Living without running water.....

[LONER]

My pump has been "dead" for 3 & 1/2months now, since we had the major floods here in the Mid-West. Since that time, I have been hauling water to use in the house, and for my animals. I decided not to put in a garden this year, as I just wasn't up to hauling THAT much water!
I have found that it takes 5-6 gallons of water per day to have enough to drink, have water for 4 dogs and 4 cats, and to stay half-way clean. In order to bathe, I heat 1 & 1/2 gallons ofwater in a "roaster" that is similar to a crock pot. It takes approximately 3 hours to heat the water warm enough to use for a shower. Here's how I do it. I heat the water in the roaster until it is very hot. I then use a small 4 cup measuring cup, and dilute 1/3 of the container with room temperature water. I pour this over my head and upper body, throughly saturating my hair. I then lather up with TEAR-LESS shampoo. This is VERY important as you will see later.... I use the shampoo to wash my upper body too. Then I rinse my hair using more diluted water from the roaster and the gallons of cold water I have beside the shower. I then pour water over "all" of me, and use a washcloth dunked in the warm water to scrub and get myself clean. Then, I use more diluted water to get all the soap off. It works OK. I have maintained my job as a professional with no one the wiser (except for when I burned myself). The water I use to bathe with is then re-used to flush the toilet. Standing over a 10 gallon bucket torinse is one of the "joys" (NOT) of this lifestyle. If you pour about 1 & 1/2 gallons of water into the CENTER of the toilet bowl, from a height of abour 3 feet, the toilet will flush everytime.

Several problems were encountered....they are:
1.) I scalded my forehead and scalp; having 2nd degree burns, and a couple of half- dollar sized 3rd degree burns, over my entire forehead and a small portion of my scalp. This was on the 5th day I was using this method.
Problem: I was using "regular" shampoo, and got it in my eyes when I was rinsing my hair. Not thinking properly, because it hurt, I scooped water directly out of the roaster without diluting it, and poured it over my forehead to get the soap out of my eyes. THANK GOD I had PLENTY of cold water standing nearby! However the pain was AWESOME, and the skin started coming off in sheets as I poured cold water over it. There is no way to stop that kind of pain with JUST water. I finished my cleanp (VERY QUICKLY, I might add) and put a bag of rice, which I had in the freezer, on my forehead. By now, the skin was sloughing off badly, and the pain was not easing, so I went to the ER. By the time I got there, I was shaking all over....shock, I guess. The docs required a full explaination of HOW this happened before they would treat me, I guess, to make sure of what kind of burn it was, and although this thought helped me remain rational, I still wanted to slug them!!
I don't know WHAT they put on my head, but the pain began to ease immediately. Then they gave me a shot and I felt MUCH better.
2.) I have had some difficulty getting water. The near by National Park has restricted water usage to "Campers Only," so I have been reduced to hitting up gas stations and convienience stores at the water hose! Should there ever be a "real" TEOTWAWKI emergency, I'm sure these would not be available either. I had two 50 gallon water barrels that were full when this started, but they were used up early on. Remeber.....you can NEVER store enough water!!
3.) It has NOT been possible to burn my trash as I usually do, as I have no water to extinguish a fire if I lost control of it. I have been buring my garbage.....oh yes, THAT is fun too. But I think this has been a good preparation for me of what MAY come to pass before I get to leave God's green Earth!
Just wanted to "share" some of my experience and what knowledge I have gained from this experience.
I will be buying a new pump, but they cost not only the price of the pump, storage tank, etc., but also the cost of hauling the pipe up and putting a new pump at the bottom of the well. Since this is a month or so still away, I have decided to purchase one of these in the meantime....then I will be ready when "it all comes tumbling down":
http://www.lehmans.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=363&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=pumps

Additional pointers....
Nice to have: Baby Wipes are nice for a quick clean up if you aren't too dirty.
Alcohol and cotton balls are LIFE SAVERS! Wiping your underarms with an alcohol soaked cotton ball will destroy any body odor, Plus, it tends to cool you off.

PLEASE note: There has NOT been enough water to wash dishes or clean house. I have washed dishes 2 times, and it used a good amount of water. Since then, I have switched to paper plates and plastic silverware. I would not typically do this, as they are a waste of natural resouces, but I can burn the paper plates in the wood stove this winter.....PLUS, my refrigerator also "died" atthe same time as my pump and I have been eating mostly"prep" foods, as they are not as messy, and are not as gooey and juicy as "regular fare, so the paper plates are not so dirty and don't attract bugs, etc. Plus, I store them in a sealed container outside, so if they DO attrack creepy crawlies. they are NOT inside the house.

[michigreg]

A lot of good, real-world info there....Thanks for sharing it! You're right about storing water, or anything else-You can NOT have too much of it!
I'm just sorry it got painful for you!

[michigreg]

Oh, and welcome aboard!

[BeWell]

I've had lots of experience with various lacks - no toilet, no running water, or running water but no hot water, etc - on and off for many years. I should add a few of my "experiences" too. Later when I have a minute.

Currently have running water but no hot water. DO have an indoor toilet now, though - makes life easier especially in the winter! ;-)

[Falls_Tech]

I recently had to replace a hot water tank and also had to heat up some water to pour over me to bathe for a couple of days. I'd say it took about 10 minutes to heat up. You have to be carefull not to heat it to much otherwise you have to let it cool.

[LONER]

HMM! Falls Tech...you must have heated it on the STOVE!! I'm out of propane too! LOL!
A major flood kinda puts a "kink" in ALL your plans!

[ejagno]

Hi Loner and welcome to the Tree. I'm so sorry that you are still having such a difficult time following the floods. So many people forget about a disaster just weeks afterwards but the recovery lasts so much longer. I know all to well how this feels. Just hang in there and do understand that what you are going through has given you an opportunity to be more resourceful and better prepared than most people who have never had an uncomfortable day in their lives outside of a few days during a power outage. When it lasts weeks and weeks turn into months you really begin to understand what kind of a person you are and just what TSHTF looks and feels like up close and personal. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

[Caplock50]

Loner, got sand on your place? If so, use it to scrub your dishes with...then rense them with water. Scrub the dishes real good...until most of the sand doesn't stick to them before you rense...that way the water is still 'clean' enough to use for flushing the toilet...and such.

Got a long, dark-colored water hose? Close off one end and fill it with water, and stopper that end, too. Lay it out in the sun. An hour later, roll it up and place on something about head high. Un stop one endand wet yourself down, and re-stop. Soap up, scrub, then unstop and rense. Or, after the hose has lain out in the sun for two hours or more, drain it into the bath tub, and add cold water until you have enough to bathe in.

If you have, say, a 30 gallon, food grade, barrel, you could paint the outside flat black. Set it out in the sun and fill with water...and put a lid on it. As you use the hot water from it, just replace that amount with cold water. You'll be surprised at how hot the water will get inside that barrel...and water hose, too...even on cool days.

If you want to get real inventive...put the barrel on a stand tall enough for you to stand under. Put a threaded hole either in the bottom or the lower side and screw in a water tap. Attach a short piece of garden hose...with a flower garden sprinkler can spout attached to it. Have a pair of vice grips handy if you don't have the water fauset. There you have it...an outdoor shower with hot running water.

[TNHermit]

HI
I bought one of those BIG old coffee pots at a garage sale. Bought a battery operated shower/ pump for 10 or 20 at cabellas.(I think) i heat the water in the coffee pot till its 107 degrees for me. i can take a comfortable shower with a gallon and a half of water. They teach you that kind of stuff in the navy. 2 minute showers. Actually I can go for three or four :-P

you actually could rig up one of those garden sprayers as a shower and pour the water into it.

[Caplock50]

I've also heard of folks using one of those pump-up type weed sprayers. Just be sure to use one that's never been used before. You could have two of them...one filled with warm, soapy water,...and the other with just clean, warm water for rensing.

[Caplock50]

Btw, scrubbing your dishes and cookware with sand is how 'Cookie' did it on the cattledrives while between water holes. They'd also collect dried cow/buffalo 'chips' to burn to cook the food over.

[3-L's]

My pump has been "dead" for 3 & 1/2months now, since we had the major floods here in the Mid-West. Since that time, I have been hauling water to use in the house, and for my animals. I decided not to put in a garden this year, as I just wasn't up to hauling THAT much water!
I have found that it takes 5-6 gallons of water per day to have enough to drink, have water for 4 dogs and 4 cats, and to stay half-way clean. In order to bathe, I heat 1 & 1/2 gallons ofwater in a "roaster" that is similar to a crock pot. It takes approximately 3 hours to heat the water warm enough to use for a shower. Here's how I do it. I heat the water in the roaster until it is very hot. I then use a small 4 cup measuring cup, and dilute 1/3 of the container with room temperature water. I pour this over my head and upper body, throughly saturating my hair. I then lather up with TEAR-LESS shampoo. This is VERY important as you will see later.... I use the shampoo to wash my upper body too. Then I rinse my hair using more diluted water from the roaster and the gallons of cold water I have beside the shower. I then pour water over "all" of me, and use a washcloth dunked in the warm water to scrub and get myself clean. Then, I use more diluted water to get all the soap off. It works OK. I have maintained my job as a professional with no one the wiser (except for when I burned myself). The water I use to bathe with is then re-used to flush the toilet. Standing over a 10 gallon bucket torinse is one of the "joys" (NOT) of this lifestyle. If you pour about 1 & 1/2 gallons of water into the CENTER of the toilet bowl, from a height of abour 3 feet, the toilet will flush everytime.

Several problems were encountered....they are:
1.) I scalded my forehead and scalp; having 2nd degree burns, and a couple of half- dollar sized 3rd degree burns, over my entire forehead and a small portion of my scalp. This was on the 5th day I was using this method.
Problem: I was using "regular" shampoo, and got it in my eyes when I was rinsing my hair. Not thinking properly, because it hurt, I scooped water directly out of the roaster without diluting it, and poured it over my forehead to get the soap out of my eyes. THANK GOD I had PLENTY of cold water standing nearby! However the pain was AWESOME, and the skin started coming off in sheets as I poured cold water over it. There is no way to stop that kind of pain with JUST water. I finished my cleanp (VERY QUICKLY, I might add) and put a bag of rice, which I had in the freezer, on my forehead. By now, the skin was sloughing off badly, and the pain was not easing, so I went to the ER. By the time I got there, I was shaking all over....shock, I guess. The docs required a full explaination of HOW this happened before they would treat me, I guess, to make sure of what kind of burn it was, and although this thought helped me remain rational, I still wanted to slug them!!
I don't know WHAT they put on my head, but the pain began to ease immediately. Then they gave me a shot and I felt MUCH better.
2.) I have had some difficulty getting water. The near by National Park has restricted water usage to "Campers Only," so I have been reduced to hitting up gas stations and convienience stores at the water hose! Should there ever be a "real" TEOTWAWKI emergency, I'm sure these would not be available either. I had two 50 gallon water barrels that were full when this started, but they were used up early on. Remeber.....you can NEVER store enough water!!
3.) It has NOT been possible to burn my trash as I usually do, as I have no water to extinguish a fire if I lost control of it. I have been buring my garbage.....oh yes, THAT is fun too. But I think this has been a good preparation for me of what MAY come to pass before I get to leave God's green Earth!
Just wanted to "share" some of my experience and what knowledge I have gained from this experience.
I will be buying a new pump, but they cost not only the price of the pump, storage tank, etc., but also the cost of hauling the pipe up and putting a new pump at the bottom of the well. Since this is a month or so still away, I have decided to purchase one of these in the meantime....then I will be ready when "it all comes tumbling down":
http://www.lehmans.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=363&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=pumps

Additional pointers....
Nice to have: Baby Wipes are nice for a quick clean up if you aren't too dirty.
Alcohol and cotton balls are LIFE SAVERS! Wiping your underarms with an alcohol soaked cotton ball will destroy any body odor, Plus, it tends to cool you off.

PLEASE note: There has NOT been enough water to wash dishes or clean house. I have washed dishes 2 times, and it used a good amount of water. Since then, I have switched to paper plates and plastic silverware. I would not typically do this, as they are a waste of natural resouces, but I can burn the paper plates in the wood stove this winter.....PLUS, my refrigerator also "died" atthe same time as my pump and I have been eating mostly"prep" foods, as they are not as messy, and are not as gooey and juicy as "regular fare, so the paper plates are not so dirty and don't attract bugs, etc. Plus, I store them in a sealed container outside, so if they DO attrack creepy crawlies. they are NOT inside the house.


Very very valuable information on how it "really is" without running water.
Thank you ever so much for sharing. This has been an additional eye opener.

Sorry to hear that you has such a bad burn though.

I for one am very appriciative of hearing your experience.

You have really have a time of it all. Best wishes for getting everything squared away and fixed.

[LONER]

Well...you're welcome!! Actually I shared what happened to get ideas like all of you have given me!!
Yes Cappy, I have sand BAGS from when I sand bagged the door during the SECOND flood in a month, but I'm keepin' that! Never know when I'll need it again. I have it stored right outside the front door so it's all ready to go....in a BIG, BIG Plastic storage box. I can get some more sand though. There is a company nearby that will let you have it free if it's for sand bags. I'll gat a couple more of those too. Then I can wash my dishes!!! It is really pretty UCKY to have ALL my dishes stacked up dirty. Thank you for that idea! I have read it before (YOU wrote it then too!) but had fogotten it.

Ejagno, thank you....those were some very nice things you said about me. I just keep hangin' on....there's nothing else TO do!

And everybody, the burn healed up just fine. I still have one small mark where one of the 3rd degree burnd was, but it's not really noticable at all. However.....interestingly enough, the hair that has come back in where my scalp was burned is WHITE!!! AWESOME!! I have been MARKED! I don't see it as a bad thing, I think it's kinda cool! It shows up nicely in my medium brown (with blond highlights from the sun) hair. Kinda neat! I won't color it away, I have never colored my hair. it's just natural....like me! LOL!!!

[Belle]

Loner, for future reference, if you get soap in your eyes, a dry towel will do a better job of stopping the stinging. Water just spreads it out. Glad you're on the mend and thank you for posting things some of us might not have thought about.

[Caplock50]

Loner, yep, and it's been a while since I posted it. Guess I might need to do some up-dating?

Glad you're ok,..and everything is working out.

God bless.


Edited to add:

And don't throw away the sand once you've used it to 'wash' your dishes. Just spread it on something out in the yard...the ants will clean it all up so you can use it again to wash them dishes.

[LONER]

OK Cappy, thank you....I wouldn't have thought of that either!
I went by that place that gives away sand and got 2 big bucketfuls, so I should be able to clean things up around gere! Boy! Will that be a relief!!
Thanks again.

[Falls_Tech]

HMM! Falls Tech...you must have heated it on the STOVE!! I'm out of propane too! LOL!
A major flood kinda puts a "kink" in ALL your plans!

yep, I heated it on the stove and only washed certain areas.

I also bought several no-rinse body wash, shampoo and hand sanitizer. I haven't tried the body wash or shampoo but I carry the no rinse hand sanitizer in the glovebox and use it perhaps once or twice a week. It's worth it's weight in gold when you need it.

come to think of it, I've got some of those 'wet' prepackaged wash clothes also. Haven't tried them yet either.

Redundancy is the name of the game.

[BeWell]

Having lived in "odd" circumstances many times over the years, here are a couple of things I've experienced or done that may or may not be helpful...

With little water (only if you have enough property) making a trench latrine saves a LOT of water. Or at least peeing outside, or using a "chamber pot" of sorts and then disposing contents in a safe manner that will break down - making a separate compost pile for solids works fine. Using layers of compostable materials like leaves, leaf mould, dirt, sawdust from raw (non-kiln dried) wood, chipper shredded stuff, etc.

Sponge baths with a gallon of water, washcloth, towel to stand on and soap which rinses easily (Kirks Castile, Pears) works very well except for hair washing.

Adding a bit of white vinegar to the wash water helps cut skin oils and is anti-bacterial.

Using a bit of vinegar under the armpits cuts odor and isn't harmful like isopropyl alcohol, which is absorbed into the skin, and the skin around the armpits has lots of lymph nodes - better to avoid the alcohol, for health reasons.

Catching rain water in such circumstances is really good. I met people in Portland, OR where it barely rains all summer, and they caught enough rainwater for all uses except drinking for around 10 months of the year, and they said with another catchment tank they coould go all year.

A few years ago Dh said to save some water since he was "fixing" something with our interesting water system, estimated time about 2 or 3 hours. I figured it would really take longer, and filled every single clean bucket, pot, and bowl with water - about 55 gallons. The water didn't get fixed for three days, and by the end of the three days, I was down to 2 gallons.

And this was using only 1 or 2 gallons per bucket bath (squat and pour method), barely washing any dishes, and simple cooking.

If people want enough water to wash dishes - even with sand or not using dish soap - and some kind of liveable personal hygiene, and actually cooking, not just heating canned food up - they should try going without running water for a few days.

We have a well and pump every so often, filling 3 water storage containers, capacity about 3,000 gallons. We have 6 people using this water, including laundry. We have a gen. and some stored gasoline for running the gen for running the pump. Would love to have a hand pump, but the only ones I could find were way expensive.

Maybe a solar pump?

[Caplock50]

Folks, especially those with well-stocked workshops, get the water-well people to show you the insides of a hand pump. Look it over good and then go build yourself one. They're really very simple...at least the shallow well types are.

[Navajo]

Buy one of those 'camping shower' bags.

I have seen then at Target, Wal-Mart, REI has a nice one. Online like Amazon should should have them also. $10 and you have a 5 gallon bag to mix the water in and have a real shower. You can still capture the water for toilet use.

I remember hauling water as a kid, we got 'running' water around 6th grade. It was still on/off for years but we always had water in storage , just in case.

[BeWell]

Folks, especially those with well-stocked workshops, get the water-well people to show you the insides of a hand pump. Look it over good and then go build yourself one. They're really very simple...at least the shallow well types are.

Unfortuanetly our well is 120 feet deep...seems regular pumps won't work. Still need to look into that.

[Navajo]

Our water is down 575 feet. Good thing this isn't our BOL.

Mind you it is real good water!

[Freeholder]

Having spent years living without running water or electricity, I guess I'd better make a few comments on this thread!

First, what are you hauling water in? If you don't already have them, get at least two, preferably more, five-gallon water jugs. People who have to haul all their water usually have a tank or 55-gallon barrel in the back of a pickup, and use a hand gas pump (never used for gas!) to transfer the water to a barrel or tank inside the house. We used to keep a 55-gallon water barrel next to the front door (inside) with a wooden lid on it. The lid was in two halves, hinged in the middle, so we didn't have to expose the entire top in order to get water out. The interior of the barrel was dark, so we didn't get algae growing in it.

Even hauling with five-gallon jugs, you should be able to get enough to wash dishes! Do you have stoppers in your sinks, or do you usually hand-wash in flowing water? If no stoppers, either get some, or get plastic dish pans (I've also used large cooking pots). We heated all our water on a wood stove, and usually had a big kettle of water heating at all times, so I could do dishes (baths, etc.).

Is there dirty water available? You could soak your stack of dishes in dirty water, then wash them in clean water once the food on them had softened up a bit. It would take less clean water that way. Keep a kettle of hot water on the stove so you can add more as your dishwater cools off. Don't use more soap than you need, because it's got to rinse off.

For bathing, I would take a kettle of hot water and a kettle of cold water to the bathroom, and mix them in a third kettle, dipping from that one with water the right temperature. When it gets low, then refill from the other two. Sit or squat in the bathtub, so the dirty water can just go down the drain. (If I ever build another off-grid house, it will have drain plumbing from the tub and sinks even if it doesn't have running water -- saves carrying the dirty water outside.) We did use a galvanized tin tub when we lived in a cabin in Alaska, since there wasn't a tub in the house. But when we were without water in our house in New Hampshire, we were able to still use the bathtub.

Cleanliness is extremely important, both for health and for morale. It is possible to keep things clean even with very limited supplies of water, but it does take practice, and it does help to get ideas from people who have been doing it for a while.

Re: the toilet -- make and use a sawdust toilet. They really don't smell if used properly, and are cheap to make. If you don't have water to wash the buckets out after they are emptied, they will smell -- coat them with whatever you are using on top of the pile (peat, sawdust, etc. -- I'd recommend peat, which you can buy by the bale at feed stores), and that will help minimize the odor. Leaving them out in the sun for a few days will kill odor, also. Google The Humanure Handbook to read a free copy of the book.

There is probably more to add, but it's time for me to go home from work (I finished a major project earlier and was told not to start on the next section of it just yet, so have been online more than I usually am here!).

Kathleen

[Chuck]

We haul water for everything and have for probably the last 20+ years. We use a sun shower to bath just mix the water to what ever temperature you want and dump it in the bag. For laundry we have a small Danby washer we heat water on the wood stove and dump it in the washer. Living without running water is can be inconvenient but is not difficult once you get a system worked out.

[Rhealady]

Dear caplock,
The word, without a Texas accent, would be rinse, not rense. But we understand what you are saying and appreciate what you have to offer. Thanks.

[LONER]

Thank you everyone! I know this thread has been VERY instructive for me!

Be Well said: Adding a bit of white vinegar to the wash water helps cut skin oils and is anti-bacterial.

Using a bit of vinegar under the armpits cuts odor and isn't harmful like isopropyl alcohol, which is absorbed into the skin, and the skin around the armpits has lots of lymph nodes - better to avoid the alcohol, for health reasons.
I never even thought of my lymph nodes!!

Freeholder, I am using gallon jugs at the moment. Like I said, I have several 55 gallon barrels, but really don't have any place I can fill them. That's a LOT of water. I go through about 20 gallons every 3-4 days. That's for showering, drinking, and water for my 4 dogs and 4 cats (not to mention the wild critters that stop by for a drink!) I could easily haul more water, but have no place to get it other than gas stations and stores. I am going to look into a different camp ground where the owner knows me, and see if I can pay for filling my barrels.
My toilet is no problem at all....I just use the shower water that I collect in another bucket. I have done that for years, even when I have running water, just because I'm obsessive-compulsive and can't stand to waste things....water especially.
As far as dishes.....I usually do soak them. And yes, I use stoppers in the sink. But when I cook, I COOK! and end up with 3-4 pots as well as glasses, silverware, plates, etc. So, I have switched to disposable plates and then I only have the pots and pans.
My barrels have bung holes, two on the top of each one. I just couldn't figure how to unload them from the truck....then Cappy mentioned draining them with a siphon and I "got it".
I do still have one more question though.....
For those of you who do this for all your water all year round. How do you keep your water from freezing in the winter? Do you keep ALL of it inside? BARRELsS and BARRELS of it? Last winter, I had 2 barrels, but they froze solid. I thought the barrels would crack....but they didn't. Do you use a water heater like in animal troughs? How do you keep it from freezing ?
I have like a "car-port" shed where I stack my wood.....I was thinking I could insulate it with bales of hay??? But in the dead of winter, I think the water would still freeze.

[dreadstalker]

Unfortuanetly our well is 120 feet deep...seems regular pumps won't work. Still need to look into that.

The bottom of the well is 120 feet but at what depth is the static water level in the well? That is what you will need to determine to know if a hand pump will work.

Edit.. Loner why not just fill a 5 gallon bucket or two every day at work?

[BeWell]

IIRC, the well guys said they hit water at 90 ft, DH would remember since he talked with them. They drilled a bit lower, sometimes the water tables around here are a bit variable since it rarely if ever rains in the summer.

Getting water out of the well is the one main thing that scares me about grid failure. (That at not having my swamp cooler in the summer!) I can cook on a wood stove if need be, wash clothes by hand or with some device, but water! no subsitute.

[Freeholder]

Thank you everyone! I know this thread has been VERY instructive for me!

Be Well said:
I never even thought of my lymph nodes!!

Freeholder, I am using gallon jugs at the moment. Like I said, I have several 55 gallon barrels, but really don't have any place I can fill them. That's a LOT of water. I go through about 20 gallons every 3-4 days. That's for showering, drinking, and water for my 4 dogs and 4 cats (not to mention the wild critters that stop by for a drink!) I could easily haul more water, but have no place to get it other than gas stations and stores. I am going to look into a different camp ground where the owner knows me, and see if I can pay for filling my barrels.
My toilet is no problem at all....I just use the shower water that I collect in another bucket. I have done that for years, even when I have running water, just because I'm obsessive-compulsive and can't stand to waste things....water especially.
As far as dishes.....I usually do soak them. And yes, I use stoppers in the sink. But when I cook, I COOK! and end up with 3-4 pots as well as glasses, silverware, plates, etc. So, I have switched to disposable plates and then I only have the pots and pans.
My barrels have bung holes, two on the top of each one. I just couldn't figure how to unload them from the truck....then Cappy mentioned draining them with a siphon and I "got it".
I do still have one more question though.....
For those of you who do this for all your water all year round. How do you keep your water from freezing in the winter? Do you keep ALL of it inside? BARRELsS and BARRELS of it? Last winter, I had 2 barrels, but they froze solid. I thought the barrels would crack....but they didn't. Do you use a water heater like in animal troughs? How do you keep it from freezing ?
I have like a "car-port" shed where I stack my wood.....I was thinking I could insulate it with bales of hay??? But in the dead of winter, I think the water would still freeze.

When we were hauling water, we kept one 55 gallon barrel indoors (can't keep water outside in the Interior of Alaska -- it turns into ice VERY fast, LOL!). Any water that was hauled was brought inside and dumped into the barrel, or stored next to it if it was too full.

Your barrels with bungs will work if you get a NEW hand-crank gas pump -- check Northern tool supply catalog. If anyone still sells those things, they probably do.

I don't know where you are, or how cold it gets there, but if you are in a northern state, bales of hay would probably not be enough insulation for your water barrels. Do you think you'll still be hauling water come winter?

I'd seriously consider finding some place where you could get more water, because paper plates aren't going to be sustainable. Actually, the way things are going, hauling water probably isn't going to be sustainable much longer, I'm afraid. Need to be seriously looking at the alternatives so you can get your well working again, or figure out some other way to get water -- rain water collection off your roof and into a cistern?

Kathleen

[kendwell]

since 1974, have dug two dry 20' ft holes, drilled 1 400'deep dry hole, blasted with 20# of dynamite @ 150', filled with water and @ 20' of crushed rock. Got water, but sand followed in to 18' level. Next well 300' offset got 2 gpm excellent water at 110 ft, comes to 15' of ground level. I've got the lower end, pipe, fittings, and rod for a deep well hand pump. I've got an old windmill type with broken handle, but am going to opt for a new one.

Bison pumps, of houlton, Maine, makes a SS version, that also takes a 3/4" hose and will pump up at least to 2nd floor. Has anyone used this?

[SagebrushSue]

Howdy - just a thought or two. I had to deal with the problem of no water also. I found that I could take about 3 or 4 showers from the shower bags that you can buy in any sporting goods store or Wallyworld. You just fill with water and hang them outside or lay them on a flat surface. Many is the time when the water was way too hot and I had to put some in a bucket and cool down with other water. As for the water, I made a rain barrel out of a really inexpensive rubbermaid type garbage can that I bought at LOWES ($14.00)and cut a hole in the lid the same size as my downspout and put the downspout from the gutter into the hole. ( bought a new downspout which is flexible) I put a piece of screen on the end and my rain barrel is always full and clean. I saw a picture on the internet of someone who had built a sturdy bench along a shed and they had 5 ot 6 barrels on the bench, catching water from the gutter above.
Now I have 2 good rain barrels and then I also just use open plastic barrels and two more of those, which I used for watering plants, flushing the stool etc, and you can keep the clean water for doing your hair and showers. If you live in skeeter country, just put a small amount of canola oil or other veggie oil in the water and they won't infest your water supply. In the wintertime I just melted snow and used that. (Just don't use the yellow snow - teehee)

My mom was raised during the depression and she tells how her dad had a big cistern and he caught all the rain water into that, used a charcoal filter where the water entered the cistern, and they always had plenty of water and even drank it.

[BeWell]

What was the cistern made out of?

[SagebrushSue]

What was the cistern made out of?
It was a round cistern and as close as she can remember it was about 5 or 6 foot across and 10 ft tall made of bricks and cement and the floor was brick. Right under the house where he caught the water, he built a filter about 3 ft square that he put sand and charcoal in. It was in the ground about a foot, and then had a lid, and mom says she can remember sitting on it. Every so often he'd throw in some lime. Then there was a pipe from the filter to the cistern. To get the water out, he put a pump in it ~ one of those old kind where you pumped the handle up and down. They hung the bucket on the pump.

[SagebrushSue]

Wouldn't it be kinda simple to dig a hole and bury one of those big white plastic tanks like you buy at Farm/Ranch stores, fix the opening with a screen/filter of some kind and run your downspout into it to catch all the rainwater? Then just put in a pump to get it out . . . . or like we had years ago, the cistern was on top of a hill and had a pipe to the house. Course then we had to go to town and buy water and haul it to the cistern.
We had good water pressure too, and there was no electricity involved to get the water out. Once in a great while, I'd just throw some bleach in there and none of us ever got sick. Just a thought.

[Homesteader1]

It was a round cistern and as close as she can remember it was about 5 or 6 foot across and 10 ft tall made of bricks and cement and the floor was brick. Right under the house where he caught the water, he built a filter about 3 ft square that he put sand and charcoal in. It was in the ground about a foot, and then had a lid, and mom says she can remember sitting on it. Every so often he'd throw in some lime. Then there was a pipe from the filter to the cistern. To get the water out, he put a pump in it ~ one of those old kind where you pumped the handle up and down. They hung the bucket on the pump.

Hey that sounds like the one I found here at our farmhouse and I mean literally found, I was walking across the yard ( which we'd been watering heavily to get grass seed to grow) and next thing I know I'm looking at bricks and I looked up and I'm underground. It was scarey and thankfully I wasn't hurt to much( strained one shoulder) It was covered with old timbers and dirt on top and one had rotted and fallen inside the cistern, hence where I fell through.

[Emily]

I just picked up a solar hot water 'heater' in the camping section at Wal-Marts this weekend. You can hang it on a clothes line, let the water heat up in the sun then hang it on the shower head to take a shower with. It is really awesome.

[SagebrushSue]

Hey that sounds like the one I found here at our farmhouse and I mean literally found, I was walking across the yard ( which we'd been watering heavily to get grass seed to grow) and next thing I know I'm looking at bricks and I looked up and I'm underground. It was scarey and thankfully I wasn't hurt to much( strained one shoulder) It was covered with old timbers and dirt on top and one had rotted and fallen inside the cistern, hence where I fell through.

Oh Wow!! I am glad that you weren't seriously hurt when you fell into the ole cistern/well. I've heard of several folks who have fallen into these things on old farms. If you don't live in Iowa, then it probably isn't the same one I'm talking about...heh heh

NOT a laughing matter however....glad you are ok.

[Homesteader1]

Sagebrush Sue My Dh has corrected me, what I fell into wasn't a cistern or a well, but a cesspool(sp?) Okay.... it hadn't been in use for years and was dry, okay now stop laughing!:oops:

[hunybee]

http://www.addemoticons.com/emoticon/animated/AddEmoticons04263.gif

[momof23goats]

IIRC, the well guys said they hit water at 90 ft, DH would remember since he talked with them. They drilled a bit lower, sometimes the water tables around here are a bit variable since it rarely if ever rains in the summer.

Getting water out of the well is the one main thing that scares me about grid failure. (That at not having my swamp cooler in the summer!) I can cook on a wood stove if need be, wash clothes by hand or with some device, but water! no subsitute.

Be Well, lehmans, has a hand pump, that you put down right next to your electric pump. I think it is 399$. now it could be 499. but I think it is 399.
wat cheaper, that a solar pump. I found one for my well, but it was over 800, so I didn't get it. solar pumps cost a lot of money.

[BeWell]

Interesting about the brick cistern, Sagebrush Sue - and thanks for the Lehman's idea, mom. I haven't looked in that catalog for a while. It is hard to find a hand pump that will pump from a 120 ft deep well. We need to do something but the ones we've found were way up there in price.

But, there is no workaround for water!