The Rain Catcher water tank roof is a revolutionary, Patent APPROVED (607458), Western Australian invention. Its aim is to collect and store much more of our precious natural resource: clean and drinkable water.
In these modern times of turning on taps and taking for granted water where and when we want it, how easily do Australians forget that ours is the driest continent on earth? Humanity's essential requirement is water and people sweat and toil around the world to have enough each day to merely exist, as indeed our pioneers in ages past did in the dry Great Southland.
The observation of two inter-related facts gave the initial inspiration for the RAINCATCHER concept.
(i) Enormous rainfall virtually everywhere not being caught and retained for use while the runoff causes erosion, leaching and drainage problems.
(ii) Humans and animals both domestic and wild dying or being made chronically ill as the result of drinking contaminated, polluted or saline water.
Logically the solution to keep water as pure as possible is to catch rain before it touches ground or makes contact with dirty rooves or gutters, then to store it with little or no chemical "purification". These facets are integral to the Raincatcher Water Tank Roof system.
Australian aboriginal people have long collected and stored water in "gnamma holes" which are either naturally occurring or carved cavities in sheet rock and outcrops. These holes create their own sloping catchment area and retain what is caught because the reservoir under the surface is greater than the entrance to it.
John Joseph Jones of Parkerville visited a gnamma hole at Hyden near Wave Rock in S.E. Western Australia and there began the seed of an idea. If the same principle was applied to an above ground tank then a storage reservoir with shade on top and sides and a small entrance to prevent evaporation could be located wherever rain fell.
Concurrently John's oldest son Lawrence was travelling around Malaysia and India, living for months at a time in village situations. He noticed the abundance of water falling yet not being caught, with all the health problems resulting from drinking, cooking, washing, bathing and watering stock in whatever pool or stream was available.
Father and son have collaborated over the last 11 years to develop, refine and simplify the practical manufacture and use of the Raincatcher Tank Roof. An Australian Letters Patent was finally granted in 1992 and the first tank manufactured in Mundaring in July 1993.
We are grateful to Griffith Hack Patent Attorneys Pty Ltd and Mr Clinton Giraudo for their keen and essential contributions to achieving the Patent.
Being free-standing, the Raincatcher Tank can be located wherever practical and provide clean water by gravity feed or by pump to domestic, commercial, livestock or garden requirements. This aspect means that there is less need to construct and maintain expensive sheds, housing or dams (which have a limited life and can require chemical treatment) just to increase water catchment.
Situations particularly suited to benefit from the Raincatcher Tank's versatility and portability (!) could include:
(i) remote paddocks where topography or expense does not lend itself to dam building. Troughs could be regularly filled for stock watering(ii) land affected by salt contamination in streams, soaks or dams
(iii) villages dependent on polluted sources for water supply.
(iv) dwellings in remote or rugged places where pipes cannot be laid
(v) suburban blocks where trees or boundaries do not allow rainwater tanks close to collecting roofs
(vi) mission stations and community development projects
(vii) vegetable gardens in dry areas reticulated at night to minimise evaporation
(viii) Golf course greens in remote localities watered automatically at night
Another useful facet of the Raincatcher Roof is that it affords shade for water, stock and people, shelter from rain, frost and storms while being a covered area for drying laundry food or produce.
The RAINCATCHER TANK ROOF is an inverted galvanised steel cone angled upwards at 4 degrees and extending from the centre of the tank circle to beyond the wall, creating a flange or verandah effect. This cantilevered flange is made of segments like petals or wedges which are bolted to the central leaf filter and butted together side by side. These sides have been turned up vertically then horizontally to create a section. Each two segments are then joined securely by a steel sheath , extending the whole length of the joint, easily clipped over and pushed on from the outside end.
Undergirding each segment joint is a square section, hot-dipped, galvanised steel bracket, the bent end of which locks down over the outside extremities of the joints. All the roof components combine to work like a rigid web. A flat hook hangs over the tank wall at the top to the bracket.;
Attached to the lower ends of the brackets are lugs shaped to fit into the tank corrugations, Circling around the girth of the tank is a wire rope tightened by a turnbuckle which keeps all brackets firmly held in place.
To anchor the unit down another wire rope extends around the lowest rung near the ground. This has lugs which are hammered through by pegs of various kinds, depending on the type of soil beneath the tank site.
Leaves and other materials are easily cleaned from the filter from outside the roof or a panel quickly removed for direct access.
Strong Australian galvanised and stainless steel is used in all components. Construction is simple and fast needing only a spanner, socket, hammer and ladder.
Presently the Raincatcher Tank is available only in the 4,500 litre (1,000 gallons) size but plans have been drawn to manufacture much larger models.
Raincatcher's effectiveness is easily demonstrated by this simple equation:
For each 25 mls (1 inch) of rain falling into an open tank you will collect 25 mls (1 inch) of water.
The same situation with a Raincatcher Roof on the tank will result in a collection of 100 mls (4 inches) of water for each 25 mls of rain.
This ratio is arrived at by ~ R . The tank itself has a radius of 1 metre outside the wall. Thus, by doubling the width the catchment area is quadrupled.
This tank is 2 metres (80 inches) high so it would require 500mls (20 inches) of rain to fill. In a high rainfall area, or if water was surplus to requirements, the tank with a Rain catcher lid could be connected to overflow tanks or reservoirs.
With increasing awareness of the need to keep water resources in healthy condition, we believe the Raincatcher Tank Roof can alleviate some of the cost to life in general caused by wasted or impure water use.
Raincatcher Tanks are available on 10% deposit and delivery can be arranged.
Please contact Lawrence Jones
telephone (08) 9572 3201
or write to:
Raincatcher Tanks Pty Ltd
75 Rosedale Road
CHIDLOW
Western Australia 6556