On 04/09/2011 11:56 AM, Brooklyn1 wrote:

>> Hand pumps will only work to a depth of about 22 feet so they're only
>> good on shallow wells.
>
> That's true, and shallow well water is as poor quality as run off...
> it's good for irrigating crops and may be okay for cleaning/bathing
> but rarely is ground water potable without boiling.

I have a well and a cistern and would not drink straight from either
one. I have a distiller and it has a reservoir that has several gallons.
There is a pressure pump to supply the kitchen but there is also a
spigot on the reservoir itself. I do not have a hand pump but can drop
a bucket into the well or the cistern.

> I've often
> thought about getting a generator but I really don't need one, they
> can be more trouble than they are worth; another thing that requires
> maintenence and fuel storage... a decent size portable can easily use
> 10-15 gallons a day. And since I heat with propane I've considered a
> propane stand-by system but this being the first outage that lasted
> more than a few hours I can't see spending the $10,000+ for something
> I really don't need.

You can get a smaller gasoline powered generator for a few hundred and
it will provide enough power to run sump pumps, water pressure,
refrigerator and some lights. My neighbours have an expensive propane
powered system but it is automatic and they are away a lot. They only
live here a few weeks a year so the house is vacant most of the time,
and especially during the times of the year when we are most likely to
experience outages.

> I was without electric for almost four days and
> lost nothing from my fridge/freezer, just didn't open the door and all
> the frozen stuff was still like 90% frozen when the power came
> back.... and ev en if I did lose it all I don't keep a whole lot in my
> freezer.... I'd rather lose $100 worth of meat than spend $10K on a
> generator.


I have to wonder when I hear about people chucking the contents of their
fridge and freezer after outages. As long as you leave the doors closed
they retain the cold for a long time. If the stuff is still hard there
should be no problem. It might be different if you were away for a while
and weren't sure if the stuff had completely thawed and then refroze.