six feet tall would mean about 3 psi at the bottom. 432 pounds per sf. An eight foot span would have tens of thousands of pounds of force between the two sides pushing them apart.
Why not just have a cistern? Much cheaper and reliable.
They did get 3 - 5 inches of rain in Phoenix today...
Dehydrate it so it won’t spoil?
excellent idea
the local library collects water from the runoff form the roof...and I know they arent using this kids method.
http://raingardens.spawnusa.org/san-anselmo-public-library-rain-garden.html
But you are correct that it will have to be an engineered structure. The expansion and contraction of the wall material will have to be considered due to seasonal temperature variations.
I would think that the tank may need a water recirculation pump and a heater to keep it from freezing in northern latitudes.
Another reason that a buried tank makes more sense. Bury your poly manufactured tank below the frost line and avoid these problems. In the end it is a lot cheaper.
Anyone who spent just a few minutes thinking about the practical problems with this idea quickly figures out that is just way too expensive to consider where there are other options.
Makes me think that the judges did not give the real world application of this idea much thought. But of course when you are judging a high school science fair perhaps that is not part the criteria for awarding the prize.
Real people have limited funds for such a project. Real world people make financial choices and choose the cheapest and most practical option. This idea just doesn’t fit the bill.
Not if the state decides that water belongs to them and taxes him out of existence. Like Colorado. They say rain water belongs to them and if you store it you’re stealing (well they tax the cistern you collect it in).
I was thinking about this too. That kid is about to have a lesson in what is purported to be “free enterprise”...
WOW - that’s a great idea....
I’ll agree with you on that. The fact that he’s gone into business with his parents is another fact in his favor.
Based on rain barrel laws, this device is probably illegal in at least 3 states.
bump
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