First flush rainwater diverter/filter

This post relates to my earlier one on our water tanks and helps keep the rainwater drinkable. The Superhead Rain Water filter kit  purchased from the local Penny Pinchers store comes complete with the oddly shaped PVC fittings, but you need to provide the other tubes, including any adapters to make them fit into/onto the bits of the kit.

The downpipe from the gutter is on the top right and drips/gushes onto a sloped mesh which catches larger leaves and twigs, and, theoretically, allows them to fall off.  Below the mesh at the bottom of the PVC funnel shape there's a rubber "trapdoor" thingy cut in a flapped star shape that rises up and seals off when water containing the "first flush" of debris and bird crap has filled the vertical column. Water is then diverted into the overflow pipe on the left through a sort of large bottle brush filter and into the tank. You'll see I had to modify the down pipe, fitted with a normal PVC shoe by gluing a half section of pipe to intercept the water flow, which can overshoot the catcher assembly in heavier rain. I learnt my lesson with the other filter, which doesn't have this problem.

This is the bottom end of the vertical pipe. The system is in operation during a light drizzle, and you can see the dribble of water coming out the bottom through the adjustable threaded stopper. This has a V slot cut across the inside, and you can adjust the trickle rate so that water drains out automatically. Obviously you need more coming in than dripping out to get enough water to flow into your tank.

There's a chart in the kit relating roof catchment area to the capacity of the vertical storage pipe, but in practice this is constrained by what diameter PVC pipe you can obtain, and what length you can actually fit against the wall.

In operation you have to undo the stopper completely every now and then after some rain or drizzle because debris eventually blocks up the V groove, killing off the trickle effect. What comes pouring out when you do remove the stopper makes you glad you installed the device! The bigger hexagonal stop end can unscrew, but so far - more than a year -  it hasn't been necessary to open it up.

The top end of the gizmo, busily collecting the output of a light drizzle. There's a bit of debris on the mesh, but there aren't that many leaves falling at present, other than from the Jacaranda, whose leaves are small enough to land up in the vertical column. I occasionally use a bamboo pole to scrape off leaves and stuff that get jammed on the mesh.

So, it's not completely maintenance free, but can run OK with a bit of benign neglect.

I suppose it depends on how fussy one is about water - I'd quite happily drink unfiltered water, but others in the family seem to have more refined palates, so this caters for them.

Update 2015/11/02:

Lots of rain last night, but tanks didn't fill nearly as much as expected - so time to check the bottle brush filter.

Hmmm.... time to clean out the gunge.

Taken perched on a ladder without being able to se what I'm doing. Filter back in place, rubber trap door just visible at bottom.

Screen filter back in place.