Freerain Domestic System Users Manual
(Last Updated: February 2006)
IMPORTANT NOTICES TO END-USERS
INSTALLATION
INSTALLERS ARE NOT TO USE THIS MANUAL IN ISOLATION
THE INSTALLATION MANUAL IS TO BE READ FULLY & THOROUGHLY
BEFORE SYSTEM INSTALLATION COMMENCES
SAFETY NOTICE
To avoid accidents and risk of fire, follow the following instructions carefully at all
times:
Always SWITCH OFF at the mains before carrying out work on the system
Ensure that the electrical power supply to the system is suitable for the pumps
power requirements, and that the electrical connections do not come into
contact with water
TOILET CISTERN VALVES
It is essential that the correct valves be fitted to toilet cisterns. The valves
required are manufactured by Fluidmaster, and failure to these will invalidate
the warranty. Additionally increased pump wear, premature hose failure and
increased electrical consumption may occur.
It is highly recommended that a weekly check of the pressure gauge be made
to ensure that the system is holding pressure when the pump is not running and
there is no demand for water. This can easily be checked, as the pressure gauge
dial should hold at approximately 3.5-4.5 Bar. If the pressure slowly falls (i.e.
in less than 2 minutes), leading to the pump re-starting, a leaking cistern valve
is indicated, that will need servicing.
For cisterns that cannot accommodate cistern valves as recommended by us
then it will be necessary to ensure the installer has included an expansion
vessel within the system to eliminate pump cycling.
To ensure good water-quality and low maintenance of the system, a filter
must be installed in the rainwater tank before use; use of leaf-traps on
guttering/down-pipes is also recommended on properties near trees
Freerain Installation Manual
www.freerain.co.uk tel:01636-894900
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Contents:
Page 2
Section 1: Introduction To The System
Page 3
Section 2:System in Normal Operations
Page 5
Section 3:System Safety Features
Page 6
Section 4: Servicing
Page 8
For Trouble-Shooting Guide please see Section-12 of the
Installation Manual
Freerain Installation Manual
www.freerain.co.uk tel:01636-894900
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Section 1 – Introduction to the System
System Concept
1. Welcome to your Freerain rainwater harvesting system. As a domestic-user, you will
find that this system will help you to economise on your use of mains water, in the
process reducing associated water bills.
2. The system works by storing rainwater from your roof in a large underground
polyethylene tank installed close to your house, probably under the lawn. The tank’s
position is marked by its black inspection hatch; anything heavier than a sit-on lawn
mower should not be taken closer that 3-metres to this point.
3. On entering the tank, the water is filtered to ensure leaf and other debris is removed; this
means that clear, soft, neutral ph, chemicals-free water is stored for later non-potable use.
Storing it underground ensures that the water stays clear.
4. To make use of this water, your house has been fitted with separate pipe-work for its
potable (ie drinkable) and non-potable water supplies. The latter include toilet-flushing,
clothes washing machines, and garden hoses. The stored rainwater is then pumped on
demand to these applications, which account for about 50% of normal household water
consumption, as explained under normal operations below.
System Components
5. There are three main components of the system that you need to be broadly familiar with,
namely:
a. The System Management Unit
b. The System Control Panel
c. The Filter and Pump fitted into the neck of the storage tank
6. Each of these is introduced briefly below:
Figure 1 -The System Management Unit
(1) LED LIGHTS FOR VOLUME
(3) CONTROL LIGHT FOR PUMP
(5) CONNECTOR FOR SENSOR
(2) CALIBRATE BUTTON
(4) CONTROL LIGHT FOR MAINS WATER BACK UP
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Figure 2 - The System Control Panel
(shown with cover removed)
Mains-water top-up
supplier
Pump Isolation Switch
System Pressure Gauge
Air-gap between the
mains-water system and
the rainwater harvesting
system
Pump Controller
Figure 3 - Pump Controller Detail
Reset after-faults rectified
Red light shows system faulty
Green light shows system OK
Filter & Pump
Figure 4 - Filter
Figure 5 - Pump
Filter installed
Figure 6 – Tank Chamber Viewed From Above
Pump installs here
Freerain Installation Manual
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Section 2 – System in Normal Operations
7. Your Freerain rainwater harvesting system has been designed for reliability with all
working components specially selected to meet this aim.
8. In normal operations, the system needs minimal attention. The only regular maintenance
required is the removal and cleaning of the filter situated in the neck of the tank.
Cleaning is achieved by washing the filter briefly under a hose every 3-months.
System Operations
9. The system operates whenever an appliance connected to it demands water. The opening
of a tap, flushing a toilet, or a demand for water from a clothes washing machine all
reduce the pressure in the supply-line. This is automatically sensed by the pump
controller, which activates the pump until pressure is restored (ie the demand for water
ceases).
Supply of Rainwater
10. Rainfall varies seasonally, geographically and according to weather patterns. The
Freerain system installed for your home will have been designed to take all these factors
into account, and to reflect the likely water-usage in a property of this size.
11. In times of abundant rain, your storage tank may fill to the top; this it is designed to do so
from time-to-time it will overflow into the properties drainage system whilst at the same
time helping to keep the top of the filter clear of matter.
12. Equally, during prolonged dry spells the contents of the tank may be largely consumed,
under which circumstances it will need to be topped-up with mains supplied water; this it
will do automatically at around the 5%-full mark.
13. Once mains-water backup supply is activated, around 25-ltrs of mains water is delivered
so that the tank level does not continuously “hunt” around the 5%-full level. The top-up
is limited to this amount because rainfall might be imminent.
14. Mains-supplied back-up water is inserted into the system via the air gap shown in Figure2 above, so do not be alarmed to see water at this point.
Tank Water Level
1. As identified as Item-1 on Figure-1 above, there is a column of 10 LED lights on the
Management Unit, each one representing 10% of the volume of rainwater in the tank.
2.
When the system is running on mains water the LED lights indicate, tank empty. The
reason for this is to inform the occupant to use the normal amount of washing machine
powder or liquid. Otherwise, when using (soft) rainwater for clothes washing, only half
the amount of washing powder/ liquid is required.
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Section 3 – System Safety Features
Dry Running Protection
3. If the level in the tank should drop below the minimum point, the power to the pump will
be switched off automatically to protect the pump against damage through dry running.
4. Under these circumstances, the green LED light PUMP on the System Management
Unit will be off, as will the green LED light POWER on the PUMP CONTROL. When
the level in the tank rises above the minimum point the pump will switch on again
automatically.
5. There is a second dry run protection on the PUMP CONTROL that switches the pump
off after 8 seconds if there is no flow through it. When the problem has been rectified
press the reset button on the PUMP CONTROL.
Mains Water Back-up
6. As noted above, during prolonged dry spells the system will still run normally using the
automatic mains-water back-up feature. At 5% above the minimum water level, a
solenoid valve opens allowing mains-water to flow into the tank. The system will replace
the same amount of water into the tank as was taken out, plus another 25Litres. The
reason for this extra 25litres is so that the solenoid valve is not opening every time a toilet
is flushed
7. With the cover removed from the System Control Panel, and when the automatic mains
water back-up is in the process of topping-up the tank, water can be observed flowing
through Air Gap identified at Figure-2 above. This air gap is a legal requirement
designed to ensure that mains-water and rainwater can never come into direct contact
except within the tank itself. This visible flow of water is therefore by design and is no
cause for concern.
8. The management system is factory pre-set to feed mains-water into the tank when the
tank level is 5% above the minimum point, which is ideal for most installations. Where
higher volumes of water are required the feeding point to can be raised to a maximum of
20% above the minimum point, using the MANAGEMENT integrated test program.
Mains Water Feed Control
9. When the system is running on mains-water it introduces the required amount of mains
water into the tank automatically as described above.
10. When the solenoid valve is open there should be a minimum flow of 25ltr/min.flowing
into the tank. If there are less than 15ltr/min. entering the tank, the system will
automatically stop, as this would indicate a possible leak between the solenoid valve and
the tank. The warning for this is the 10% LED light will flash 0n and off.
Freerain Installation Manual
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Automatic Holiday Protection
11. If the solenoid valve is open allowing mains water to flow for more than 1 hour, the
MANAGEMENT will automatically switch the system off, as there may be a leak from
the internal pipe-work to toilets, washing machine or outside tap. The warning for this is,
the 10% LED light will flash on and off.
Automatic Test of the Solenoid Valve
12. The system will automatically open the solenoid valve 20 days after the last opening for
one minute. This prevents stagnation in the mains-water pipe, exercises the solenoid
valve, and maintains good water quality.
Management Test Programme
13. The Freerain system is fitted with a Management Test Programme, for use as described in
detail in Section [X] (System Calibration & Testing) below.
Adjustment of Levels
14. Similarly, the 5% automatic top-up level and the pump-feed levels can also be adjusted as
described in Section [X] (System Calibration & Testing) below.
Errors Indications
15. The management system gives indications of errors by flashing different LED lights. This
will show the possible faults to be checked and rectified.
Freerain Installation Manual
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Section 4 – Servicing
NB – Do not clean electrical components with a wet cloth
Filter
16. Freerain recommend that the filter be cleaned one a month for the first three months and
subsequently once every three months. Dependent upon conditions these intervals should
be changed such as a high density of trees around the surrounding area, in this case the
filter should be cleaned more frequently.
Solenoid Valve
(Some larger installations may from from the
unit shown opposite)
17. If the water flow through the solenoid valve
is slow, clean the filter:
Twist knob as shown in the diagram to the
right.
In doing so this will automatically isolate
the water supply through the strainer
unit.
Unscrew fully and withdraw the strainer.
Clean thoroughly and replace
Screw the knob clockwise until tight.
The operation is now complete
Freerain Installation Manual
www.freerain.co.uk tel:01636-894900
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