A homeowner in Johannesburg bought a 5 000 litre tank for R6 000 and paid R800 to have it delivered. Then he called a plumber to connect it. The connection needed a stand, thirty metres of pipe, a booster pump, a pressure vessel, a switchover valve and a non-return valve. That bill came to R48 000.
That’s the extreme end, but the shape of it is normal. The tank is the cheap part of a tank installation. What you spend afterwards depends entirely on what you want the tank to do, and most people work that out in the wrong order.
Decide which install you’re doing first
There are two completely different jobs here, and they cost different money.
Rainwater from the roof, feeding a garden tap. You need a base, a downpipe connection, a screen and an overflow route. No pump, no plumber, no electrician. Most people can do this themselves over a weekend.
Municipal backup, feeding the house. You need a base, a connection into your house plumbing, a float valve, a non-return valve, a switchover arrangement and a booster pump with its own electrical work. This is plumber’s work and it costs several times what the tank did.
Everything below splits along that line. Work out which one you’re building before you buy a single fitting.
What the job costs
| Part of the job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Delivery | around R800 |
| Concrete base or plinth | R1 500 to R2 500 |
| Connecting the tank into house plumbing | R1 200 to R3 500 |
| Booster pump, supplied and fitted | R3 000 to R8 000 |
| Electrical work for the pump | R500 to R1 500 |
| Installation labour | R2 500 to R6 000 |
A basic installation of a 5 000 litre tank, meaning base, positioning and simple connection with no pump, generally runs R4 500 to R6 500.
A complete pressurised system, tank included, lands closer to R13 500 to R21 500. Location moves that a lot. The Western Cape runs highest at roughly R12 000 to R30 000, Johannesburg around R10 000 to R28 000, Pretoria R9 000 to R26 000, KwaZulu-Natal R10 000 to R27 000.
The useful way to think about it: for a rainwater setup, budget about double the tank price. For a pressurised municipal backup, budget three to five times the tank price. If you’ve got the tank price for your size already, that gives you a working total.
Choosing the spot
Get this wrong, and everything downstream gets harder. Walk the property with a tape measure before you commit.
- Near a downpipe if you’re harvesting rain. Every metre of pipe you add is cost and pressure loss.
- Close to where the water is needed if you’re feeding the house. The R48 000 job above was partly thirty metres of pipe.
- Away from foundations. Overflow water and a leaking fitting both end up in the ground next to the tank.
- Reachable by a delivery vehicle. A 5 250 is 1.82 metres across, so check the gate and the passage. The full size and dimension list has the measurements for every tank.
- With room above the lid. You need to open it to clean it.
- Level and firm underfoot. Sloping or soft ground means more base work.
Building the base
This is the step people skimp on, and it’s the one the warranty depends on.
A full 2,400-litre tank weighs about 2.4 tonnes. That load sits on one footprint, and it does not move.
You have three options. Existing paving, if it’s genuinely level and solid. A concrete plinth, which needs to be at least 85 mm thick and 100 mm wider than the tank’s diameter. Or a steel tank stand, which costs more but goes in immediately and buys you a little pressure.
Whichever you choose, the surface must be smooth and level, and no part of the tank base may hang over the edge. An overhanging tank flexes at the rim when it’s full, and that’s where they split.
Never put a tank on a wooden deck, a balcony or a raised structure without having someone check the load first. Even a 500 litre tank is half a tonne.
Connecting rainwater from the roof
Working from the gutter down.
- Screen the gutter. Leaves and grit that get into the tank stay in the tank. A gutter guard or a leaf screen at the downpipe saves you cleaning it out later.
- Fit a first flush diverter. The first water off a dry roof carries the dust, bird droppings and debris that built up since the last rain. A diverter dumps that before the tank fills.
- Reroute the downpipe into the inlet. Keep it as short and as straight as you can.
- Mesh the inlet. Mosquitoes breed in standing water and they will find an open inlet.
- Run the overflow somewhere sensible. A stormwater drain, a garden bed, anywhere except against a wall or a foundation.
- Fit a tap at the outlet. With a plastic fitting, not a metal one.
That’s the whole job. No pump, no plumber.
Connecting municipal backup to the house
This one you hand over, and here’s what should be in the quote so you can read it properly.
A float valve on the inlet. The tank fills from the municipal line and shuts off when it’s full, the same way a toilet cistern does.
A non-return valve. This stops tank water flowing back into the municipal line. It isn’t optional and it isn’t a nicety. Preventing backflow into the municipal supply is a legal requirement in most municipalities, because contamination in your tank becomes contamination in the street’s water.
An isolation valve. So the tank can be shut off and worked on without cutting the house off.
A switchover arrangement. Manual or automatic. Automatic costs more and means you don’t notice the municipal supply failing. Manual means turning a valve when the taps run dry.
A booster pump with a pressure controller. Covered below.
Correctly sized delivery pipe. Undersized pipe gives you poor flow no matter how good the pump is.
Ask for the quote itemised. A single figure for “tank installation” tells you nothing, and it’s how the same job comes back at R12 000 from one contractor and R30 000 from another.
The pressure problem
Gravity gives you roughly 0.1 bar for every metre of height. Municipal supply arrives at somewhere between 2 and 4 bar.
So a tank sitting on a plinth gives you a dribble. Even three metres up on a stand you’re at about 0.3 bar. That’s fine for a garden tap and filling buckets. It will not run a shower and it will not run a geyser.
If you want the taps to behave normally, you need a booster pump. The stands change the numbers far less than people expect, so budget for the pump rather than hoping height will do the work.
Four sizes ship without an overflow fitting
The 260, 2 000, 2 400 and 4 750 litre tanks come without one. Every other size has it.
For municipal backup, that’s usually fine, because the float valve stops the fill. For rainwater it’s a real problem, because rain keeps arriving after the tank is full. The water comes out from under the lid and runs down the outside of the tank onto whatever is below.
The 2 400 is both the most popular household size and a common rainwater choice, which is how this catches so many people. Either take the 2 700, which shares the same diameter and does have an overflow, or have one fitted before you connect it.
The fitting rules that protect your warranty
Four rules, and breaking any of them can cost you the cover.
- No steel, iron or metal fittings on the tank itself. Plastic only.
- Flexible pipe between the tank and any fixed plumbing. Rigid pipe transfers strain into the tank wall as it fills and empties.
- A level, smooth base with nothing overhanging.
- Nothing standing on the lid. It isn’t built to carry weight.
Full installation and warranty conditions are on JoJo’s own site, and it’s worth reading them before a contractor starts rather than after.
What you can do yourself
Yours if you’re reasonably handy: choosing the spot, laying a plinth, positioning the tank, rerouting a downpipe, fitting a leaf screen and first flush diverter, meshing the inlet, running an overflow, fitting a garden tap.
Get a plumber: connecting into the house plumbing, the float valve, the non-return valve, the switchover, and the pump plumbing. This is where bylaws apply and where a mistake contaminates more than your own water.
Get an electrician: the pump’s power supply, unless it’s a plug-in unit on an existing outdoor socket.
The split matters financially. Doing the base and the rainwater side yourself and paying a professional only for the house connection is usually the difference between a R20 000 job and an R8 000 one.
Finding someone to do it
JoJo lists approved installers by area on its site, which is the sensible starting point because they know the product’s own requirements.
Get three quotes. Ask each one for the quote broken down by component rather than as one number. Ask whether the base is included or extra, since it’s R1 500 to R2 500 and it’s a common omission. Ask what pipe run they’re quoting for, because distance is the variable that moves the total most. Ask whether the pump is included and which one. Ask who does the electrical work.
And ask them to confirm the non-return valve is in the scope. If a contractor is vague about that, use someone else.
Before you call it done
- Rinse the tank out before first use.
- Fill it partway and walk around every fitting looking for weeping joints.
- Check the base is still level once it’s full, because a soft spot shows up under load.
- Trigger the overflow deliberately and watch where the water actually goes.
- If you have a pump, run a tap and confirm it cuts in and out cleanly rather than cycling.
- Note the date. Gutter screens and first flush diverters need clearing, and tanks need an internal clean every couple of years.
Common questions
Can I install a JoJo tank myself?
The rainwater version, yes, if you can lay a level base and reroute a downpipe. Connecting a tank into your house plumbing is a different matter, because it involves the municipal supply and there are bylaws attached.
What does JoJo tank installation cost?
A basic 5 000 litre installation with no pump generally runs R4 500 to R6 500. A full pressurised system including the tank lands nearer R13 500 to R21 500, and more in the Western Cape and Johannesburg.
Do I need a plumber?
For a garden tap fed by rainwater, no. For anything connected to your house plumbing or the municipal line, yes.
Do I need council approval?
Storing rainwater in a tank generally doesn’t require it. Connecting to the municipal supply brings plumbing bylaws into play, including backflow prevention. Your municipality is the one to ask, and a local plumber will usually know the requirements.
Does the tank need a stand?
Only if you want the small pressure gain or you need it raised for another reason. A level concrete plinth is enough to hold it safely, and it’s cheaper.
Where should the overflow go?
A stormwater drain or a garden bed, well away from foundations and boundary walls. Overflow is not an edge case. A full tank in steady rain overflows continuously.
How long does installation take?
A DIY rainwater setup is a weekend, most of which is the base curing. A professional pressurised install is typically a day or two once the tank has been delivered.
Can I connect two tanks together?
Yes, and it’s common where one large tank won’t fit. They’re linked at the outlets so they fill and draw as one. Each still needs its own level base.
