illy 1 Posted November 7, 2013 The thread for discussions on storing, obtaining and purifying water for all your prepping needs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MidwestPX 172 Posted November 7, 2013 Always have multiple ways to purify water. Two is one, one is none really applies to water purification. Bleach, Polar Pure, various filtration units...it helps to have a little of everything when it comes to water and fire, IMO. You can get huge quantities of cheap bleach at Costco or Sam's and a little goes a long way when purifying water. For those storing bottled water, make sure the plastic is BPA-free. You don't want that leeching into the water while it's stored. Costco used to have these awesome boxes of water. Six, one gallon jugs made of BPA-free plastic in an easy to carry yet solidly constructed cardboard box. Had I known they were going to discontinue it, I would have bought every pallet since it's so easy to stack and store while taking up a pretty minimal footprint. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryan_j 0 Posted November 7, 2013 I have a well, so I am mostly covered. I also have a hand pump for the well. BUt I also keep 20 gallons of stored drinking water. Not sure what else. Rain catchment system? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Malsua 1,422 Posted November 7, 2013 NJ does not lack for water, but in an extended grid down period, you need a good way to purify water. Of course, I have a well and can pump as much as I want out of the ground but If i lived in the city, I would have several different purification methods and then add some bleach for good measure. I used to keep a rain barrel, but after a big freeze I lost that and never replaced it. I'm looking to do that again as my dog prefers rain water for some reason, even though our house water is great. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Howard 538 Posted November 7, 2013 I keep a container of 33,000 gallons of very lightly chlorinated water in my back yard Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hooligan 0 Posted November 9, 2013 I'm looking at getting together parts for a monolithic 5-gallon bucket system. It's basically two 5-gal buckets stacked on top of each other, connected by a ceramic filter. Bottom bucket has a spigot at the bottom. Seems like an inexpensive and simple way to keep gallons of fresh water on hand in a worst-case scenario. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vlad G 345 Posted November 9, 2013 My understanding that the ceramic elements they sell you in kits for two bucket systems are not actually purifiers, just filters. You might need to treat the water anyway afterwards. There is a reason why those filter elements are so much cheaper then the berkey type filter elements. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CMJeepster 2,765 Posted November 10, 2013 let's not firget that there are two things here: 1. Filtering. This is to take out debris (dirt, larger micro organisms, etc.). Simplest thing here is to use a physical screen (cloth, coffee filter, etc.). 2. Purifying. This it the killing or removal of the living things that can make you sick. Simplest thing here is to boil. Chemical treatment like bleach and tablets also work. UV treatment to kill harmful living this can be done as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mge_1 2 Posted November 15, 2013 Picked up some of those Emergency Water packs from Amazon. Great for your BOBs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CMJeepster 2,765 Posted November 15, 2013 Link? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Donobieus 15 Posted November 15, 2013 I have been told that I can't have a hand pump for my well. That the powered pump is actually pulling the water from sand and that a person just doesn't have the strength to draw it out. My well is deep too... I paid extra to have drilled deep enough to never run dry. Does this sound right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maintenanceguy 509 Posted November 15, 2013 All wells draw water from the sandy layer at the bottom of the well. The casing - or pipe has a perforated section at the bottom. The sand stays on the outside and the water flows into the pipe through a fine screen section. The rate at which water flows from the sand into the well casing determines how fast you can draw water from the well. Usually, 5 gal per minute is the target and if it can't deliver this, they keep drilling deeper. You'll never hand pump 5 gal per minute so your well should be adequate for a hand pump. The problem is this. The most common type of hand pump, a pitcher pump, pulls water up using a vacuum. Physics Lesson: The pump creates a vacuum as you pump it and it's actually the air pressure pushing down on the water that forces it up to the pump. Atmospheric air pressure is about 15psi. The weight of a column of water 30' tall has a pressure at the bottom that is 15psi. So... you can only use a pitcher type hand pump if you have water in your well within 30' (actually a little less) of the pump. My well has water at 23' so I can use a pitcher pump and I have one ready to be screwed on the top of the well casing. If your water is deeper than about 30 feet (probably really closer to 26 or 27'), you need a different type of pump. This type of pump has a long rod that reaches down into the water and the actual pump sits at the bottom and pushes water up as you pump the handle. This is more complicated, more expensive, and more fragile. In an emergency, a weighted cup on a rope will pull plenty of water from a deep well. The weight makes sure the cup sinks to fill with water. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravozulu14 0 Posted November 15, 2013 Is having a well drilled on your property a state ordinance or a city/town ordinance? what forms have to be filed to have it done? Just having well water to pump water for the garden would be good, aside from shtf type stuff. thanks in advance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maintenanceguy 509 Posted November 15, 2013 Permit pulled through the town, county dept. of health has to approve. This is all handled by the drilling company - they pull the permits, you need a license to do this work. However, growing up on a farm, we owned a small portable drilling rig and I have participated in drilling wells. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CPRPE 4 Posted November 18, 2013 A better bleach alternative is pool shock. Granulated kind. Has a much longer shelf life. Clorox bleach only has an effective shelf life (for safe disinfection of drinking water) of about a year/year and a half if memory serves. And in the summer the pool shock is available in every hardware store and HD/Lowes. BTW. Love that "prepping" in now on NJGunforums. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mipafox 438 Posted November 19, 2013 I have a well, so I am mostly covered. I also have a hand pump for the well. BUt I also keep 20 gallons of stored drinking water. Not sure what else. Rain catchment system? I was underprepared for water during Sandy and had drinking water but nothing else. I put buckets under my gutter downspouts and had plenty of water to run my toilets. But I always have plenty of bleach, so... Not a perfect plan but definitely something to keep in mind since it's a good hasty method. I've since learned, and noticed, that around here people tend to have plastic 55 gallon drums attached to their gutter downspouts. I'm not talking about "preppers," just normal folk. And the county even provides free drums under some sort of "green" program. But the practice apparently predates any of that nonsense. FYI - the www.oragamiboulder.com guy also sells downspout drums. Again, the idea obviously predates his "innovation." I'll take some pictures of peoples' drums in the borough and post them this week. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vlad G 345 Posted November 19, 2013 Theory is that you use a first flush system for the first bits of crud and then purify the water. Compared to NJ rivers, your roof is probably a stellar option. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mipafox 438 Posted November 19, 2013 Water off a roof down spout? I dunno about that one.... Ever see the crud.... That comes off the roof...? Well, I thought I made it clear that I had drinking water and wasn't using roof water for drinking. I'm sure that the thousands of people within ten miles of me don't have rain barrels for use as drinking water, either. Water is very useful. If you don't have it, you figure that out very quickly. But, since you brought it up, I have drunk mud. Not once. Dozens of times. And i once got a live tadpole or something in my mouth that an iodine tablet amazingly failed to kill after half an hour. And I have peed on a man experiencing heat casuality to cool him off. So, if it was the only water I had, I would happily drink roof water with a touch a bleach and some contact time. There were times in my life I would have been willing to skip the chlorine (or iodine pills). I have been a heat casualty as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CMJeepster 2,765 Posted November 19, 2013 Don't count out that rainwater: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cistern As I stated above, after the two step process (filter and purify), you should be good to go. Most rainwater cisterns in my neighborhood are used for garden irrigation. It's on my long list of things to do, after the tri-fuel conversion kit for the generator. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CMJeepster 2,765 Posted November 19, 2013 ...And the county even provides free drums under some sort of "green" program. *lighbulb* Do you need to show proof of residency? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mipafox 438 Posted November 19, 2013 *lighbulb* Do you need to show proof of residency? http://lcawaterworks.com/home/2013/03/lca-free-rain-barrel-workshop-may-1-2013/ http://www.emmausarts.org/view_events/earth_art_rain_barrel_project/ Email them. Pleas screw some of our women on your way out. They need it, and I'm only one Man. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GRIZ 3,365 Posted November 19, 2013 Water off a roof down spout? I dunno about that one.... Ever see the crud.... That comes off the roof...? You've never been really thirsty then. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CMJeepster 2,765 Posted November 19, 2013 Email them. Pleas screw some of our women on your way out. They need it, and I'm only one Man. Thanks! Love the pink watering can... No can do... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vlad G 345 Posted November 19, 2013 http://water.rutgers.edu/Stormwater_Management/rainbarrels.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mipafox 438 Posted November 19, 2013 Is having a well drilled on your property a state ordinance or a city/town ordinance? what forms have to be filed to have it done? Just having well water to pump water for the garden would be good, aside from shtf type stuff. thanks in advance You may or may not need a local permit. You DO need a well permit from the NJDEP Bureau of Water Allocation and the well must be installed by a licensed driller. Believe it or not, the pump has to be installed by a licensed pump installer as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CMJeepster 2,765 Posted November 20, 2013 Great read: http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=255677 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brucin 918 Posted November 25, 2013 Does anyone know if it is possible to hook a hand pump to a supply from a well about 45' deep and pump water through the existing submerged pump? I have seen systems where you run a second line but my well head is in a 4' deep pit and I would rather draw water from a fortified position (my basement). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Malsua 1,422 Posted November 25, 2013 Does anyone know if it is possible to hook a hand pump to a supply from a well about 45' deep and pump water through the existing submerged pump? I have seen systems where you run a second line but my well head is in a 4' deep pit and I would rather draw water from a fortified position (my basement). If your well wasn't as deep, probably. The problem is that no amount of vacuum will allow you to draw water up from 45 feet down. The pump's impeller should spin and allow water to flow through the pump and even if the impeller didn't spin some water could still move through the pump. The issue is that 45 feet of water is too heavy. You could theoretically pressurize the casing of the well and draw on the tubing and blow/suck water out. It'd be much easier just to figure out a way to activate the pump off of some batteries and an inverter. That's not a trivial amperage flow, but it's doable with the proper equipment. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bighungry618 448 Posted November 25, 2013 http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-58-Gallon-Harvesting-System-Granite/dp/B00213JPFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385402050&sr=8-1&keywords=gutter+rain+catch+system Looking at picking up one or two of these. Any opinions? Any Owners? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vlad G 345 Posted November 25, 2013 http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-58-Gallon-Harvesting-System-Granite/dp/B00213JPFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385402050&sr=8-1&keywords=gutter+rain+catch+system Looking at picking up one or two of these. Any opinions? Any Owners? Keep an eye on Woot.com. They regularly have sales for water barrel in the $50 range. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites