Volcanic ash / catchment cover

[MBB]

I have disconnected my gutters to my catchment tank. Any opinions about catchment tank mesh cover enough to keep most volcanic ash out of my tank or will I need a better cover?

[Rob Tucker]

A mesh cover sounds completely inadequate regarding falling ash. I suggest you need a better cover and one which, if accumulating ash is your concern, can deal with the equivalent of snow loads... whihc means very sturdy.

[terracore]

I don't expect we'll get much more than a dusting. My plan was to disconnect the gutters and cover the tank with a tarp during the fallout. The ash could be wet/muddy ash so I would probably have to babysit it to keep the accumulation low.

A 20x20 HPM electrical conduit tarp kit could be used to cover it with a free standing option so long as you have the means to keep the ash from accumulating on it in any significant amount.

If the fallout is heavy the plan is basically the same, "do the best that I can" to keep out as much ash as possible without causing a new problem like collapsing the catchment tank cover frame.

Fortunately all our solar panels can be reached by a hose stream so keeping them clear of ash shouldn't be a problem.

[dan d]

Rob,no one sells that kine cover,the best u can do is a spider lookin circle in the middle,it has pipe recepticals 6 pipe insert into it,i use 1 in emt pipe,
Pipe hangs over eddge of catchment tank, tarp or catchment cover over that,
Sweep or blower dry ash from cover, it will not handle 100 lbs per meter
(Snow loads)

All the above avail at island catchment.
They sell a hard galvanized top cover but its spendy. I can make one out of fiberglass
But its a couple grand. The metal one was 4-5 k

Dan D
HPP

[dan d]

I think the catchment guy at the bottom of ainaloa rd has these in stick as well
I think the meash cover mbb was talking about was the standard shade cloth cover most
Water shops sell.works good on leaves ,birds,frogs.

I was in Canada during the St Helens pyroplastic flows and the jet stream blew ash that way, came into town and it wss noon. All the light on it looked like snowfall at nite.
Had to change car airfilter every 100 miles. Big blast fyi.

Dan D
HPP

[Rob Tucker]

Preparing for the unpredictable is tough. A brief sprinkling of ash is one thing. Lots of ash is another. Ash can be heavy in accumulation. I can't predict at all but this lava event is already taking a financial toll on everyone it seems.

Is a pricey galvanized cover worth it? It is in the eye of the beholder. But a mesh cover sounds to me like placing a flour sifter over the tank.

[dan d]

Dou u know what mesh size he is talking about? The shade cloth material is like a fine screen or the better material in a plastic tarp style,but breathes

Dan D
HPP

[kalianna]

Is there a down side to putting up these tarps now? I'd rather do it in daylight if possible.

[dan d]

U wont need to do that about the ash untill it happens or when

Dan D
HPP

[terracore]

If you put a tarp on a catchment tank and don't have the means to keep it from collecting water itself it can sag and bend (ruin) the frame of your catchment tank cover. In a worst-case scenario the tarp will sag down into the tank holding its own water plus what it's holding on top, collectively putting 11,000 gallons or more of water into a tank designed to only hold 10,000. It would be kind of like removing your overflow spigot. The tanks aren't engineered to be filled to the brim. 1,000 gallons of extra water would put over 8,300 pounds of stress pressure on the tank and making bursting a possibility.