Jump to content
illy

Water

Recommended Posts

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

wellConstruction.gifAll 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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

Keep an eye on Woot.com. They regularly have sales for water barrel in the $50 range. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...