This afternoon I wanted to blog about how my 20% project is going, a progress report of sorts. So far my mentor and I have met and discussed how we want the water recycling device to work, we have discussed the science behind how it will work, and what the different options are as far as materials we could choose to build it with. My mentor and I met earlier today and took various measurements on our roof and down to our rain barrel, which will be the reservoir for our captured water from the swamp cooler. We then went to the local hardware stores and purchased some of our supplies. At the hardware stores we purchased two 10 ft. lengths of white pvc pipe, eight white pvc 90 degree joints, one hose adapter, c batteries for the timer we will be using, an in-line filter that will be used in the irrigation system, and a package of stakes to hold the main line of the irrigation system. We ordered our rain barrel from amazon.com and we got it a few days ago. The rain barrel is a 50 gallon barrel that has a spigot at the bottom center and has a rectangle cut out on the top to allow the captured water from the swamp cooler in. It has a wire screen that will allow the water into the barrel but keep larger debris and insects from getting in. I thought is was very important when shopping for a rain barrel for this project, that it have some sort of screen that would not allow insects, mainly mosquitoes, into the barrel where they could lay eggs and have their larvae grow.

   

     Later on today we will be working on attaching a piece of new pvc pipe to the existing pvc pipe coming down the roof from the swamp cooler and redirecting the flow of water from the swamp cooler through the new pipe and into the rain barrel. We are still discussing how to install the in-line filter, we may have to raise the rain barrel up on a stand or blocks in order for it to fit. The spigot on the rain barrel is very low on the barrel, which is a good thing when doing something that is gravity powered, but the in-line filter needs room below the spigot while not going through the wood deck.
     So far this project has been easy to work on. I am enjoying working with my mentor (my dad), going through the designing process, and learning some of the science behind how this water recycling device will work. It is easy to enjoy this project when my mentor is very knowledgeable about the subject and is excited about the project itself. He really loves building stuff like this. My mentor is really good at going step by step through the processes that play a part in the construction of my device and explains the science behind it clearly and in a way that makes it fun.