SUPADIVERTA - syphonic rainwater diverter

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why should I use a supadiverta?
A. The 3 in 1 SUPADIVERTA is cost effective, easy to fit, low maintenance and provides cleaner and neater rainwater capture from multiple downpipes. WATCH THE VIDEO and see for yourself!

Q. How can a small head of water in a small pipe push against the weight of the water in the tank?
A. Once purged of air, water in the pipe and the tank becomes a single mass. The head has a pressure positive to the tank’s head and the tank’s lower head is correspondingly negative to the dynamic head. Simply put, the water in the pipe is `pushed’ at one end by the dynamic head and `pulled’ at the other end by the lower head pressure in the tank. This also explains why the flow in the pipe accelerates once syphonic conditions are established.

Q. What is Supadiverta made of?
A. SUPADIVERTA is made from U.V. resistant ASA; a tough recyclable plastic that has superior resistance to outdoor exposure and ageing.
http://www.ides.com/info/generics/8/Acrylonitrile-Styrene-Acrylate-ASA

Q. What is the main use of SUPADIVERTA?
A. SUPADIVERTA evolved from a project created to address house cracking - brick cracking issues SITE LINK but the cost savings, versatility and aesthetic benefits when used with rainwater tank installations has created the most interest. SUPADIVERTA is also popular with gardeners to provide additional water to dry areas and is our largest market.

Q. Does fitting a rainhead or diverter into a downpipe create a greater potential for blockages?
A. The SUPADIVERTA inlet is free flowing with no dead ends.
SUPADIVERTA diverts waters through a 750 micron filter before entering the internal reservoir, making it impossible for the outlet pipes to block.
The SUPADIVERTA filter is set at a 50 degree angle and is not positioned across the flow path to storm water.

Rainheads and other downpipe diverters can block when...

• The flow path is smaller than the downpipe's flow path.
• The rainhead or filter creates a barrier across the downpipe's flow path to stormwater. Such filters may be fitted either internal or external to the diverter and are often a separate fitting.

NOTE: If a diverter fitted to a downpipe presents an obstruction that will restrict the flow of water, the installation will generally not be compliant with plumbing regulations and many other products legally sold are NOT COMPLIANT with plumbing regulations once fitted.

For quality rainwater harvesting and to prevent blockages, gutters should be regularly cleaned of debris and leaves.

Q. We get leaves in the gutters but the gutters never actually block. We want to harvest rainwater but we are concerned about no longer having rainwater flushing out the storm water pipes if we fit some Supadivertas. How can we manage this?
A. Our long term tests have determined that Supadiverta loses about 4% yield to storm water except for extreme rainfall conditions. This low yield loss is insufficient to flush the stormwater pipes during normal rainfall but Aquatrek does recommend the storm water to be flushed occasionally. This normally occurs when a tank fills and the water diverts back to stormwater.
If you feel that an excess of debris may be diverted to storm water, fitting a small leaf diverter to the downpipe positioned under the Supadiverta will solve this problem.
Another option is to drain to a rain garden which then biologically filters debris and other contaminates before draining to storm water. See also Melbourne Water Raingardens

Q. What if I want to clean my gutters, how do I stop dirt going through the filter and into the reservoir?
A. Wrapping a few layers of Glad Wrap or similar around the filter will prevent this. The filter is also easily cleaned by back flushing with a garden hose.

Q. I understand why the flush outlet is level with the floor, but why are the other two outlets set at two different heights?
A. Primarily, it allowed the Supadiverta to be a slim line design by having two small syphonic outlets effectively acting as a gear box for varying flow conditions. It also allows a greater versatility of use by prioritising flow to different areas. For example, if harvesting to two rainwater tanks, it can give one tank priority over the other. As the first tank becomes full or the rain intensity increases, the reservoir’s water level will rise and the second tank will then begin filling.

Q. Why are the anti vortex baffles angled?
A. Water falling even a short distance into a body of water creates a lot of bubbles. The baffles break up large bubbles and prevent a lot of bubbles entering the outlets.

Q. Will the flow of water through a tank’s bottom inlet stir up the sediment?
A. Quite the opposite! Research over a three year period demonstrated that flow through an inlet fitted a minimum 100 mm above the bottom of the tank rapidly dissipates, however, water falling even a short distance through a tank's top meshed inlet has amazing penetrative properties and the resultant impacting vortex rings can create significant turbulence and particle resuspension.
Water diverted by the Supadiverta is also cleaner with smaller and fewer foreign particles than water diverted to a tank by other commonly used methods, resulting in less sediment. The anaerobic zone is also oxygenated by the oxygen rich water.
It is recommended that heavily sludged tanks be cleaned prior to fitting Supadiverta. Ideally, tanks should have a bottom outlet that is used to drain the tank.
The University Of Warwick (UK) has a brief, easy to read research report dealing with the rainwater tank settlement (self cleaning) process, first flush diverters and the pros and cons of various filters. A recommendation in the report is to introduce water to the bottom of the tank while water removal should be from the top, the reversal of normal practice.

Q. We want to collect all the rainwater but separate and retain the dirty water. How do we do this?
A. The cleaner water diverted through the second and third outlets would be transferred to a tank as usual and the first flush water manually drained and used separately. To collect the water diverted to storm water, simply divert the bottom downpipe to a small tank’s top meshed inlet.

Q. I have pine needles in my gutters; will they get stuck in the filter?
A. This is possible but AQUATREK is conducting tests and has not encountered problems to date. The designed back flushing should remedy the situation and an internal inspection of the SUPADIVERTA a couple of times a year is recommended.
Pine needles can make water acidic and should, if possible, be prevented from entering gutters. Acidic water can damage pipes, pumps and fittings. Leaves and other debris can also alter rainwater PH levels.
A new technology surface tension guttering system can be viewed at: www.leafsafeguttering.com.au
The system utilises the existing guttering (which is lowered to install), is highly desirable in fire prone areas, attractively designed, well priced and is one of our favourite products.

Q. I was told that the government will end up taxing everyone who has applied for a rainwater tank rebate. The farmers get taxed if they have a dam, so why should l have a tank?
A. Vehement protest erupted across Australia on January 14, 2007 after the Herald Sun published the article:
OUTCRY OVER TAX ON RAIN
The article, which was picked up by numerous media outlets, was based on a leaked email written by the then CEO of the National Water Commission. The article stated the email had been confirmed by the National Water Commission (NWC) as accurate.
The email allegedly said in part; “Legally, all water in Australia is vested in governments” and referred to “issuing of specific entitlements” and “A residential household version could include a licensing arrangement and taxes for those wanting to collect more than a set amount”.
Outrage erupted from the public and both sides of politics and the CEO of the NWC later claimed the story was wrong and the email referred to by the Herald Sun did not use the word “tax” at any point.
The Sydney Water website reassures its customers with the statement: “Sydney Water will not charge you now, or in the future, for the use of your rainwater tank”. Similar reassurances continue to be given by other water boards and leading political figures.
It is unfortunate the rumour has perpetuated to urban myth status and has undoubtedly influenced some householders to either not claim their rebate or purchase a tank(s).

Q. We have a large tank in the backyard and a first flush diverter is fitted at the top of the wet system's vertical riser. We also installed rainheads at the top of the downpipes and were informed this would clean the water going to the tank. When we drain the first flush, the water is always clean and yet we recently had to dig up the buried pipe work to remove a blockage that looked like congealed tar and grit. We cannot understand where the tar has come from. We have a tiled roof. Any ideas?
A. Wet systems retain sediment as there is insufficient velocity to transfer a lot of debris up the vertical riser and most plumbing regulations specify that wet systems must be drained after it stops raining. This is to remove trapped sediment to prevent blockages and to prevent water stagnating due to the lack of an air/water interface, a situation that promotes anaerobic (devoid of oxygen) conditions. Wet systems are not always regularly drained and the loss of water is often cited as a prime reason for not doing so.
Still water has a natural settlement process and water in the vertical riser would have settled after the last rainfall with the upper levels containing debris free water. It is this water that flows into your ‘First Flush’ diverter the next time it rains if the pipe work was not flushed. The first flush from the ‘new’ rain event would still be in the downpipe at the other end of the wet system after your first flush fills!!!
The `tar’ is probably a combination of grit and pollutants from the house roof and bacterial die off. Water trapped in a wet system’s pipe work has no open surface ventilation and the bird droppings, decayed vegetative matter and other pollutants that are not flushed to the tank due to the pipe’s low velocity allows micro organisms and bacteria to flourish. This can make the water stagnant.
If the rainhead you have fitted has a secondary fine mesh screen across the downpipe's flow path, the screen also serves as an entrapment filter and nutrient rich bird droppings will be trapped by and later flushed through the mesh to the tank. Replacing the troublesome wet system with the SUPADIVERTA system will allow the possible harvesting of additional downpipes, be neater and the internal 750 micron divert filter combined with the optional first flush kit and inline filtering will supply much cleaner water. Sediment blockages will also be a thing of the past.

Q. But isn’t the SUPADIVERTA system still a wet system?
A. Yes, but there is no vertical riser and the water is transferred at greater velocity which self cleans the pipes. We also advise fitting drain valves to the horizontal pipe work. The water lost when draining pipes is much less than when draining 100 mm PVC pipe or the much thinner walled 2 mm (and not recommended) 90 mm PVC pipe.

Q. Got a question?
A. Feel free to call, we're available 7 days a week. Phone (03)97045339