How the Eco-Care Grey Water Unit Operates:
With the connections plumbed into the pipework from the shower and bath (you can also connect to the washing machine), water from the shower passes down the connection pipes, through the basket filter and into the Eco-Care unit. When the water level in the Eco-Care reaches a pre-set level, the internal submersible pump automatically starts and the water is pumped out through the 25mm lilac sullage hose to the garden. When the flow of water from the shower/bath into the Eco-Care stops, the pump will continue to operate and empty the Eco-Care unit and then the pump will stop automatically.
Applying the shower/bath water to the garden:
Although water from the shower and bath is relatively clean, state laws dictate that this water MUST only be applied to the garden using a pipe system that is 100mm below the surface of the garden. To make this work efficiently, we recommend using "Poly-Drain" pipe. Poly-Drain is also known as "Ag-Pipe" and is a black 50mm diameter concertina type polyethylene (plastic) pipe with slots/holes pre-punched at intervals along the pipe length. With the poly-drain installed under the garden, the water from the Eco-Care is pumped out through the lilac sullage supply hose and into the poly-drain. The water in the poly-drain then flows along the length of the poly-drain and out through the holes into the soil in your garden.
How much Poly-Drain do I need?
The answer to this is determined by a few factors being the number of people who will be using the shower, if water saving shower heads are installed and, the area of garden that is available to use the water as irrigation. As a general rule, you will need 25m of poly-drain for each person that uses the shower and, 50m of poly-drain for each bath. So for a family with 2 adults and 2 small children, we recommend that you install 100m of poly-drain in the garden. If your garden soil is very sandy, you can reduce this length to 75m and, if the garden soil has a lot of clay content, increase the poly-drain length to 150m. Please note that these lengths are an estimate only and will vary with the site and the volume of water that is pumped out by the Eco-Care unit.
How much water will we be able to save using the Eco-Care?
There are many conflicting "official" figures on water use so these are the real figures from our house. We have 2 showers, 1 bath and, 2 bathroom hand basins connected to the Eco-Care unit. Our showers are fitted with water saving shower heads with a flow of 11 litres per minute. With 2 adults and 3 teenagers in the house, we use a total of 660 litres of water per day through the showers. That is an average of 11 litres per minute for an average of 12 minutes per shower times 5 people. This comes to a grand total of 240,990 litres of water per year that now goes out into our gardens and lawn areas that was going into the sewer.
Just to put that volume of water into perspective, it is 240.99 tons. On an average building block of 600 square meters, it would cover the whole block to a depth of 400mm. It is enough water to completely fill the average kids bedroom from floor to ceiling 12 times. It is enough to flush the average toilet 30,123 times. It is enough water to run a large top loading washing machine 2,008 times. It is just a lot of water!
What happens if the power goes off?
The pump is electric and so when you have a power failure, the pump will not operate. If you are showering or the kids are in the bath and the power goes off, the Eco-Care will fill with water and the excess will automatically flow into the sewer line. When the power comes back on, the Eco-Care pump will start automatically and empty the water from the unit into the garden.
What do we do in wet weather?
The Eco-Care is fitted with a manual valve that diverts all of the water into the sewer. If you have had heavy rain or, if the volume of water coming from the shower/bath is unusually high, you will need to divert all of the water directly to the sewer for a day or more to allow the soil in the garden to dry out a bit. When the garden soil has dried out, return the manual valve to the "Garden" position and you are saving water again.
Is the Eco-Care suitable for all houses?
Sadly, the answer to this question is no. You can only have an Eco-Care unit installed if you can get to the pipes that come from the shower and/or bath. If your house is built on stumps or brick piers, is a high-set (QLD) or, is built on a concrete slab with room between the slab and the ground, you can probably install an Eco-Care unit. If your bath/shower drain pipes come out of the slab to the side of the house it is also probably suitable. If your house is built on a concrete slab that is on the ground, it is not likely that you can have an Eco-Care installed.
It is absolutely critical that the Eco-Care only be installed to pipes coming from the shower, bath and if you like, the washing machine. You cannot connect the Eco-Care unit to the toilets or the kitchen. Toilets and kitchen waste are considered to be "black water" and absolutely must go into the sewer.
How do I clean and Maintain the Eco-Care?
Cleaning and maintaining your Eco-Care is critical for the safe and correct function of the unit but, it is not a difficult task. The first thing to do is turn the power point off and pull the plug out. Then with your rubber gloves on, unscrew the top cover, remove the flexible filter liner and the filter basket and give these a thorough wash in hot soapy water. The inside of the Eco-Care also requires cleaning and I personally use the same product that we spray onto the inside of the shower to remove soap scum. Any brand is fine as long as you give the inside of the Eco-Care a really thorough spraying of the stuff and I normally use about half the bottle. Leave the soap scum remover for 10 minutes of so and then give the inside of the Eco-Care a good brushing with a toilet brush (not the same one you use in the toilet - buy a new one). Rinse the inside of the Eco-Care with a bucket full of hot water and because the power is turned off, the pump will not start yet but this is fine. Reinstall the hard plastic filter, the flexible filter liner and put the lid/cover back on. Go inside and turn on the shower (if the Eco-Care is connected to the shower) and the water from the shower will run into the Eco-Care. Allow the shower to run for 4 minutes so that the water flushes the soap scum remover into the overflow. Now plug the Eco-Care power lead into the power point and turn on the power. The Eco-Care will run and go inside and turn off the shower.
You will need to check the Eco-Care filter and clean the unit on a very regular basis and how often will depend on the volume of water going through, the amount of fats, oils and hair/lint and anything else that the filter catches as well as the time of the year. I suggest that you start out by checking the unit once a week and making your own decision on the frequency required.
Further information:
For further information or to receive a copy of our Eco-Care Information & Operating Manual, please send an email with your full contact details to rod@iwgroup.com.au
The Eco-Care unit must be installed by a licensed plumber. The irrigation equipment may be installed by anyone and does not require a plumber.
To download a copy of the draft "Eco-Care Polydrain Information" pdf click here. (0.75 Meg)
