Sometimes the answer is nothing
Sometimes the answer is nothing
It's never too late to start! I retired to homestead on the slopes of Mauna Loa, an active volcano. I relate snippets of my endeavor on my blog : www.kaufarmer.blogspot.com
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John Schinnerer, MA Whole Systems Design
Eco-Living Whole Systems Design services
John Schinnerer wrote:
2) Focusing on the word "potable" because that is the one piece specific enough to partly respond to...
Depending on what your catchment surfaces are, potable may not be an option or may require extra remediation (more $$ and or energy) to make it potable (see basic system design questions above).
If you want all water from all sources to be potable throughout a typical home, that is a different requirement than having the WHO minimum standard of ~20 liters (~5 gal) a day of potable water (and that is actually a lot, if you only need it for drinking and cooking).
So on the all potable everywhere end of the spectrum, you are looking at a sub-spectrum from whole-house 24/7 UV unit or reverse-osmosis unit (high tech industrial & electricity dependent) to a small slow-sand filter system (low tech partially industrial dependent, can be electricity-free if you have elevation to work with or non-electric means of pumping to elevation).
On the just enough potable for direct usage needs end of the spectrum, you are looking at a sub-spectrum from one-tap small UV systems (high tech industrial & electricity dependent) to a 2 or 3 or 5 gal. gravity-drip ceramic filter system (low tech partially industrial dependent, electricity-free, see "Potters for Peace" for lower tech than industrial-made ceramic filters).
Matthew Rupert wrote:
Thanks for the thoughtful response John. I am looking to purchase a piece of property to go off-grid with in the Ozark area of Missouri and am having trouble finding specific answers for a system that:
1. No electricity
2. All potable
3. Doesn't freeze in winter
I know I can bury the cisterns and that they make underground first-flush diverters. I just do not know where I could put a .1 micron ceramic filter without worrying about it freezing. From what I can tell, they don't make gravity-drip ceramic filters that can be put in-ground. Does anyone know differently? Could I make a small private insulation for the ceramic filter? If I can solve that problem, I think I can make a fairly simple gravity fed system that uses a hand-pump to get the water out of the in-ground cisterns.
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John Schinnerer, MA Whole Systems Design
Eco-Living Whole Systems Design services
My opinions are barely worth the paper they are written on here, but hopefully they can spark some new ideas, or at least a different train of thought
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