Wow your post was so inspiring @jackdub. I was just researching gravity water filters like the Big Berkey type. Came across your post on homesteaders online's Discord....
My wife our little one who is almost 4 years old and I are embarking on a very similar journey as you guys!!! It all starts June 1st.
We have the propery, no well but also no cabin! We have a small motor home which we are used to living in for months at a time but we will build something bigger for next winter.
I will have to keep the work schedule in mind and try to relax with the familly while the sun is at it's hottest. If you don't mind me asking roughly how much will it cost you to fill up the 1000 gallon water tank?
Thank you for posting your experience...I saw it right at a time when my vision of living off grid and early retirement is getting murky.
You cleared things up as they were before!!!
Following you I want to see part 2 and whatever else you can teach us!
That's awesome, your little one will love it - lots of time with mum and dad. In Canada it will cost $100 for the water and delivery. We figured $200 a year. If we lived there 30 years, that would be $6000 + $2500 cistern installation cost =$8500 .. A drilled well would probably have cost us at least $18000, so we decided to go with the cistern. I've heard of well water going bad and having to be tested, or drying up. Many farmhouses i've been to would have a metal or sulfur smell and taste in the water. Cistern seemed to be the simplest and cheapest option. Dont need as large of a pump for the cistern either. If the water trucks stop we'll just fill it with rain water and filter it accordingly. A couple posts back I go much more indepth into our water storage. Most of my posts are off-grid howtos. It's a lot of fun as long as you plan for it and have some wiggle room. It feels like an endless summer - how life should be :)
Thank you for answering me! The little guy already loves it, he calles it His Forest! I can deal with an endless summer for sure (rain or shine) I was going to go through your posts to see what else you've made I could learn from...
Wow $18000 for a well is quite a lot, we do have a little river about 1500ft away from our building site and the growing area, though the water also would have to climb a 100 foot cliff.
I am opening up to the idea of a cistern more and more and the fact that you could always fill it with rain water too is appealing.
We also have the option to tap into town water but I'd rather stay off that grid for some reason!
Thanks again