Backup for Well Water During Power Outages

One of the challenges, filling from the top might not fill at all, unless you've got some way to vent the air from the top of the chamber.

It's complicated.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon
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HerHusband wrote in news:XnsA3F365DEFD419herhusband@213.239.209.88:

I have two trash cans, lined with a couple of 39 gal. plastic leaf bags. I don't know how big the trash cans are - knee high and about as wide. I'd guess 30 gal. I top these off every month or so if not used. When needed I just dip in a pail and pour in the toilet bowl. No need to use tank.

Works for me for our few outages.

For drinking and cooking I have a separate water supply.

Reply to
KenK

I have a bunch of gallon jugs in my basement that I fill from the over-flow tube from my humidifier. Not much goes to waste here.

Reply to
philo 

On 11/28/2014 5:35 PM, philo wrote: ...

That was the advantage of having the windmill...we've got some heat and a secondary gas range in the basement that let's us cook but with the well now on submersible in same predicament as OP.

I keep thinking should do something to get enough backup to do so but it's a real pain as we're laid out as there are two separate meters for the farmstead and the well and the house are on separate one so the cost for transfer switches is double plus the wiring interconnect is extensive owing to distances between locations.

All in all, now that we're no longer keeping cattle in large numbers, we've taken the expedient of just going to town for a day or so if it's going to be a long time--otherwise the extra jug or two and ahead of severe weather forecasts that look like could cause issues we'll stockpile some in large pots and a few gallon jugs, too...

Reply to
dpb

Check out my buddy here he's selling his farm

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Poor bastard is about ten years younger than me but completely ruined his lungs due to smoking, has to retire and possibly move to assisted living.

Reply to
philo 

I think it's a good idea to have some water stored. One way or other.

Smoking killed my Dad, he was only 79. spent his last years in rough shape.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

For the toilets, just get a portapotty. They take very little water to flush. If you put in a water storage tank, you can get an RV demand pump to pressure the water lines.

Reply to
Jim Rusling

I can see that being an issue for a tank that only has an inlet.

However, with an inlet and an outlet, the water/air in the tank should exit the tank as new water is coming in from the top. For example hot water heaters don't have air vents and they fill and drain just fine. Or the way air is pushed out of a garden hose when you first hook it up.

Essentially, the water tank just becomes a fat section of pipe in the water line. :) Not too different in concept from adapting a 1/2" pipe up to 1" pipe, then back down to 1/2" again. The 1" section is the "tank".

In any case, I'm leaning towards 5 gallon water jugs I can just store in the pump house. We typically only have one or two outages a year, and the only thing we really need additional water for is flushing toilets. I just can't justify the expense, complications, and maintenance of generators, inverters, or large storage tanks. They would be only be needed for longer outages when the existing pressure tank runs out.

Anthony Watson

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Reply to
HerHusband

Unfortunately, same here...

My dad died from smoking related cancers at 51 (same age I am now). My uncle died from lung cancer in his 30's. Step mom died from smoking related cancers in her 60's. My father-in-law just died from emphysema two years ago at 73 (the last 10+ years were very rough for him). Brother-in-law also died from emphysema at age 61. It amazes me people still take up smoking.

Anthony

Reply to
HerHusband

Water will exit, air, not so much.

For example hot water

They fill from the bottom and water exits from the top.

Or the way

That works because the velocity of the water through the pipe is high. If the 80 gallon tank was a hose, it would probably work there too. But it's not. It't a large vessel and air rises to the top, water stays on the bottom.

Reply to
trader_4

kept full due to lack of any air in it. I which case you get stagnant wat er because it will never be replaced in normal operation or you can have it constantly being replaced in his system. The latter results in it draining at the same rate. You two do not seem to understand hydraulics very well.

You know, now you're starting to annoy me. And your explanations are makin g less and less sense.

"YOu can have a tank full of water that is kept full due to lack of any air in it. I which case you get stagnant water because it will never be repla ced in normal operation or you can have it constantly being replaced in his system. "

Try reading the above that you posted a few times.

" YOu can have a tank full of water that is kept full due to lack of any ai r in it. "

That's an odd way of looking at it. Most would say a tank is full of water because it's full of water. Since you want to drag hydraulics and science into it, technically it's perfectly possible to have an empty tank without air in it at all. It's called a vacuum.

"I which case you get stagnant water because it will never be replaced in n ormal operation or you can have it constantly being replaced in his system. "

Water can be constantly replaced or not, with the tank always kept full. Your parsing makes no sense.

And finally, you have some nerve to say that I don't understand hydraulics. I explained to you how a second storage tank could be added. You even final ly said you get it, but obviously you don't because you're still confused. You posted that a second tank in series can only work if it's before the pressure tank? So, how then does a water heater work? It's a tank full of water, after the pressure tank.

And finally, I think part of your problem is that you're not being clear. Stormin clearly was referring to "the system Trader mentioned". You appear to be talking about adding the tank at a remote pump house, which Anthony brought up. I never discussed it, but there is no reason you could not have an extra storage tank there, in series, where the water is not stagnant. Good grief.

to get it to drain. Any air in it at all in normal use just turns it into another pressure tank connected to a common hydraulic system.

No shit sherlock. I said that in my first post. I even suggested that an option would be to have a tank of compressed air, nitrogen, etc plumbed in so that he could pressurize the system, use all that water through the normal system. Or he could just open the valve at the bottom and let it run out. Kind of like using a 5 gal jug. What does any of that have to do with stagnant water? And you would not have any air in the second tank. It's fed from the bottom, water goes out the top. Capiche?

Reply to
trader_4

The only purpose I can see to filling buckets after the power goes off is if you're concerned that there are some dummies in the house that are going to use up the water and then you won't have any when you need to flush.

Reply to
trader_4

When my wife moved in here, I knew better than to give her the "smoking" lecture....but she knew in advance that she would have to smoke out-doors.

As it turned out, those -20F Wisconsin winters are a good thing. One one of those days I heard the back door slam and she yelled

"Fuck this shit, I'm quitting"

and she did!

It's a horrible addiction, they say it's harder to quit smoking than it is to quit heroine.

Reply to
philo 

And just why would that be? You do realize that pumps kick on when the pressure drops to cut-in? No, it won't clear the line on one cycle but it will with repeated ones. Sheesh!

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Water conservation so someone isn't wasting it is one reason. The other is that I KNOW when I am about to run out so I can make a trip to refill them before it is needed.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Perhaps. I would rather just fill up some containers BEFORE we have a power outage. I can use our normal water supply as needed. When it runs out and I need to start using the water in the containers, I know my supply is limited and may need to go refill them.

Anthony Watson

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Reply to
HerHusband

Exactly or get up in the morning and find I have no water to make coffee :)

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Interesting. I'll take your word on that. I've never tried filling a tank like that to know for sure.

I learned something new today.

Anthony Watson

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Reply to
HerHusband

is kept full due to lack of any air in it. I which case you get stagnant w ater because it will never be replaced in normal operation or you can have it constantly being replaced in his system. The latter results in it draini ng at the same rate. You two do not seem to understand hydraulics very wel l.

ir in it. I which case you get stagnant water because it will never be rep laced in normal operation or you can have it constantly being replaced in h is system. "

normal operation or you can have it constantly being replaced in his syste m. "

ally said you get it, but obviously

nk to get it to drain. Any air in it at all in normal use just turns it in to another pressure tank connected to a common hydraulic system.

It will work if, and only if, the supply water to the house is running thro ugh that storage tank.

Well-storage-pressure tank-house works. The water in the storage tank is b eing constantly exchanged.

Well-pressure-house-storage does not work as there is no way to exchange wa ter in the storage.

Well-pressure-storage-house now works with the storage after the pressure b ut the house supply is still running through that storage tank.

Hot water tank works because the house supply comes AFTER the tank and thus the water is being replaced.

Harry K Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

My wife & I lived on our sailboat for ten years. The 100 gallon water tank I built in it filled from the top, exited from the bottom. That worked because I put in a check valve in a pipe "U" on the top...when the water was pumped out, the exterior air pressure opened the valve to let air in.

Reply to
dadiOH

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