We have a large generator..40kw..so we will have water from our well. But we don't want to run the generator but a few times per week. Therefore, we need water storage in the house. I called Culligan yesterday and found that you can buy their large water bottles for $6. I am told WalMart also has them for $12. We intend on having one in our kitchen with a hand plunger pump on it. This gives us water for a drink, wash our hands, water the dog, etc and we will refill the next time we fire the generator. My neighbor came up with this idea and I think its a real good one.

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), July 01, 1999

Answers

My guess is that you will be amazed at the amount of water you will use or need or use or want to use. Cleaning, washing, drinking, food prep, flushing, etc.

I have several 5-7 gal. containers to be used for drink and food prep. I also have 2 150 galllon poly tanks for cleaning, flushing, etc. (non-drinking). Last summer I purchased a used 1,000 gallon bulk tank, used on dairy farms for milk storage - double walled stainless steel. 500 & 1000 tanks are available at farm auctions or dairy farm dealers (too small for most U.S. diary farms) Mine cost 200 but they may be more because many are shipped to Mexico. Mine weighed about 1,000 pounds and I used my loader to move it.

A real hassle to get it moved and relocated into my garage. But now I have a large source so when I run my gen it will run until the main tank and other smaller tanks are full. There will not be any taste added to the water from a plastic container. My propane gen will run limited duty to add life to the unit.

As is typical, people who visit look at the tank and wonder what in the world I am doing. Have I gone crazy? I simply reply, yes. That ends the conversation. My point is, I would recommend a larger source tank if at all possible.

-- Daryl (rushmore@dailypost.com), July 01, 1999.

How do you get that stored water into the house? My idea of the culligan water bottle is just to have some handy water in the kitchen without gallon jugs of it cluttering up my counter space. Our generator is big enough that we can heat water, bake bread, cook, wash and dry clothes, take showers, wash dishes, etc etc all at the same time and even turn on heat or AC. We have 2000 gals of treated diesel for it. So, I feel our water storage should be our well. Our generator has a 50 gal fuel tank on it so don't have to be filling it every use. We have one bathroom with tub and will fill that for flushing using a kettle. I don't want to have to pack water. Been there and done that in Alaska. I guess its where you come from. The culligan jug idea sounds like luxury to me compared to how we have lived in the past.

Taz...who has some experience with doing it the hard way!!

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), July 01, 1999.

Taz, You have a good plan and it will probably work fine. From my perspective, I have two concerns. Both deal with the unknown - how long might the grid go down, or specifically, how long might my local power go down, since it is my home that I am trying to protect. 1) generator life and reliability. My gen is only 9kw. I must rely on it for water, unless I trek to the lake and pail it to the house and filter it. Not a pleasant thought @ -30. Come to think of it, not a pleasant thought at any temp. 2) ample water at all times for many people. I am planning to have 20 or more people staying with our family in the event of major problems. This gives us lots of people power, plus lots of water useage. I do not want to fire up the gen multiple times per day.

Also, if neighbors need water, it will be easier to draw down on a large tank than to keep firing up the gen. Did alot of planning before I got the tank because I was looking for the least expensive solution for a potential long term (10) problem.

-- Daryl (rushmore@dailypost.com), July 01, 1999.

Sam's Club. 55 gallon blue plastic (polyprop) water barrels, food- grade, closed-top, $22.99 each. They CAN be "special ordered". Oh, stock #968070.

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), July 01, 1999.

One thing to keep in mind, is that water freezes below 32 degrees F. I know that sounds obvious, but for those of us in cold climates, it will be important to move our water supply so that it is in a heated area, otherwise it won't be of much use.

Bruce

-- Bruce (bwebber@ameritech.net), July 01, 1999.

we're goin' to darryl's. no pushing and no diving from the shallow end.

a squeaky clean kiss to ya bud.

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), July 01, 1999.

Just this week in our local Central Tractor (Farm & Country Store affiliates) there were 1500 gallon poly water tanks advertised for under $500. Tanks down to 250 galons were also abailable. Put one of those in your basement and fill it before the power goes out. The your generator would only need to do top-offs.

With a low-mounted outlet, the weight of the water should give lots of water pressure, maybe too much in fact. Be sure to install an adjustable pressure regulator and set the outlet pressure to something well less than the maximum pressure of what your plumbing can handle. I think the last thing I'd want to have happen during Y2K is to have my pipes explode and have 1500 gallons of water getting loose where I wouldn't want it to be.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), July 01, 1999.

I have about 50 of those 5-gal blue "Culligan" water containers.

Much handier to move around than buckets or one gigantic tank.

I'm planning to fill them all. I also bought 2 5-gal yellow water containers (the kind contruction workers drag around) I can pour one of the blue 5 gal water barrels into this and get a nice moveable water source that is refillable.

I also have a 250 gallon cattle trough (somewhat new) in the basement that I can hook a pump to and after shutting off the main water inlet, back-feed the house through the basement sink. I've tested this and it works OK, I don't plan to leave it on all day, just for showers and maybe using the diswasher or the washing machine occassionaly.

To the poster who suggested the 1500 gallon poly tank nice idea,....How do you fit that in your basement?

-- Plonk! (realaddress@hotmail.com), July 01, 1999.