I’ve just completed the installation of a new Bailey Slim Jim 2000 ltr water tank and thought I would share some reflections on this process.
The new Bailey Slim Jim water tank has some revised features including a sleek flat finish, modern appearance and is available in a range of colours and sizes.
Like most projects, it all starts with a good foundation. We removed any loose soil, build a small retaining wall and then laid in compacted base course to provide a solid, even and level platform for the tank to sit on.
After ensuring that the tank was sitting level and plumb on the platform, we could begin to work out how to get the water into and out of the tank. In this instance, because the tank was set away from the house and there was a pathway in between, I was keen to avoid having down pipes going directly from the house into the tank and wanted to ensure that it was a clean install where the pipe work was not as obvious. In this instance we cut through the path, excavated a trench and had the drain layer install a new storm water connection from the edge of the house, under the path and up to the tank inlet. By using a wet seal system, the water will flow into the tank as the pipe near the house is higher than the inlet to the tank. The overflow was piped to a new section of pipework that connected to the existing stormwater system, ensuring that any overflow from the tank is controlled. As a preventative measure we also installed an inspection point in the wet seal system that will allow us to remove a cap and flush out any debris that may have collected in the stormwater line.
The Slim Jim tank that we installed comes with a factory fitted connection allowing for 25mm pipe work. A good tip here is to use a pipe wrench to hold the nut on the factory fitting while threading in the new connections to prevent the tank connection from loosening as it is a left-hand thread. We installed a tap fitting at one end of the tank and ensured that we installed a bung to the other connection.
Now that the tank is installed, and once it fills with water from the roof, we have effectively achieved rainwater harvesting. The client has recently done extensive landscaping and established a vegetable garden for the family and will be able to use the water stored in the Slim Jim tank to irrigate the garden and the veggies. Bailey water tanks also have a role to play in managing stormwater and can be used for both retention and detention. In this setting, with some active management of the levels in the tank by the owner, it allows the opportunity of slowly draining the tank ahead of forecast rain to ensure that not everything that falls on the roof and is collected by the spouting immediately goes out into the council line and potentially overwhelms already stretched networks.
This particular tank and others in the Slim Jim range are of a size and capacity that means that they can be added to most urban environments and I think without a doubt that they are a benefit to every property.
