How To Install A Macerating Toilet System

I built my own water cistern system. Follow along as I guide you through the process.

These are some of the components of the water cistern system I built myself. Follow along with my step-by-step process.

What Is a Water Cistern System?

Those living in a municipality often take for granted utility services that many rural property dwellers are not privileged to enjoy. Many people living in rural regions are extremely fortunate if they are able to afford the huge expense of drilling a water well (and even more fortunate if the drill actually strikes good potable water). For those rural proprietors or tenants who are challenged by the absence of a drinkable water source on their property, a cistern system is a practical and economical alternative.

A water cistern is simply a water holding storage tank. For potable water, the cistern should be sterile and completely enclosed to keep unwanted debris from entering and contaminating the system.
Water cisterns are available in all shapes and sizes and manufactured from many different types of materials. The selection is vast.
Cisterns are fillable through a water inlet near the top or can be filled directly through the top cleanout or entry hatch. In the side wall near the bottom of the cistern is a water outlet; this is where a pump and some pipe fittings will be assembled.
A pump is necessary to suck the water out of the cistern and, through some supply lines, push the water to the required usage point. Once you have all the equipment installed, all you need is water.

The water flows out of the cistern to the jet pump, outside the shelter's wall, under the driveway, then aboveground to the RV connection. The line heat traced and insulated with bubble wrap foil.

Step-by-Step Process for Building Your System

In this how-to article, we'll go over the following:

Buying the Right Water Cistern
Choosing a Pump
Connecting the Pump to the Cistern
Adding Water to the Cistern
Where to Get Your Water

My water cistern is enclosed in an insulated building for heating during cold temperatures through the winter months.

Buying the Right Water Cistern

Try to purchase a water cistern that is large enough to supply your water usage for a convenient amount of time. The biggest expense in filling your cistern is not the water, it is the transportation of the water. The less you have to haul water to your holding tank, the lower your overall water costs will be.

Calculate Your Monthly Water Demand

If you are only supplying your household with the water, you can roughly calculate the usage by figuring out how many times you do laundry (roughly 20 gallons per load), how much water you'll need to bathe (about 20 gallons per baths), how many showers you'll take (about 10 gallons per shower), and how many toilet flushes (roughly 3 gallons per flush), etc. and add the gallons used by those services together per week and then multiply that sum by 4 to get a monthly demand amount.

Under vs. Above-Ground Units

After you have the size calculated, you need to decide on its ideal location in your yard. You can put it underground, but construction costs will be much higher compared to above-ground setups.

However, if your region is susceptible to frigid temperatures, you may want to forego the expense of sheltering and heating an above-ground cistern system, although a well-insulated building just large enough to house your system is not too costly to heat— the interior temperature need only be a few degrees above freezing and the warmth supplied by a 200 watt heat bulb could be sufficient. If you burn a 200 watt bulb 24 hours per day, you use 4800 watts [200 watts/hour X 24 hours] of electricity or 4.8 kilowatts. If the cost of electricity is 11 cents per kilowatt hour (1000 watts/hour), the daily electrical consumption cost for your heat source is 53 cents per day or $15.90 per month.

This is the water supply jet pump bringing water from my 1250 gallon cistern bottom outlet to the demand location.

A jet pump with a pressure tank is an economical solution for this service.

Choosing a Pump

For your aboveground water system, you will need a pump. I found a 3/4 horsepower jet pump complete with a small pressure tank to be an economical choice in this application. The further away the demand point is, the larger the pump will need to be.

Pump documentation will provide the information on how much water can be pushed through a certain diameter line for a certain distance. Mine specifies it has a maximum capable output of pushing water through a 1" diameter line to a maximum distance of 50 feet. My water line is 25 feet in length and 3/4 inch in diameter, so the jet pump works well for me.

The pump connects to the cistern in a galvanized 1" suction line, complete with isolation valve and union.

Connecting the Pump to the Cistern

Once the pump is in place, its inlet or suction will have to be joined to the outlet on the bottom of the cistern. You can construct this connection easily with a few pipe fittings available in a threaded or glued PVC plastic and a Galvanized (Zinc) coated steel. Though the PVC fittings are less expensive, they are not the best choice for outdoor use in a low temperature climate. They are fragile, not easily heated to unthaw when frozen, and their threads are not durable enough to be disassembled and reassembled numerous times as might be required for necessary maintenance or repairs. The galvanized steel pipe fittings are an investment that will pay dividends in peace of mind over the long run. The steel fittings should be galvanized so that they do not rust and release toxins into the water system. I elected to use the galvanized steel in this connection from the cistern to the jet pump suction.

Adding Water to the Cistern

Now, with the inlet of the jet pump plumbed into the cistern and the outlet connected to a hose that runs to the demand point, it is time to put some water in the holding tank.

Water can easily be transferred via gravity if we could get the transport tank elevation above the top of the cistern. I cannot achieve that height very easily out here so I use an economical 3" gasoline-powered transfer pump.

The setup is fairly simple, consisting primarily of two 20 foot lengths of hose and the pump. For hose connections to the pump and water transport tote, I use rubber adaptor sleeves which can be found in the plumbing section at any local hardware store. They are thin, stretchable rubber tubes about 6" long with ratchet clamps on each end for joining the dissimilar pieces. They are economical and convenient for the temporary joining of two dissimilar materials of the same shape and do not require any turning for threads.

Once the hoses are joined to the transfer pump and the transport tote, I remove the top lid from the cistern, putting the pump's discharge hose in the opening. Then I start the transfer pump and open the tote valve, and in less than two minutes, I have 150 gallons in my cistern. Now I am ready to go and get another load.

250-gallon tote filled with 150 gallons of water at approximately 1500 pounds. That is enough weight for a Chevy 1/2 ton.

Where to Get Your Water

Many municipalities have a coin-operated water station service. This convenience is provided to the growing number of rural property dwellers who are without a potable water supply. Such stations are usually operational year round and open 24/7. They are capable of pumping large amounts of water very quickly: The fill-up time for a 250-gallon transport tote is only about a minute. The cost for the water in most stations is extremely economical—a few dollars will fill your transport tote to the brim.

Transfer water tote must have a valve to connect the suction hose to.

I welcome all your questions and comments below as well as any suggestions or ideas of your own. Please share any input that you desire to contribute. I enjoy hearing from everyone.

Thank you,

How To Pam

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Questions & Answers

Question: I want to place a rainwater cistern in my cellar, with a storage cistern in the attic. I understand the need for a pump and a connection to the rain gutters, but I do not know how to deal with any overflow. Will I need a different pump to get rid of the overflow?

Answer: If you want to gather rainwater through the gutters into a cistern in the cellar and then pump the water up to the attic water cistern, you should install a float switch in the attic cistern to cause the pump to cycle and fill the attic cistern when the water level falls to a low limit. To manager the cellar water cistern overflow you should consider installing a float switch to the same pump to cycle excess water to an exterior water holding tank. This can be accomplished with an electric solenoid valve at a "TEE" in the attic water line. Through this method you can use one pump to serve both functions.

Question: How do I clean out an old unused cistern to begin using again?

Answer: If the cistern is a proper potable water cistern, it should have a built-in manway or hatchway that is large enough for an average sized person to enter. Therefore, a person can enter the cistern and scrub the ceiling, walls, and floor with warm water and dish soap solution. I have also used a small amount of liquid household bleach, following the instructions recommended for cleaning kitchen countertops and sinks, etc. If the cistern hatch is too small to allow a person to enter, clean of the cistern can be done through the hatch with aids such as telescopic poles for painting, etc. Perhaps even a power washer wand could be inserted through the hatch and utilized, offering the advantage of water pressure. In the past, I have cut an opening in the top of a water cistern large enough to allow easy cleaning. I then fabricated a cover for the opening out of plywood, rubber gasket material, and stainless steel bolts. The piece cut out of the cistern can be fastened to the plywood cover so to fit back into the opening where it was cut from. If a person is to enter the cistern through an appropriate hatch, it is very important to be certain the cistern is well ventilated before and during the cleaning process.

Robert Ashton on February 16, 2018:

Why don't you catch rain water?