Joined: May 2008 Posts: 377 Location: The Snugglenets
Re: Where Do You Get Your Water From? « Reply #1 on Apr 1, 2009, 9:17am »
I get mine from La Muñeca on Calle Santome in Zona Colonial. It's RD$18 for 5 gallons (18.9 liters). They also sell the large blue bottles which they refill there for RD$150, which includes the first filling of water. It's reverse osmosis filtered and very high quality. In the bakery below, smaller 20oz bottles are sold for RD$10, if you'd like a sample of the water quality.
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Johnny Ringo, 1850 - 1882
Joined: Mar 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 386 Location: Playa Chiquita
Re: Where Do You Get Your Water From? « Reply #2 on Apr 2, 2009, 12:50pm »
As I stated in the Power thread, we had certain priorities. Water being high on that list. Not just for my wife and self, but for guest and visitors. All of the indoor water is purified and has tested to be over 99% pure. That is higher then the EPA standards in the U.S. We also have no water stains or corrosion.
The first cistern is just under 5000 gallons. To the left is an automatic chlorinater for the cistern. 1/2 gallon liquid chlorine into the tank and fill with water. Lasts over 2 weeks. The second tank is for salt/water for water softener. Then two filters.
The main key to our system is the UV light system seen on the right side.
With the power problems we switched to a 120 VAC water pump that can run off the inverter. I have also installed all sorts of valves depending on what system is working or not. If I could only remember what valve does what. You are only seeing 3 out of 8. The metal expansion tank is rusting due to ocean air and we have to change the pressure valve twice a year due to the crud in the city water... when we have it.
We found that with 10 or more people living on the property, that 5000 gallons was not going to work. So we put in a second 10,000 gallon cistern with a porch on top. This second cistern fills by city water.... when we have it AND rain water from the roof. We put a pool skimmer under the downspout to filter out the leaves and things. A pool chlorine tablet once a week. It is also plumbed into the purification systems.
We decided to put in a second water pump, 240 VAC and a fiberglass expansion tank with an air bladder inside.
Both pool systems have a hose connection after the filter that we can pump water from the pools and into the cisterns.
Total water capacity is over 60,000 gallons. And you can drink it all.
Samanave Water « Reply #3 on Apr 2, 2009, 2:43pm »
Quite an impressive set up that!
Again our system is simpler and can be because we only are a family.
Our water is drawn from a well about 300 ft deep. (I am the fool on the hill who drilled down from the hilltop... which, however, makes sense.... in our case.) It's fed to a cistern (= 3,600 Gall.)
We use the water untreated (but fill "botellones" for drinking water at the delivery pipe of the pump). We are not connected to a Dominican water supply system. And that's good.
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Johnny Ringo, 1850 - 1882
Joined: Mar 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 386 Location: Playa Chiquita
Re: Where Do You Get Your Water From? « Reply #4 on Apr 2, 2009, 4:39pm »
What can I say?
I'm a complicated type guy that is always looking at the "what ifs". What if my guests get sick from their own stupidity. I have to tell them that they can't shower today? Our caretaker loves to water everything.... even in the rain.
Have you had your well water tested? 300 feet should give you some pretty good stuff. A little chlorine in the cistern should keep that clean.
I thought of sinking a well, but have no use for any more salt water. The reverse osmosis systems, that I know of, are expensive to operate and needs lots of attention.
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Johnny Ringo, 1850 - 1882
Joined: Mar 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 386 Location: Playa Chiquita
Re: Where Do You Get Your Water From? « Reply #5 on Jul 17, 2009, 8:21am »
A little more about home water systems. I'm not an expert but have had to learn and experiment a little to help solve/meet our water demands. BTW; Google IS my friend.
In our case, our pumps are not submersible, that is that are not in the well or cistern.
Pump size will depend on what water source you are drawing from and how much water demand you have and how much pressure you want. Drawing from a deep well will require much larger pump, HP, then from a cistern right under it. The larger demand for the water will also require a larger pump. The higher the pressure desired requires a larger pump. Having pipe size to small from the source to the pump, to the expansion tank and the water pipe main will make the pump have to work harder and longer to meet all the above. Some pumps can be changed from 120 to 240 VDC by changing the wires inside the motor end of the pump. Some can not be switched.
In our case, we have a 1 HP pump (not seen) on 120 VDC so that our inverter/8 batteries can keep our inside domestic water flowing. This inverter and batteries are for this pump, front gate and a couple of other things ONLY and does not power the buildings. We have had no problem with up to 10 people. Note that the pump is directly over our cistern with a lift of about 8 feet.
The pump determines the size of water pipes to and from the pump. This 1 HP pump is plumbed to the expansion tank. I'd rather have a larger tank then too small. A small tank will not store enough water energy so your pump will cycle more often, thus using more electricity to turn it on.
The gray box above the gage determines your pressure limits that start/stop the pump. Normally their is a 20 PSI difference between the start/stop, but the start/stop limits can be changed and the gape narrowed or widened. Our 1 hp is set to start the pump at 30 PSI and stop at 50 PSI. I tried to adjust this up to 60 PSI but the 1 HP pump has a hard time getting there even with no water demand. TOO high of a pressure can and will cause problems with some of your plumbing.
On the side of the blue expansion tank is the pressure valve that tells the gray box what the pressure is in the tank via the small black tube. If your pump is short cycling, going on and off a lot, this is what I look at first. The minerals in our water are nasty and rust/clog the valve port in the tank. I replace this every 6 months and requires that I drain the tank.
If your valve fails, your expansion tank most likely will be "water logged". That is it has lost the air at the top of the tank that is the control for the pressure. You will need to drain the tank.
Other system in above posts. Our other pump is used mostly for watering, filling pools and washing things and can be used in our indoor domestic systems. 240 VAC costs less then 120 VAC so we have that on the grid. It is a 1-1/4 HP with the pressure set at 40 cut in and 60 cut out PSI. I can run 4 lawn sprinklers and be filling a pool with very little loss of pressure. The expansion tank has an air bladder inside so no valve is needed to the tank and the pressure switch reads the pressure from the pipes. The air bladder has a tire type connection to lessen or increase the pressure inside to better match the control switch settings. (gray box.)
If it helps, think of your water system like your inverter/battery systems. The pump supplies the water/energy to the tank being the storage/batteries with the pressure controller being the charge controller with other parts acting as wires and breakers. They all need to have a reasonable relationship to each other.
Another note: Most plumbers down here use 90 degree elbows. These turns will rob your system of water energy. If possible, it is better to use two 45 degree elbows that forms a curve turn rather then a dam one.
Feel free to disagree, correct and comment. As I said, I'm not and expert but this is what has worked for us.
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which, however, makes sense.... 
in our case.)
Our caretaker loves to water everything.... even in the rain. 
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