primitives discuss water wells

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x3117

Oh my.

lizziegrace  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 10:22 AM
Original message
 
Question from a suburban kid who now lives on 5 acres with a well

I know when I lose power, the well pump loses power as well. But how long can you draw off water after the power fails? The pump house is about 75 feet from the house and is on a hill. Do I have minutes? Should I draw any water at all? I also have a 60 gallon electric hot water tank.

When the weather is predicted to be bad or the power flickers, I fill the tub with water. Anything else I should do?

liberalmuse  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 10:31 AM
Response to Original message
 
1. I think about a day...

I have friends who live on 8 acres with a well. When they lose power, they fill up the bathtub to use for washing and the toilet flush. You might want to consider doing the same. I suppose they go to the store for bottled drinking water for everything else.

Fumesucker  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 10:34 AM
Response to Original message
 
2. Depends on the size of your storage tank and your rate of flow..

On most well systems there is a pressurized tank that stores water to be used, the larger this tank the more you can drain out of it before the tank is empty.

There should be a label on the tank somewhere to tell you the nominal capacity in gallons and the empty pressure.

Here is a link to a little FAQ about wells, tanks and pumps.

http://www.pumpsandtanks.com/faq_page.htm

Frosty1  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-30-10 10:35 AM
Response to Original message
 
3. It depends on the pressure tank.

When the power goes out we usually have enough pressure/water left to flush the toilet once.

Name removed (0 posts)      Sat Jan-30-10 10:35 AM
#18 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009
Response to Original message

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Hmmm.

One wonders what was said.

beyurslf  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-30-10 10:40 AM
Response to Original message
 
5. Growing up with a well, when our power went out, we pretty much lost water then.

We may have been able to run the sink or flush a toilet once, but that was gonna be it. We had a hand crank on the well that could be used in emergencies though. We also filled the tub in bad weather just in case.

safeinOhio  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-30-10 10:44 AM
Response to Reply #5
 
7. If out in the boonies, get a generator.

You'll end up being the last to get power restored if there is a storm. Used for a couple of hundred bucks.

lizziegrace  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 10:51 AM
Response to Reply #7
 
9. It's on my list

I'm in Central OH near Columbus.

safeinOhio  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-30-10 11:51 AM
Response to Reply #9
 
19. Just up 23 to 75 in Findlay

I move here from a small farm in Michigan and that generator came in handy many times. I had ran a box to the barn and could run the generator out there and light up the whole house. The most important use was to keep the sump pump running so the house didn't flood.

lizziegrace  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 11:54 AM
Response to Reply #19
 
20. Sump pumps

I've got two and if they stopped running, the basement would surely flood. The run-off from the fields, especially this time of year is mind-boggling.

Jackpine Radical  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 10:42 AM
Response to Original message
 
6. It depends on the exact sort of system you have. 

Most likely you have a pump that sucks the water up out of the ground and forces it into a pressure tank. The size of the pressure tank determines how much water you have available after the power goes off. The pressure tank will ordinarily hold the water that's in it indefinitely until it's drawn off, and has within it a bladder of compressed air that forces the water out when you open a valve (e.g. in the house). It is this bladder that provides the pressure for your whole water system.

Therefore you should be able to get at least several gallons of water out even without power, just from the pressure of the compressed air. Even after no more water will come out of a sink, there will probably be a few gallons left in your pressure tank that you can recover by going out to it and opening a valve or faucet on the bottom to drain the dregs.

I would shut the valves off to your toilets because if one of them is flushed, it will otherwise automatically fill, using about 3 gallons of water that you might have a better use for. Your water heater is also plumbed to automatically fill if it is drained, so you should turn off the inlet valve going into it too. The water heater will essentially serve as a secondary reservoir of water. If you have shut it off, you can drain the water out of a bottom valve for emergency use.

It would be a really good idea to turn off the power to the water heater for safety (even though you already don't have power).

It would also be a really good idea to google around for one of those "how things work" websites and look at their diagrams of a rural water system to get a clearer picture of what I'm talking about.

lizziegrace  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 10:50 AM
Response to Reply #6
 
8. Thanks! I'll look for diagrams.

The house was built in 1846 and I'm renting it. (Hope to buy it some day.) The pump house has a padlock on the door, but I'm sure the landlord won't mind if I cut it off and replace it when I'm done looking around. The lock is rusted, so my guess is that it hasn't been accessed in many years.

We keep at least 10 gallons of drinking water in the house and could always run the hot water tank down if we had to.

Atman  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 10:59 AM
#11 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009; PEDRO PICASSO
Response to Reply #6

10. Thanks for the info...I moved to a lake so I thought it wasn't a big deal

Basically same situation as the op; always had city water/sewer, but now we live in the boonies. Trouble is, it's been so cold this winter the lake is frozen solid, so it won't be a very good source of water (unless I saw out blocks of ice and melt them). Guess I'll have to check out that pump and see how it works!

Jackpine Radical  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 11:09 AM
Response to Reply #10
 
11. I lived a couple of winters in a cabin without running water. 

It was on a lake, so I kept a hole open in the ice for washing water & carried in drinking water. The ice varied from about 24-30" thick, and it was under a couple feet of show I had to keep shovelled off. Use an ice chisel or ice auger to get to the water in the lake & keep the hole covered with thick styrofoam or something when you're not using it so it doesn't freeze all the way down again. Once you get the hole drilled all the way through, the liquid water will rise to within a few inches of the surface of the ice, so it's easy to dip out of the hole.

enough  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-30-10 11:11 AM
Response to Original message
 
12. Just one caution. Depending on your system, you may be able to get the water out, but be careful that you don't also "drain" all the pressure out of the system or you may have to prime the pump after you get your power back, which can be a very pesky job involving carrying water from elsewhere.

In our case, having experienced this several times, we do not run the water at all when the power goes out.

All of this depends entirely on what kind of system you have. This is something you should get to know. I'd guess your landlord knows all about it, since he owns the place.

lizziegrace  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 11:13 AM
Response to Reply #12
 
13. Unfortunately, my landlord is also a city kid and knows nothing about it.

He bought the house because he fell in love with it and couldn't sell his McMansion. I'm now the caretaker of this grand old lady we call Tara.

ensho  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-30-10 11:14 AM
Response to Original message
 
14. the pump could lose its prime and be time consuming and difficult to get it reprimed.

depends on your system.

lizziegrace  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 11:18 AM
Response to Reply #14
 
15. From the information I've gotten here

I won't use the faucets or toilets when the power fails. Too much potential trouble. If there's a storm approaching or the lights flicker, I'll fill the tub and buckets.

I'm putting in a rain barrel this spring. That also should help with water needed to flush toilets if I lose power.

donco6  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 11:21 AM
Response to Original message
 
16. Do you have a pressurization tank? 

We have one in the crawl space. It gives us about two flushes and a sinkful of water with no power.

lizziegrace  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 11:25 AM
Response to Reply #16
 
18. Not a clue

the old house has a 3/4 full basement with a 60 gallon hot water tank and a water softening system. If there's a pressurized tank, it's not in the house. I'll get my landlord over here when it's a bit warmer and cut the lock off the pump house and see what's out there.

Warren Stupidity  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jan-30-10 11:24 AM
Response to Original message
 
17. Pressure in tank will last a little while.

And then "if its yellow its mellow" kicks in. Invest in a pail. We have a pond nearby. Consider a generator.

safeinOhio  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-30-10 05:38 PM
Response to Original message
 
21. might check this out

http://columbus.craigslist.org/tls/1576163947.html

Looks like a good generator for $100 and only needs a new or patched gas tank

In worthington Ohio, may be near you. Your sump pump being out will be a bigger problem than no water. You may need a couple of extension cords. One for the pump and one for the sump. That generator will handle that plus a bunch of lights, tv and computer.

ConcernedCanuk  (1000+ posts)      Sat Jan-30-10 07:04 PM
Response to Original message
 
22. If you have room(basement, porch) it might be an idea to keep some 20 litre(5gal) pails of water

ALL THE TIME.

When you have a power outage, you will realize what a luxury being able to "flush" really is!

With that in mind, you, or your landlady may opt for a toilet that flushes on only 1/2 gallon.

A generator will be ok for the sump pump(usually 110/120 volts and un-pluggable), but elaborate wiring will be required to run the water pump, usually 220/240 volts. Even more elaborate wiring would be required to wire a generator into the whole house circuit.

Go PAILS for now - it's cheap

Oh, I dunno.

[zeitgeist]

Meh, I still keep a chemical toilet in the basement even though I am now on city water, not to mention food, water, a generator, plus sundry other things.  Amazes me how many city dwellers have no clue about things water and septic.  This thread provides a regular "Green Acres" moment.

I am up early because the auxillary heating source kicked on this morning ( it is damn cold here) so I had to go play furnace mechanic.  After three tries I finally got the oil system back on line.   As the fella in "Roots" pointed out it is always good to have more than one plan.

[crockspot]

I have a shallow well with a jet pump and captive air tank that has about five gallons of drawdown capacity. I also keep about seven one gallon jugs of water around just in case. A generator would solve that problem.

[NHSparky]

7000 watt generator and a transfer panel.  They are your friends.

[Carl]

I have a generator for heat and some basic functions in the house.
There is a brook that runs through the farm close by so can get water from that to flush and wash up with.

If I had too I could wire it into the pressure switch of the well pump pretty quickly as there is a 220 outlet on the generator.

[JohnnyReb]

DUmmie should call his/her democrat congress critters and demand the government do something......it is, after all, the democrat way.

[The Village Idiot]

Wouldn't that depend on battery power? Or maybe the DUmmie could get a solar panel for the well?

[crockspot]

The DUmmy should get a 2.5 gallon bucket, fill it with well water, place his head in the bucket, and inspect the bottom of said bucket very very carefully to be sure there are no leaks.

[jukin]

A DUmmy and electrical devices end up costing us a lot in medicare bills.

[NHSparky]

A DUmmy and electrical devices end up costing us a lot in medicare bills.

Not if they pass enough current through the heart.

[diesel driver]

Wouldn't that depend on battery power? Or maybe the DUmmie could get a solar panel for the well?

I've seen some sump pumps that run off of car batteries as a backup during power outages.  Surprised DUmmie hasn't investigated one of these things....

But if they were true to their "green" calling, they would have solar panels and windmills charging batteries to run everything in the house from an inverter....

[The Village Idiot]

I've seen some sump pumps that run off of car batteries as a backup during power outages.  Surprised DUmmie hasn't investigated one of these things....

But if they were true to their "green" calling, they would have solar panels and windmills charging batteries to run everything in the house from an inverter....

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBvqmTTt2rc[/youtube]