Water

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People

Going grey — water that is

This article discusses some basic aspects of a greywater system that could be used off-grid.

Greywater is the used water at a particular site, except for water coming from the toilet, which is known as blackwater. When building a greywater system you first separate the greywater from the blackwater and send the greywater through a separate treatment system. Ideally, after the greywater passes through the purification process it can then be reused. Greywater systems are an appropriate use of technology for many reasons, particularly for off-grid locations. They reduce the use of fresh water, there is less stress on existing more conventional septic tanks, it is a highly effective purification process, and there is less chemical and energy use.…

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People

WC=Waterless Closet

On our homestead, we have greatly reduced our water usage by eliminating the flush toilet. The idea of polluting fresh drinking water with humanure is an odd concept, but widely held as the only solution.
A sawdust toilet is ONE of three components. The system will NOT work without all components, which are:…

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Events

Shine on!

built in Obsolescence, everlasting light bulb, Swan Edison, Livermore Centennial Light Bulb,…

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Water

Big Water

Water, recycling, harvesting, water harvesting, thames water, wasted water, grey water, Thames Water,…

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Cheap laundry – eco-balls

Eco-balls reduce laundry cost by 75% Eco-balls are a way of doing the washing without using detergent or soap. If you live off-grid that means you can reuse water more easily, and if you live on the grid, it means you are adding less to the world’s pollution especially water pollution, while saving a bit of money. And yes, they do really work. We were sent a free sample by Insight EcoStore in Brighton, and so far have used them in 30 washes with no ill effects on the clothes or the machine. The clothes come out softer than with fabric softeners and there’s none of that yucky sludge to clear out of our washing machine. They are less sparklingly white, but we are not worried about that. No more hassle and expense of carting bulky powders and liquids home from the market!…

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Off-Grid 101

Save money on a watering system for your garden

save garden water
If water is scarce……..

In a perfect world, you’d plant your off-grid garden and it would rain the day after and several times during the week, says Pat Veretto of www.frugalliving.com, allowing enough time for the sun to beam good things to the plants. And then we want rain every week after that of course.

In the real world, garden seeds and seedlings usually need to be watered by us whether it’s cloudy or sunny.
The most primitive, but not necessarily the most frugal way to water the garden, is to carry buckets of water and pour on the plants or on the soil around them. It seems as if it takes less water to water by hand, than either by hose or bucket, but test the soil when you’re through and you’ll see that often the water doesn’t penetrate very far – usually an inch or so, which is a long way from plant roots where it’s needed! It takes a long time to properly water anything by hand, but it’s not an unenjoyable task for a leisurely morning.

The next step “up” is digging ditches or small furrows to carry the water from the source to the plants. Furrows take the place of garden paths, but they have advantages over hand watering.

If you are into gadgets and gizmos, b0001lf7oc-01-at39qkie0xgb7-_scthumbzzz_-5680304buy this Water timer from Amazon

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Events

Reed Bed water filters

Reeds indeed
Reedbeds really clean water

Richard Furthy and June Evans installed an ornamental water garden rather than a septic tank for their isolated home. Their idea spread and has now become so popular they are offering guided tours of their garden every Sunday. The design was environmentally sound, an organic solution to a difficult problem (their original septic tank had been playing up). But Furthy is not an eco-activist; he is a bathroom designer in Wiltshire. The story he has to tell is not how he discovered the…

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Energy

Solar Heated Water

Solar Water Heater
Solar Water Heater

Good ol’ John Canivan – guru of sun heated water systems, related the following to me:

In 1970 a friend of mine left the civilized comforts of a New Jersey home to seek out and experience the free, wild wilderness of an Adirondack hilltop in upstate New York. Jake loved the country life and swore that he’d never leave his mountain retreat. He endured the cold winters without electricity and baseboard heating, but Jake still missed running hot water. When spring came he took a 300-foot coil of black plastic tubing and connected one end to a spring high up on the mountain. He draped the remainder of the 300-foot coil on his roof and spread it out to cover as much surface area as possible. For a $50 investment and one hour’s worth of labor Jake had himself a bonafide hot water shower. He made good use of it whenever the sun was high on the mountain. I used it a few times myself. It works. The roof might look a little funny and the hot water would sometimes run out sooner than you’d like, but it did work when the sun was shining.

John has a practical tutorial on the how’s and why’s of sun heated water on his website.…

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Land

Rainwater harvesting once common, needed again to promote conservation

By Mike Mecke

For thousands of years, the world has relied upon rainwater harvesting to supply water for household, landscape and agricultural uses.

harvesting diagram
How to harvest rainwater

Before city water systems were developed, rainwater was collected (mostly from roofs) and stored in cisterns or storage tanks. Rainwater is a free source of nearly pure water and too valuable to waste.…

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