Rainwater harvesting has been around for decades, but only recently has it received national attention due to water shortages throughout the United States. Since harvesting rainwater is relatively new to the USA, many of the available tanks and barrels are not suitable for the average home and garden; They are either too small or too large.
With this in mind, Bushman has designed rainwater harvesting tanks that may be a better fit for your smaller residential needs. They offer two lines of tanks, including a Slimline Series and a Round Series, which allow customers to choose which style fits their application best. All tanks come with features and benefits that set them apart from conventional farm tanks, allowing customers to store rainwater safely for months at a time.
You can easily find a water tank on the web today made for agricultural or commercial customers. These tanks are generally too large for residential use and typically come in black, white and dark green. Bushman specializes in slimline tanks that fit under the eaves of the house and come in over six color choices.
Alternatively you can pick-up a rain barrel at the local nursery. While these may look great under a downpipe in your garden, they typically store no more than 60 gallons, which is inadequate for most garden sizes. We recommend a minimum of 300 gallons of storage, purpose built to collect and store clean rainwater. Also beware of recycling old plastic containers to rain barrels as they may have been used to transport harsh chemicals for their original purpose and could leech poorer quality plastic.
Water Storage Features & Benefits
| Manway/Vent The Water Series tanks come with a 16″ threaded manway for ease of access into the tank. The manway has a built in vent to release air as water fills the tank. |
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| First Flush Filtration The product on the left is a “Leaf Diverter”. The plastic body of this product is molded at an angle so that any debris such as leafs and twigs coming from a downspout will wash away, allowing only water through the grate down into the first flush assembly. The product on the right is a filter, which is located at the bottom of the first flush assembly. This product has two filters designed to filter out sediment from the first flush tube as it is evacuated by the dripper at the bottom. These two products work together to keep your first flush assembly working properly. |
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| Overflow BUSHMAN tanks come standard with an overflow fitting equipped with a stainless steel mesh which blocks mosquitoes, insects, and other debris from entering the tank. The overflow fitting has a 3 inch outer diameter, which can be easily rerouted using standard PCV materials. Also, keep in mind that any water overflowing from your tank can be put to use in some part of the yard. To be more eco-friendly, try running the overflow pipe underground to a bubbler located near a bio-swale. This ensures that you%u2019re rain water is being put to good use throughout the yard, and any run off will filter down into the aquifer below your property as nature originally intended. |
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| Strainer Basket / Lid The BUSHMAN stainless steel strainer comes standard on every rain water tank. The fine meshed strainer basket blocks mosquitoes, insects, and debris from getting into the tank. The strainer also comes with a lid that blocks out sunlight, minimizing any chance for algae to grow inside our UV inhibited tanks. |
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| Fittings Bushman Slim Line tanks have multiple factory installed 1’’ brass fittings. Round tanks come with 1’ bulkhead fittings. These fittings can be used for multiple purposes such as linking tanks together and connecting irrigation systems. |
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| Baffles You may notice that the Bushman Slim Line tanks have a series of holes molded into the design. The holes, or “Baffles”, are a series of specifically placed structural supports that ensure that Slim Line tanks maintain their shape, even when they are storing thousands of pounds of water. |