Concrete Cisterns: Pros and Cons Infographic

Check out our latest infographic to learn some of the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating concrete cisterns into your water storage system.  

Plastic Cisterns: Pros and Cons Infographic

Plastic cisterns are useful for certain specific applications, but there are also drawbacks to using plastic tanks for rainwater collection. Check out our new infographic to learn more about pros and cons of plastic cisterns.

Pump Pressure Switch: Low Level Cut-Off Pressure Switches

There are many benefits to adding a low level pressure switch to your cistern or well pump set-up.  Low level cut off pressure switches turn the pumps off if the water pressure dips below 15 psi.

Watch our simple, concise video tutorial on how to operate this pressure switch here.

Shop for pressure switches and other water pump accessories in our online store.

How To Protect Your Cistern Pump: Jet Pumps

Learn how to protect your cistern pump from potentially running dry and burning out the motor.

Check out our video tutorial on protecting jet pumps here.

Shop for pumps and other rainwater harvesting supplies in our online shop here.

How To Wire A Pressure Switch

Here at Rain Brothers we get a lot of questions about how to wire a pressure switch for a water pump used in wells or cisterns.  A pressure switch is a method of controlling a pump motor.  It works just like a light switch: when you turn the switch off it disconnects the power, and when you turn the switch back on it reconnects the power.

Check out our new video tutorial for a simple, concise explanation about wiring a pressure switch: How to wire a pressure switch

Shop pressure switches and other pump parts in our online store. 

Restoring an old cistern

   If you're reading this, chances are you just discovered an old brick or stone cistern in your yard. Perhaps you hit a cast iron cap? Or maybe you were out in the yard and noticed a small hole and, as you dug around, noticed that hole got deeper and deeper, and that there were bricks lining the hole? 

Cisterns were a huge part of early infrastructure. It was commonplace – especially in the north – to incorporate a cistern when a new home was constructed pre-1920. In fact, I can almost guarantee that homes built here in Columbus, Ohio by or before 1920 had a cistern or a hand-dug well on-site, and the cistern was probably made from brick, was hand-dug, and was made into a sphere (typically proportional in size to the roof from which it was harvesting rain). We ourselves have come across and/or been inside more than 50 old cisterns within Columbus city limits alone. 

So what are your options if you discover an old cistern? 

Old cisterns can be relatively easy to restore if the following are true:

   1) It is not full of debris;

   2) The downspouts are still connected to the existing downspout drains; and

   3) The cistern is still water tight.

Typically, though, none of those three things are true with old cisterns we come across, in which case it can be a very labor intensive process to get the cistern back up-and-running.

If none of the above three items are true for your tank, then it is most likely going to be less expensive to fill in your existing cistern and replace it with a new tank. However, if the cistern does not have much debris in it, then the most labor-intensive process can be crossed off the list (whew!). 

If you can see inside the tank, then the next thing to check is whether or not downspouts are still running into it. The easiest way to do this is to simply bring a garden hose to the downspout that is closest to your cistern, and, if the downspout runs into a pipe that leads underground, run the water and let it drain straight into that pipe. Let it run for a few minutes, then go to the cistern and listen for incoming water. If nothing, then try another downspout. If nothing again, then chances are good that your downspout drains no longer tie into your cistern, in which case new drainage will have to be run.

If you do have water draining in, then the third and final thing to check is whether the tank is holding water. To do this, fill the tank to a visible water level. Measure, then measure again, and write down the confirmed measurement. Wait a day and take a new measurement. If the two measurements are the same, you're in luck again! If they are not, then your tank walls need to be re-sealed or lined. Re-sealing or lining your cistern is a somewhat DIY-friendly project, and we carry several product lines that help with this process, including our own customized cistern liners made from flexible potable-grade PVC or PE fabric. 

Once the tank is sealed and the downspouts are draining to it, the last step will be establishing a way to draw the water out of the tank. Typically, our customers use electric pumps for this, but we also have helped a lot of folks restore that old-fashioned look by installing our line of manual hand pumps. 

For more information, please contact us today and we can help guide you through the process and get you the products you need to make your job easy, safe, and cost-effective. And, as always, thanks for reading!