Search Results for: water

Prepping? Water Above All Else!, by David R.

…water play is a temptation and leaving spigots open is common. You’d be surprised just how fast water can drain out of a 1,500 gallon tank. Get in the habit of using your rainwater, so that it’s part of who you are now, not just when an emergency arises. Conclusion Five years after installing my rain water collection system, I couldn’t be happier. My wife no longer lugs in store bought drinking water, and I no longer pay for it. More importantly, if it does hit the fan, I see those full tanks outside my home and know I can irrigate my garden, put water in my toilets (I have a septic system), see to our bathing needs and most importantly ensure my family will drink and cook with water that is as pure as nature intended it to be. Hit the fan if it must. We are water prepared!…


How to Make Old Fashioned Homemade Soap (Part 3 of 3), by Grandpappy

…it drips through the hole in the bottom of the upper pot. Rainwater is the best water for making brown lye water because it is soft and it contains no minerals or chlorine. Several easy ways to collect large quantities of rainwater can be found on my web site at: How to Find Water and Make It Safe to Drink. (Note: If you do not have access to rainwater, then you may use the steam distilled water sold at most grocery stores. Steam distilled water is chlorine and mineral free water. Instructions for making steam distilled water are also included in the above water article on my web site.) Your objective is to make approximately one-gallon of brown lye water from one fresh batch of cold hardwood fire ashes. Heat about one-half gallon of rainwater to boiling and then slowly pour it over the ashes in the upper container. If…


Water Works- Part 3, by JSP

…water heaters) that is plumbed to a safe place outside. You can use PEX-type products for this. The hole in the bottom of the tank is where the house water supply comes in, and the second hole at the top is where the hot water is taken off. Where does the hot water go? You plum that to your regular house hot water tank to the cold water “in” side of that tank. Yes, I said cold water in. We shut off the standard cold water in to the electric heater and everything that we will use for hot water first cycles through the Boiler and then into the house hot water tank. The reasons we do it that way are as follows: If the water from the range boiler is sufficiently hot, then the home hot water heater doesn’t have to expend any energy to heat the water. It…


An Emergency Household Water Supply, by St. Funogas

…directly into your plumbing system whether the tank is in your house, garage, or well house. When plumbed in, it also has the advantage of constantly refreshing the water inside. WATER WELL My current water-well pump uses 220V and in a grid-down event, a generator is used to fill my 500-gallon tank in about 40 minutes if the tank is nearly empty. This setup allows me to get 500 gallons of water any time I need it. Without a water tank, there are no convenient ways to store enough clean water for normal daily use during a power outage. BACKUP WATER SYSTEM For those who already have water-storage tanks in their plumbing systems, this backup system should cost less than $100 to install plus the cost of a 12V battery if you need to buy one. For those without a water tank, new 500-gallon tanks start around $525 and go…


A Portable Water Distiller- Part 1, by JMD

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…is not available the ethyl alcohol will dehydrate your body and you will need a lot of water to get it out of your system. anon it’s not a great idea to drink nothing but distilled water for a long time, but in a shtf situation, distilled water thats reasonably clean is a lot better than contaminated water. Also, in places where people have to collect rainwater to survive, traditional cultures have sometimes developed the habit of mixing in clean clay to muddy the water and then settle it out, to help re-dissolve some minerals into the water. Also storing the water in unglazed clar jars where the water gets into the pores of the clay and dissolves some minerals, helps with this too. long term it is not the best plan to depend only on distilled water or rainwater, one will end up mineral deficient. but for a few…


Thirsty Are Those Who Do Not Prep- Part 4, by The Grumpy Gunfighter

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…for one minute will kill most bacteria, protozoa, and viruses; however, boiling water will not remove chemicals, such as herbicides, pesticides, and solvents from the water. Additionally, boiling will not remove any heavy metals from the water. Boiling water will also not remove particles such as silt, dirt, and debris. Water with debris suspended in it is often referred to as turbid water. To reduce the turbidity of the water you are preparing, it can be helpful to filter the water first with a rag, handkerchief, millbank bag, or a store bought filter before boiling the water. It is also recommended by the CDC to boil water for three minutes at altitudes above six thousand and five hundred feet. The reason behind this is because water boils at lower temperatures at higher elevations. At sea level water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, but as we increase in altitude the boiling…


Water Contamination and Filtration 101, by MHN

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…for disinfection, meaning water can sit without fears of immediate incidental recontamination. Cons: Use of dangerous chemicals. Requirement of consumable components. As you can see, not all water purification solutions are appropriate for all purification requirements. If you receive water from a municipal supply, check with them to verify the quality of the water you do receive. Likewise, get your well or surface water tested to confirm your treatment method is appropriate for your water source. Remember though, in a SHTF scenario, your water source’s quality can change dramatically overnight. Additionally, pollution from chemicals, human waste, and radiological contamination should incentivize you to be proactive in how you make your water safe to drink. Disaster prep is all about contingencies. Identify your risks and prepare accordingly. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest This has been another entry for Round 70 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for…


Gravity Fed Water Systems, by J.S.

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…two water sources using a scoring system; each source is rated based upon the following attributes to obtain each source’s total score. The top two highest scores at the two preferred sources. The movement score ranges from -3 for stagnant water to +3 for rapidly moving water. The pollution score ranges from -5 for water unsafe to drink to +5 for water that is cleaner than bottled water. (Note: Some pollutants will completely eliminate a source from consideration, such as mercury or arsenic at high levels.) The height score ranges from for water that is level with its usage point to +5 for water that is 200 feet higher than its usage point. The volume score ranges from -2 for a flow that is a quarter of a garden hose to +5 for one that is a full 3-inch pipe flow. Distance from the usage point is not really a…


Water Treatment Options: How to Avoid Poisoning From Toxins- Part 2, by AJS

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…for drinking, cooking, washing, and laundry. For example, bring in three 5-gallon water bottles, each is intended for water storage for days 3, 4, 5, which you prepare the day of your arrival in advance of its need. Treatment of Water Materials You’ll need a few materials. To treat water, you will need a long, plastic tube and attached finger pump for water movement between source and water bottle, which is preferably a clear, glass bottle. You’ll also need another, separate tube and attached finger pump to move water from the water bottle to that day’s use container. Selecting Your Water Source and Properly Drawing the Water You do have a few steps to treat the water. The first step involves selecting your water source. Draw the water you will need always from the best available source you can find. Draw it untreated from below the surface but above the…


Surviving in an Urban Environment- Part 3, by J.M.

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…this reason, I’ll focus on the medium-term stuff. Water The general rule-of-thumb is that you can survive for three days without water. Clean water is critical, and it will probably be one of the most difficult-to-obtain items in a post-disaster, urban environment. For cooking and drinking, an average person needs about one gallon of water per day to stay healthy. This measurement doesn’t include water use for sanitation. (I’ll have more on that later.) The first thing you should do after a disaster is to fill as many containers with water from your faucets as you can, since you don’t know how long clean water will be available. Collapsible water containers [P1] don’t take much storage space when empty, and you can use them to collect and store a lot of water before your supply shuts off. If you have a bathtub, you should also consider having a WaterBoB or…


The Power of Steam – Part 2, by A.Y.

…not letting the water level get too low in the boiler. On the other hand, too high a water level can cause a problem called priming or carry-over, which is when the water is so high it goes into the engine with the steam and can damage the internals of the engine. The trick is to maintain a water level where it can always be seen in the sight glass. Now that we have covered the aspects of how to ascertain the level of water in the boiler, it must be discussed how to add water to the boiler. When the boiler is cold, the whistle or tallest fitting on the boiler can be removed and water poured in with a hose or buckets until it is at a good level in the sight glass. Also, a pump can transfer water to the boiler, if it is feasible. When the…


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Sawyer Mini Water Filter

…capable of filtering up to 100,000 gallons of water. Huh? What? Yes, you read that correctly. It can filter up to 100,000 gallons of water. This particular filter is meant for filtering water from a fresh water source– a fresh water lake, stream, or creek. It is not designed to filter sewer water or other “dirty” sources of water that may contain viruses. It is a very rare case for fresh water sources to contain a virus. So, please keep this in mind. This filter is for making water safe to drink from a fresh water source. The Sawyer Mini Water Filter is one of the smallest types of water filters you can find. It is easy to store in your bug out bag or the glove box of your vehicle. It weighs only a few ounces. You get the filter itself, a water storage collection bag that holds 16…


Desert Water — Where is It?, by Knun

…of water, until I hiked it with someone who knew of the grotto’s existence! No maps, contemporary or old, showed this liquid treasure trove. Is there a water distribution canal along your route? Would it be viable in an emergency? Are there livestock watering holes nearby? Would the owner allow access? A spring? Free standing pools? A seep? All of these could save your life when it’s 115 degrees out side and you find yourself without water. I would suggest looking for these areas in the fall. To illustrate, a water seep found in the spring may be dry in the late fall season. If you find water in late summer or in the fall chances are it will probably be there year round. Be aware of droughts since even those areas of water may dry up during a drought. But there is an even better way to prepare, and…


Resource Managment – Water, by Z.H.T.

…a lot more water to buy us a lot more time. Additionally, these open air containers would be severely susceptible to leakage, contamination, and evaporation. Buying an Appreciable Water Supply Obviously, the easiest way to fix this problem would be to supplement my stores of bottled water. While you can’t put a price on safety and your welfare, the fact remains that bottled water is incredibly expensive. Okay, I know everyone is raising their eyebrows at me. It’s just bottled water! Are you that cheap? Well, we aren’t talking about needing a case or two. We are talking about needing 100 gallons. Just a quick Internet search shows that you can buy a gallon of water for $5.70. So, you could spend $570 dollars and only buy yourself a month worth of water. Where are you going to store it? I sure don’t have a place for that much water….


Water is Life, by Damon S.

…the most common things on Earth, right?  Absolutely.  You are right, water is everywhere.  The problem with that observation, however, is that very little of it is consumable.  About one percent of fresh water on Earth is potable, or about .007 percent of all water on Earth is potable.  With that in mind, water for your family to drink becomes a much bigger issue.  There are ways around this problem, though. Americans are blessed with a water system that provides healthy and usually quite good tasting water for use of our citizens.  It comes out of a convenient metal fixture in my sinks, my bathtubs, and my water hose.  What happens if that water supply stops?  The best answer for anyone would be a good long term solution, such as a well.  With an aquifer beneath your property supplying a well with fresh water, you have the advantage of the…