StillSmart

I don't know. The roof is about twenty years old, but there is a constant supply of fresh silt in the bottom of the barrels, which seems to be the top surface of the shingles being continually washed off. I guess I could get it tested, or buy one of the DIY test kits, but I don't know how good they are.

wormwood wrote: I guess I could get it tested, or buy one of the DIY test kits, but I don't know how good they are.

I used the pond ones all the time - I think it's an 8 in 1 test. I have found them to be very successful. Certainly for comparing. Boiled, tap & well water.

I think the silt is mostly dirt and dust that gets blown up and deposited by the wind or washed down by the falling rain.

Maybe, but I don't think so. At our last place we had the house roofed with shingle, but the garage had a metal roof. The barrels that caught the water from the house gutters always had more crap in the bottom than the ones that caught the water from the garage gutters, even though the garage gutters needed to be cleaned more often because of the trees next to them. The stuff in the bottom of the barrels for the house gutters was also much grittier.

I promised pics and here you are...if a bit later than promised

This is the main setup. Two spare fermenters converted for filter duty.

...the bucket on top has a filter tube connected in the floor, filled with the same carbon I use for refilling my Essencia filter, which allows a flow of water through at a rate of 35lt per hour to the lower chamber....

...as you can see the upper chamber is filled very simply from one of the coolant lines for my still simply stuck through a hole near the top - very technical

When the lower chamber is full I connect the 12v pump to my controller and pump the clean water to the boiler for heating to make new wash.

The trolly has mini castors I got in Lidl supposed to be for moving heavy furniture but great for moving my water filter even when it's full.

Simples!