Hi Doug, love your water system and effiecient it works. At the end you ask if we have been watching the news... Don't own a tv nor any cable, and really don't mind it at all. However, I guess you have heard of the Corna virus that the media has been talking about. We are simply following the CDC's recommendations and aren't going out much anyways in public. What are you doing as an off gridder during times like this? Thanks again for another video. PS: We are getting 7 days of rain here in West TN this week! Do you have any plans of visiting West Tennessee in the future?
@@CountryCampers I was referring to getting your preps up... the worst time to get prepared is when everyone is freaking out lol then you cant get the stuff you need 👍 and a healthy immune system, rest and hydration and you will never get the flu or 19 😉 proof is right here... over 2 years of daily videos and you never see us sick
@@CountryCampers as long as you have some toilet paper, apparently that's the keystone supply needed for disaster prep here in the USA, as people are suddenly buying out store supplies. I heard it's because every time someone sneezes, everybody around them shits themselves! 8)
@@OFFGRIDwithDOUGSTACY hi Doug I'm new to your CHANNEL are you Amish ??? Nothing wrong with that it's just the way you dress and live like them that reminds me of a TV show on TLC I watched a while back called Life of Amish People and I loved it. Love your CHANNEL this is my 3 video, I have a lot to catch up on.
I started watching you guys about a year ago, and the more I thought of what your doing the more I realised that was my dream, so now I'm selling up and buying some land to get off grid and 100% sustainable, your videos are so helpful, thank you for sharing, you guys litterly have changed my life for the better ☺️
Moving to my West Texas 40 acres by the 20th of August. I've live on a farm for 3 years but this time it is all mine. God help me and your vision for my life.
Hi guys! Hi from New Zealand!! You two are amazing!! You've literally saved us on our new off grid journey...... have just binge watched all your rainwater videos as we have been pumping water a looooong distance, from a river into our internal bus tank.... then a large 800watt pump fires every time we turn a tap on, draining our solar batteries coming into winter - its been a nightmare as had to buy a huge generator to then charge our batteries! We have used ALL our savings and we are now using so much fuel, PLUS the generator fuel - NOT ideal with fuel shortages and collapse on the horizon! Your channel has been the answer to our prayers and I thank you for your time and knowledge..... we have hope again that we can survive out here in the beautiful wilderness. It doesn't get too cold here... down to -10 Celcius (14F) so I'm confident we can do it! THANKYOU, God bless you both xoxox
Even though living off the grid won't ever be a reality for me, I still love seeing how Doug and Stacy manage to make it a reality for themselves. You two present inspiring, thought-provoking, and humorous shares on a regular basis - better than 90% of the garbage programs on TV. On a more personal note, Doug do you have any tips for growing a healthy beard?
Even if you are not COMPLETELY off grid, you can always go PARTIALLY off grid and work your way up incrementally. Personally, I have a small vegetable garden, a trap line, an off-grid water system, and a basic solar system that I am slowly scaling up. My water system is about a year old now, and it uses gravel, paving sand, and charcoal (to remove pollution) in 5 gallon buckets, and it pumps water from the creek into a 330 gallon IBC tote. I kill any bacteria in the water by adding 0.13 oz. of HTH pool shock powder per 100 gallons. It's enough to prevent algae from growing in the tank, while still being dilute enough to avoid bleaching my clothes in the wash. I am currently adding a threaded filter to help get the water crystal clear (It still has a very slight yellowish color, as groundwater in Kentucky is high in iron). For now, the sink taps, shower, bath, and dishwasher still use city water, but taking the washer and toilets off city water takes a HUGE bite out of the water bill. There was some initial cost for all of this, but water has gotten so expensive after 2020 that it has ALREADY paid for itself. My solar power system currently has some old 12V lead acid car batteries connected in parallel, a 12V to 110V power inverter (to convert DC to AC), and a Renogy charge controller connected to three 100W solar panels. I can power my computer, printer, extra monitor, and 4 lamps on days that I work from home, and the pump that supplies water to the washer and toilets is connected to it as well. I plan to keep adding an extra solar panel and/or battery whenever I have some money set aside for it. It's a slow climb, but I'm getting there. Anyway, I hope that helps. If I can do, it as a sole breadwinner, working 2 jobs to support a wife and young daughter, then anyone can do it.
HEY DOUG Gary here in Ohio. I have a small water collection system and had a little issue with keeping sun off. I use a emergency survival blanket on my 55 gal. Barrels. Works great 👍🏽 just thought it would work perfect on the chicken water you have to keep it cool. NOTE it works opposite if you need to keep warm. Love the videos keep em coming. Me and Donna love you guys!!!!
😲 where have you been all my life ! I've asked several channels how to cover/keep my barrels. Not one answer. You solved it for me 😁👍. Thank you and God bless you.
Oh man, I would need a husband to make this happen. I'm a widow with no children and my mom (dad died months before my husband did) and brother are my only family. Neither of them are able to help me ready the homestead. I'm happy for you though. Good job. You are a Set Apart husband.
This has totally changed our plan for off grid living thankyou for your thorough and simple explanation and this is my favourite video so far. Thanks for your time and effort making your great videos
just an FYI for those thinking about this you get about 0.4 pounds of pressure per foot of Height of the tank above the outlet. so if your land were to allow you 50 foot above then you would be getting 20 pounds of pressure. I like to use a sediment filter first to help keep the charcoal filter clean a bit longer. For those who would like to see other version look up earthship wom. Works the same but allows for more pressure if you do not have enough fall to provide enough pressure.
Yes, typically 5µm (largest holes) goes first to block the big stuff, then 1µm blocks the smaller stuff that doesn't get trapped by the 5µm, then the carbon filter. This would mean water should be free of debris before it hits the carbon filter and the carbon filter wouldn't be doing the work of the sediment filters.
Thanks, Doug and Stacy. Excellent water catchment, filtration, and feed system. Working through the trials and errors and learning so much from the two of you. Again, great hanging out in the rain with you.
I love the idea of the Amish hot water heater. I've actually have it circled in my Lehmans catalog! Hah! Love my catalog! Thanks for the educational tour, Doug. You have good reason to be proud of this system. You have put a lot of work and brain power into this. I hope to benefit from your experience.
I wonder if you had ever considered helping missionaries who go to countries where rainwater might be plentiful but knowledge how to collect and store and provide for home use is in very short supply? This is great information!
Wow so much to learn. But that's the fun of it all huh...🤗 I'm going back and watching a lot of y'all's videos to get educated by y'all! We 💕 Love you and Stacy! Cool!
Well, another great video! I’ve been sharing your to our kiddos. Told them that I was a winner in your give away. I just hope more people can see your great tips and lessons learned. You guys are really needed! Thank you again for your efforts to make these UA-cam’s possible.
It would be GREAT if you could write a book on your water catchment system. Detailed on what kind of materials you used and a step by step instructions. I'd buy it! Thanks for your great videos.
Thank you - Great video for a gravity-fed system. I hate pumps! I am off to look at your other videos. I really like that you admit that there can be teething issues.
You are so smart Doug and I know it takes learning but you pay attention and that's the problem with most folks, they just don't pay attention! Thank you guys for all you do and your videos! Wwith love from Maine
Awesome vid - thank you so much for making this and others I’ve watched. You guys are so good on camera. Straight up and to the point. I’m gonna be starting my own homestead soon. I want to be as in touch with nature as possible, and this channel is gold. :)
I have a number of those tanks. They used to have veg oil in them. I pressure washed them and used dish soap. I wasn't sure what I was going to use them for, but those are more handy that the 55 gallon drums I have hooked together. Thanks! Great idea!!
I worked off and on for my dad, as he needed me to, since I was about 7. He has been a master water well driller and septic installer in TX for close to 45 years now. When we set up filter systems similar to the one you have, we always put the particulate filters before the carbon filters. Basically it removes the sediment that would normally clog the carbon filters allowing it to efficiently remove the impurities and minerals the sediment filters cannot. There is nothing wrong with the way yours is set up but in a more aggressive water environment, one with more dust, dirt, pollen, iron oxide from pipe fittings or off the roof and gutter hardware, etc. the carbon filters would need to be changed much more frequently. Certain areas we noticed have greater concentration of particulate in the rain itself that would need filtration prior to drinking. Most minerals from rain water won't hurt people, the biggest concern we came across was coliform. Just a few things I learned from him. I really enjoy seeing how y'all do things there and am adapting some of them to my tiny ranch in western PA. God bless and God speed.
That's a great water system you got there Doug, "tho that hot water shower looked a little itchy for my liking. We live on the side of a mountain. Everything is about gravity flow water in nature. We have water flowing into and out of our basement. As long as it doesn't hang around we're OK.,HA! You got me thinking about putting a roof & holding tank up high on the property so I can have water for the garden and the animals down below. Just what I need another thing to work on. AWESOME!
Impressive work, Sir! I'd like to say that I'm comfortable enough in my manhood and masculinity to tell you that you're what I call - a man's man. A real do-it-yourself kinda guy that is a vault of (self-taught) knowledge on basic survival - the traditional way. You've built a very nice place there, and it will allow your family to thrive when the system crashes. I admire what you've done and would like to thank you for uploading these types of videos. They're filled with great information that I, myself, intend to utilize at my retirement home - where I will be heading end of this year - lord willing. Again, thanks a bunch!
Love your video, great information. Just bought 9 acres in southern Missouri will start building my rain catchment system soon so we have water for animals and will need water when I build my foundation for the house, we do have rural water as well but it is always good to have a back up. I will be starting to post videos on my homestead. Long time fan of your videos excited for us to start our journey soon.
I lived 10 miles out of town. Not off grid but I think hunting, gardening, canning and preserving food, hanging the laundry on the lines, all the animals. All that life made me love deeply, appreciate more and live in peace. its a whole neq world. I now live back in the city but I am still feeling the freedom of country living. Love your program.
Thanks, Doug. Good video. I know what you mean about too many things to do. It seems like we will never catch up. We still have a greenhouse, carport, cow barn, and bees to go. I'm finishing up the texture and paint on the guestroom because we have our "rich" relatives coming up on Wednesday. Our mudroom is my greenhouse right now and I'm about two weeks behind on getting my seeds germinated. Thanks for taking the time to explain things the way you do.
You give me so much hope for my own homestead, I will be in the desert area, and pray I learn what I need quickly, because times are about as crazy as they can get.... Gotta get out of the Big city here...
We are a couple of older ladies and have a home in a rural area. Really trying to work at getting prepared. Not a lot to work with but our Abba is faithful. Thanks you are good teachers. Oh and Stacy I love the fermented tomatoes over hot buttered spaghetti.
What can I say …beyond impressive something to be proud of is that you do everything yourself not afraid to get your hands dirty and work for what you need…how many people these days can claim that…you two are one incredible DUO….blessings wished always thank you for blessing our lives as well..
Thank you so much for sharing! My husband and I are dying to have a small homestead after we’re done living full time in our camper, so I’m binging all the informative content. This is so helpful!
We live in the high desert, have quite a large amount of water. Off grid, but use solar. Use a lot of water in summer. Love this homestead life. Been a Homestead Homie since 2016.
It’s kinda cute when you say -3f. Up here in Northern WI, we’re used to -30f for weeks on end. Lol. Totally respect the both y’all and no disrespect to my funny comment. Just interesting is all. Love you both and all you teach us. Blessings to you both! ❤️🤗
I absolutely LOVED this video. We are homesteading on about 2.5 acres in the desert and this is pure perfection! Thank you for the level of detail and expertise in sharing what worked and what did not. Thank goodness for youtube channels like this one. I did NOT want to put a well on the property. Keep the videos coming, please.
Enjoy watching u as I grew up on real farm & my Grandfather plowed fields with work horses or mules. We had chickens , a dairy cow, pigs. We smoked meats, salt & sugar cured hams. Went to town in horse drawn wagon & had special parking place at back of bank as other people had cars. Not Amish or meninite, just hard working people. No electricity, had well, & barn got electricity before house! Dirt floors, pot belly stove. Good life & simpler times. Love u guys for sharing🐾💕
I finally got a used water bin/ rain catcher and about to buy another used one. That's a start to using rain water... thank you for this video ... taking baby steps
This is so informative. I lived at a place with a cistern and the water was awful. The owners sold it. I'm going to look into rain water catchment. I have a well now and I'm worried about losing power now. Ty for all this valuable information
I .issued how to pressurize the water so it will come out of the pump outside and inside the kitchen. We are COMPLETE NEWBIES to the rain water reserve and just had our barrels delivered. This is the FIRST video I have seen that talks about putting pipes under ground below the fekst level. So VERH informative thank you so very much 😊
Thanks for the info, Doug, I appreciate all the time and energy you put into your videos. I like seeing that there is an alternative to the usual American home in a row of city blocks, and it is so expensive to buy and maintain.
I've been ramping up processing foodstuffs for myself, kids, grandkids, a few friends. Not possible for me to homestead so just along for the interesting ride. You have an excellent system there; although ignorant of the process, I see that. How wonderful! Thanks for the great video and humorous anecdotes too. Blessings.✋👵🐕🌱 Keep living the dream; before long we'll see Stacy back in the garden with Maggie and Molly romping around. What a treat!💌
Thanks, Doug, for the thorough explanation of your Water System. I'm wanting to buy some property with both my brothers (they have a lot of experience in construction) and be off Grid.
This is awesome! What is the total square footage of roofing that you use to catch all the rainwater? My husband and I are trying to see if this could work for us.
This is amazing, actually a simplistic concept and isn't it funny such answers are right under our noses all along. It took you to find it, figure it out and share, along with your trials and errors. Love it, Doug. Fantastic job and thanks so much for sharing!
I've been looking for this kind of information for a long time. I've seen others explain bits and parts but I really appreciate your thorough explanation.
You have a wonderful system!!! I too use rain for all my water needs(almost 2yrs. now). I only require water for household(myself), chickens and gardening/greenhouse (so fa)r so my system is much smaller (600 gal) than yours (we get 50-60"/yr rain). I wish I could do a gravity feed system but I'd have to build a platform 8-10' off the ground for my storage tank to get the height and head pressure, not to mention water sometimes freezes here in Tennessee which means I'd also have to insulate it and I'm on a very tight budget..... so I opted for a shallow well pump and a cistern in the ground. I haven't given up on the gravity feed, when I can figure it all out and get the money for materials I may just build a building 10' off the ground and save my pump for back up?
Thanks so much! I haves seen your water systems, your outdoor shower, that was fun to see!, and now, hope my son in law will also watch, as we plan for water to the outer areas where we hope to garden. And keep chicken water clean, especially through the summer, not a fan of lugging water! You positioned your spigots so well! Thank you for taking us along, God bless you.
Thank you so much Doug for teaching us about your water system!! We are hoping to put in a system in the next couple of months and this video was the most informative.
This rainwater plumbing system is genius. I’m hoping to get my homestead started come the end of this year, and I will be implementing this system. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! One love 🤙🏻
I put a wooden fence post next to our hydrants, to help protect them from from the animals, in our filtration system we have one large string filter first because there cheap then the charcoal filter, I replaced when water pressure drops, and generally that's just the string filter, thanks for the information Doug great content.
Thank you so much for these videos! My Husband and I are preparing to move out of the apartment living life next June in GA (husband is military) and we are wanting to homestead for cheap! Say some prayers for us as we prepare our finances and that the lord provides the right piece of land and a way fiancé a small home! God Bless you all! - a fellow Missourian
Doug I met you at the homestead festival here in Columbia TN and we talked about no separating our rams from the ewes like I am doing. Thank you so much for explaining this water system deal. My husband is handy but not that handy to put a system like that together, we’re a bit lost in the wilderness when it comes to water collection. I think I am going to start small and go from there.
Why wouldn't you use the sediment filters before the carbon filter? I would think that would keep the carbon filter cleaner longer. Love the channel by the way.
I watched you build all of this in the past, but this was a good refresher. Our property might get half the rain you get and all of our buildings are going to be really small so rain catchment will be just for small animals and maybe landscaping plants. We went with a well finally after waiting so long for a company to brave our road AND it went a lot deeper than anyone predicted. $$$$ can you say Goodbye tractor fund? So we will be using a gravity fed system, but from a well pumping the tanks full up the hill. I have some videos about some of this on my channel with more to come someday..
I’ve been watching here and there but you have me hooked now. I use a ton of water for a large pool snd for my herbs and veggies which means water and sewer bill are high. I would love to rely less on the outside and be more self reliant so I stumbled on this video which has given me some good ideas for a system at my home
Goodness! You are hardy folk! If I understood correctly, you have only had a cold shower available for the last ten years. Do you use the kitchen sink for washing then, if I may ask? And what about heating the water? I might have missed something - shouldn’t ask questions when dog tired! I’m loving the videos and thank you for them. Waving from across the pond - Ireland 🇮🇪
Dear Doug, you have the basic materials to incorporate a recirculating shower if extreme drought were to occur. Pending filtration system, soap water diversion, & amount of water in reservoir used for shower, the water would be perfectly clean. Most people also include a UV light for killing the smallest microbes. I'll have to go watch your video about your 3 filter system for your house. The rabbit hole of creating your own filters may also be necessary. I wish you never have to deal with these far fetched ideas. Really admire you & all you are doing. Love, Orion
Wow!!!😀👍 you guys are really something!!! I would love to have a system like that..but we have very cold winters, C -20 or even more..not easy to manage that. But I tried only rainwater in the summer..and it works perfectly...Greetings from Sweden🇸🇪
Been watching your older videos on when you started out with your gravity fed water system. Nice to see how things are working out so good as time goes on. I'll have to catch up on other videos too. Very much appreciate you sharing so thoroughly on how to do stuff and plans in the works too. Did you have to insulate under the cabin for cold weather so nothing freezes?
Just found you on UA-cam. Enjoying the videos and your tips. I collect water on a very small scale, for refilling birdbaths, fountains on the patio and some watering outside, but hey, I feel that any steps taken to help save on our resources, we can make the world a better place. Thank you.
How Do You Treat Your Water For Bacteria ? Chlorine ? We Use Water Out Of Our Pond ,We Are On The Grid ,We Use A Koenders Windmill To Aerate The Pond ,No Algae,Works Good ,They Also Make A Windmill Water Pump That You Could Use In A Drought Year
Appreciate this. I am building a two story home in the middle of Mexico in a small community with 55 inhabitants. I am aiming towards making the home green and renewable. In all aspects and main source.
Check out the video of the spray foam install here--->ua-cam.com/video/113BX16WyW4/v-deo.html
thanks for watching the vids and see you tomorrow!
Hi Doug, love your water system and effiecient it works. At the end you ask if we have been watching the news... Don't own a tv nor any cable, and really don't mind it at all. However, I guess you have heard of the Corna virus that the media has been talking about. We are simply following the CDC's recommendations and aren't going out much anyways in public. What are you doing as an off gridder during times like this? Thanks again for another video. PS: We are getting 7 days of rain here in West TN this week! Do you have any plans of visiting West Tennessee in the future?
@@CountryCampers I was referring to getting your preps up... the worst time to get prepared is when everyone is freaking out lol then you cant get the stuff you need 👍 and a healthy immune system, rest and hydration and you will never get the flu or 19 😉 proof is right here... over 2 years of daily videos and you never see us sick
@@OFFGRIDwithDOUGSTACY Any plans to come to West Tennessee?
@@CountryCampers as long as you have some toilet paper, apparently that's the keystone supply needed for disaster prep here in the USA, as people are suddenly buying out store supplies. I heard it's because every time someone sneezes, everybody around them shits themselves! 8)
@@OFFGRIDwithDOUGSTACY hi Doug I'm new to your CHANNEL are you Amish ???
Nothing wrong with that it's just the way you dress and live like them that reminds me of a TV show on TLC I watched a while back called Life of Amish People and I loved it.
Love your CHANNEL this is my 3 video, I have a lot to catch up on.
Update.... I'm moving into my new off grid homestead in 5 weeks whoop whoop!!!!
All the best to you! 👍👍👍😉
Moira
From England.
Awesome! Good luck on your new adventure!
Congrats from Tenn
I posted a video on my starting point and will be doing more when I move in
Jonesy's Self-Reliance
We are not that close but maybe a couple months
This channel is probably the best one for REAL off grid/radar living. Great explainations!
It really is.
I started watching you guys about a year ago, and the more I thought of what your doing the more I realised that was my dream, so now I'm selling up and buying some land to get off grid and 100% sustainable, your videos are so helpful, thank you for sharing, you guys litterly have changed my life for the better ☺️
Awwwww make sure to give us updates ! ♥️
Updates!?!
Sounds like a bit of work..
Same.
Moving to my West Texas 40 acres by the 20th of August. I've live on a farm for 3 years but this time it is all mine. God help me and your vision for my life.
Hi guys! Hi from New Zealand!! You two are amazing!! You've literally saved us on our new off grid journey...... have just binge watched all your rainwater videos as we have been pumping water a looooong distance, from a river into our internal bus tank.... then a large 800watt pump fires every time we turn a tap on, draining our solar batteries coming into winter - its been a nightmare as had to buy a huge generator to then charge our batteries! We have used ALL our savings and we are now using so much fuel, PLUS the generator fuel - NOT ideal with fuel shortages and collapse on the horizon!
Your channel has been the answer to our prayers and I thank you for your time and knowledge..... we have hope again that we can survive out here in the beautiful wilderness.
It doesn't get too cold here... down to -10 Celcius (14F) so I'm confident we can do it!
THANKYOU, God bless you both xoxox
Stay in touch
Even though living off the grid won't ever be a reality for me, I still love seeing how Doug and Stacy manage to make it a reality for themselves.
You two present inspiring, thought-provoking, and humorous shares on a regular basis - better than 90% of the garbage programs on TV.
On a more personal note, Doug do you have any tips for growing a healthy beard?
Even if you are not COMPLETELY off grid, you can always go PARTIALLY off grid and work your way up incrementally.
Personally, I have a small vegetable garden, a trap line, an off-grid water system, and a basic solar system that I am slowly scaling up.
My water system is about a year old now, and it uses gravel, paving sand, and charcoal (to remove pollution) in 5 gallon buckets, and it pumps water from the creek into a 330 gallon IBC tote. I kill any bacteria in the water by adding 0.13 oz. of HTH pool shock powder per 100 gallons. It's enough to prevent algae from growing in the tank, while still being dilute enough to avoid bleaching my clothes in the wash.
I am currently adding a threaded filter to help get the water crystal clear (It still has a very slight yellowish color, as groundwater in Kentucky is high in iron). For now, the sink taps, shower, bath, and dishwasher still use city water, but taking the washer and toilets off city water takes a HUGE bite out of the water bill.
There was some initial cost for all of this, but water has gotten so expensive after 2020 that it has ALREADY paid for itself.
My solar power system currently has some old 12V lead acid car batteries connected in parallel, a 12V to 110V power inverter (to convert DC to AC), and a Renogy charge controller connected to three 100W solar panels. I can power my computer, printer, extra monitor, and 4 lamps on days that I work from home, and the pump that supplies water to the washer and toilets is connected to it as well. I plan to keep adding an extra solar panel and/or battery whenever I have some money set aside for it. It's a slow climb, but I'm getting there.
Anyway, I hope that helps. If I can do, it as a sole breadwinner, working 2 jobs to support a wife and young daughter, then anyone can do it.
I like the way he giggles after saying something funny. I do that too. lol.
HEY DOUG Gary here in Ohio. I have a small water collection system and had a little issue with keeping sun off. I use a emergency survival blanket on my 55 gal. Barrels. Works great 👍🏽 just thought it would work perfect on the chicken water you have to keep it cool. NOTE it works opposite if you need to keep warm. Love the videos keep em coming. Me and Donna love you guys!!!!
Thanks Gary
😲 where have you been all my life ! I've asked several channels how to cover/keep my barrels. Not one answer. You solved it for me 😁👍. Thank you and God bless you.
Wait, where's the answer? Was it deleted?
Oh man, I would need a husband to make this happen. I'm a widow with no children and my mom (dad died months before my husband did) and brother are my only family. Neither of them are able to help me ready the homestead. I'm happy for you though. Good job. You are a Set Apart husband.
I love that gravity fed system....much better than a well. We lose power...we also lose our water because of the pump. Thanks so much for sharing.
This has totally changed our plan for off grid living thankyou for your thorough and simple explanation and this is my favourite video so far. Thanks for your time and effort making your great videos
Thanks for the tour. We're getting close to setting up our permanent system. So it's always cool to see what others are doing.
I’m trying too move to a place here on the Rez that has nothing… so this is good too know Thank You’s Amen 🙏
just an FYI for those thinking about this you get about 0.4 pounds of pressure per foot of Height of the tank above the outlet. so if your land were to allow you 50 foot above then you would be getting 20 pounds of pressure. I like to use a sediment filter first to help keep the charcoal filter clean a bit longer. For those who would like to see other version look up earthship wom. Works the same but allows for more pressure if you do not have enough fall to provide enough pressure.
Yes, typically 5µm (largest holes) goes first to block the big stuff, then 1µm blocks the smaller stuff that doesn't get trapped by the 5µm, then the carbon filter. This would mean water should be free of debris before it hits the carbon filter and the carbon filter wouldn't be doing the work of the sediment filters.
Love that you did one video with all of it together. I've seen all the separate videos but it's helpful to see all in one complete info.
Thanks, Doug and Stacy. Excellent water catchment, filtration, and feed system. Working through the trials and errors and learning so much from the two of you. Again, great hanging out in the rain with you.
I love the idea of the Amish hot water heater. I've actually have it circled in my Lehmans catalog! Hah! Love my catalog!
Thanks for the educational tour, Doug. You have good reason to be proud of this system. You have put a lot of work and brain power into this. I hope to benefit from your experience.
Enjoy watching you guys very informative,next year will do my garden will moved to Michigan
I wonder if you had ever considered helping missionaries who go to countries where rainwater might be plentiful but knowledge how to collect and store and provide for home use is in very short supply? This is great information!
Wow so much to learn. But that's the fun of it all huh...🤗 I'm going back and watching a lot of y'all's videos to get educated by y'all! We 💕 Love you and Stacy! Cool!
Well, another great video! I’ve been sharing your to our kiddos. Told them that I was a winner in your give away. I just hope more people can see your great tips and lessons learned. You guys are really needed! Thank you again for your efforts to make these UA-cam’s possible.
It would be GREAT if you could write a book on your water catchment system. Detailed on what kind of materials you used and a step by step instructions. I'd buy it! Thanks for your great videos.
Thank you - Great video for a gravity-fed system. I hate pumps! I am off to look at your other videos. I really like that you admit that there can be teething issues.
It really takes TWO to make this all happen. MAN and WOMAN..working together. Beautiful.
You are so smart Doug and I know it takes learning but you pay attention and that's the problem with most folks, they just don't pay attention! Thank you guys for all you do and your videos! Wwith love from Maine
We're going to do it... selling our home and moving, will be setting up a lot of what we've learned from y'all... thanks so much!!!
Awesome vid - thank you so much for making this and others I’ve watched. You guys are so good on camera. Straight up and to the point. I’m gonna be starting my own homestead soon. I want to be as in touch with nature as possible, and this channel is gold. :)
I have a number of those tanks. They used to have veg oil in them. I pressure washed them and used dish soap. I wasn't sure what I was going to use them for, but those are more handy that the 55 gallon drums I have hooked together. Thanks! Great idea!!
I worked off and on for my dad, as he needed me to, since I was about 7. He has been a master water well driller and septic installer in TX for close to 45 years now. When we set up filter systems similar to the one you have, we always put the particulate filters before the carbon filters. Basically it removes the sediment that would normally clog the carbon filters allowing it to efficiently remove the impurities and minerals the sediment filters cannot. There is nothing wrong with the way yours is set up but in a more aggressive water environment, one with more dust, dirt, pollen, iron oxide from pipe fittings or off the roof and gutter hardware, etc. the carbon filters would need to be changed much more frequently. Certain areas we noticed have greater concentration of particulate in the rain itself that would need filtration prior to drinking. Most minerals from rain water won't hurt people, the biggest concern we came across was coliform. Just a few things I learned from him. I really enjoy seeing how y'all do things there and am adapting some of them to my tiny ranch in western PA. God bless and God speed.
That's a great water system you got there Doug, "tho that hot water shower looked a little itchy for my liking. We live on the side of a mountain. Everything is about gravity flow water in nature. We have water flowing into and out of our basement. As long as it doesn't hang around we're OK.,HA! You got me thinking about putting a roof & holding tank up high on the property so I can have water for the garden and the animals down below. Just what I need another thing to work on. AWESOME!
Impressive work, Sir! I'd like to say that I'm comfortable enough in my manhood and masculinity to tell you that you're what I call - a man's man. A real do-it-yourself kinda guy that is a vault of (self-taught) knowledge on basic survival - the traditional way. You've built a very nice place there, and it will allow your family to thrive when the system crashes. I admire what you've done and would like to thank you for uploading these types of videos. They're filled with great information that I, myself, intend to utilize at my retirement home - where I will be heading end of this year - lord willing. Again, thanks a bunch!
Love your video, great information. Just bought 9 acres in southern Missouri will start building my rain catchment system soon so we have water for animals and will need water when I build my foundation for the house, we do have rural water as well but it is always good to have a back up. I will be starting to post videos on my homestead. Long time fan of your videos excited for us to start our journey soon.
I lived 10 miles out of town. Not off grid but I think hunting, gardening, canning and preserving food, hanging the laundry on the lines, all the animals. All that life made me love deeply, appreciate more and live in peace. its a whole neq world. I now live back in the city but I am still feeling the freedom of country living. Love your program.
Thanks, Doug. Good video. I know what you mean about too many things to do. It seems like we will never catch up. We still have a greenhouse, carport, cow barn, and bees to go. I'm finishing up the texture and paint on the guestroom because we have our "rich" relatives coming up on Wednesday. Our mudroom is my greenhouse right now and I'm about two weeks behind on getting my seeds germinated. Thanks for taking the time to explain things the way you do.
We lived off rain water for awhile it was awesome working on figuring out how to keep doing it whiteout so much work thanks for info
You give me so much hope for my own homestead, I will be in the desert area, and pray I learn what I need quickly, because times are about as crazy as they can get.... Gotta get out of the Big city here...
We are a couple of older ladies and have a home in a rural area. Really trying to work at getting prepared. Not a lot to work with but our Abba is faithful. Thanks you are good teachers. Oh and Stacy I love the fermented tomatoes over hot buttered spaghetti.
What can I say …beyond impressive something to be proud of is that you do everything yourself not afraid to get your hands dirty and work for what you need…how many people these days can claim that…you two are one incredible DUO….blessings wished always thank you for blessing our lives as well..
Thank you so much for sharing! My husband and I are dying to have a small homestead after we’re done living full time in our camper, so I’m binging all the informative content. This is so helpful!
Good info on water systems thanks! Nancy from Canada
We live in the high desert, have quite a large amount of water. Off grid, but use solar. Use a lot of water in summer. Love this homestead life. Been a Homestead Homie since 2016.
A spring rain is the most beautiful thing because it promises a summer to come. This video was so helpful, thank you.
Thanks Doug for sharing. I learn a lot from you and Stacy.
It’s kinda cute when you say -3f. Up here in Northern WI, we’re used to -30f for weeks on end. Lol. Totally respect the both y’all and no disrespect to my funny comment. Just interesting is all. Love you both and all you teach us. Blessings to you both! ❤️🤗
I absolutely LOVED this video. We are homesteading on about 2.5 acres in the desert and this is pure perfection! Thank you for the level of detail and expertise in sharing what worked and what did not. Thank goodness for youtube channels like this one. I did NOT want to put a well on the property. Keep the videos coming, please.
Doug and Stacy I appreciate all the videos you put out very very informative. Keep em coming
Sweet! We just got our hands on a 1550 gallon tank. We hope to get it set up on our building that’s just over 1000 square feet. 💦 🚿 👩🌾
Enjoy watching u as I grew up on real farm & my Grandfather plowed fields with work horses or mules. We had chickens , a dairy cow, pigs. We smoked meats, salt & sugar cured hams. Went to town in horse drawn wagon & had special parking place at back of bank as other people had cars. Not Amish or meninite, just hard working people. No electricity, had well, & barn got electricity before house! Dirt floors, pot belly stove. Good life & simpler times. Love u guys for sharing🐾💕
I finally got a used water bin/ rain catcher and about to buy another used one. That's a start to using rain water... thank you for this video ... taking baby steps
THIS is the video I was trying to find.
Thank you for this system set up Doug.
This channel is always a well of information and inspiration. :) Thank you for the tour.
We just got off grid..... we have no collection except the new pond. Got lots to learn here in benton county. Will be trying theses ideas to collect.
Fascinating info. The gravity fed water is really the best way to go. Stay safe and thanks for sharing. 😺🐑
I'm picking up my 275 gallon water tote today, I'm so excited to get started . Thank you doug
This is so informative. I lived at a place with a cistern and the water was awful. The owners sold it. I'm going to look into rain water catchment. I have a well now and I'm worried about losing power now. Ty for all this valuable information
I .issued how to pressurize the water so it will come out of the pump outside and inside the kitchen. We are COMPLETE NEWBIES to the rain water reserve and just had our barrels delivered. This is the FIRST video I have seen that talks about putting pipes under ground below the fekst level. So VERH informative thank you so very much 😊
Thanks for the info, Doug, I appreciate all the time and energy you put into your videos. I like seeing that there is an alternative to the usual American home in a row of city blocks, and it is so expensive to buy and maintain.
Your system is very practical and cool of course.
Working on getting there. Keep inspiring all of us Doug & Stacy
I've been ramping up processing foodstuffs for myself, kids, grandkids, a few friends. Not possible for me to homestead so just along for the interesting ride. You have an excellent system there; although ignorant of the process, I see that. How wonderful! Thanks for the great video and humorous anecdotes too. Blessings.✋👵🐕🌱 Keep living the dream; before long we'll see Stacy back in the garden with Maggie and Molly romping around. What a treat!💌
Thanks, Doug, for the thorough explanation of your Water System.
I'm wanting to buy some property with both my brothers (they have a lot of experience in construction) and be off Grid.
It is good to see you are safe. Information you give us is not only welcome but very informative. Blessings to you both.
This is awesome! What is the total square footage of roofing that you use to catch all the rainwater? My husband and I are trying to see if this could work for us.
This is amazing, actually a simplistic concept and isn't it funny such answers are right under our noses all along. It took you to find it, figure it out and share, along with your trials and errors. Love it, Doug. Fantastic job and thanks so much for sharing!
I've been looking for this kind of information for a long time. I've seen others explain bits and parts but I really appreciate your thorough explanation.
You have a wonderful system!!! I too use rain for all my water needs(almost 2yrs. now). I only require water for household(myself), chickens and gardening/greenhouse (so fa)r so my system is much smaller (600 gal) than yours (we get 50-60"/yr rain). I wish I could do a gravity feed system but I'd have to build a platform 8-10' off the ground for my storage tank to get the height and head pressure, not to mention water sometimes freezes here in Tennessee which means I'd also have to insulate it and I'm on a very tight budget..... so I opted for a shallow well pump and a cistern in the ground. I haven't given up on the gravity feed, when I can figure it all out and get the money for materials I may just build a building 10' off the ground and save my pump for back up?
Thanks for giving us a walk through of your water system, it works about the same way ours works.
So love this system you've created. Thanks for making these helpful videos so there's can do this
Thanks so much! I haves seen your water systems, your outdoor shower, that was fun to see!, and now, hope my son in law will also watch, as we plan for water to the outer areas where we hope to garden. And keep chicken water clean, especially through the summer, not a fan of lugging water! You positioned your spigots so well! Thank you for taking us along, God bless you.
Thank you so much Doug for teaching us about your water system!! We are hoping to put in a system in the next couple of months and this video was the most informative.
This rainwater plumbing system is genius. I’m hoping to get my homestead started come the end of this year, and I will be implementing this system. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! One love 🤙🏻
Glad I watched this video. I was curious about how it all worked.
God bless you and your family. 🙋🏻♀️♥️🇺🇸
Going to watch all the videos me and hubby taking notes
I put a wooden fence post next to our hydrants, to help protect them from from the animals, in our filtration system we have one large string filter first because there cheap then the charcoal filter, I replaced when water pressure drops, and generally that's just the string filter, thanks for the information Doug great content.
So good to see people using what God has Provided for us . Thanks and God bless 🙏
This video is so suppressed by the algo. Been following y'all forever, and don't think this has ever hit my suggested.
Thank you so much for these videos! My Husband and I are preparing to move out of the apartment living life next June in GA (husband is military) and we are wanting to homestead for cheap! Say some prayers for us as we prepare our finances and that the lord provides the right piece of land and a way fiancé a small home! God Bless you all!
- a fellow Missourian
I like this system…,showing it to my husband today!
Doug I met you at the homestead festival here in Columbia TN and we talked about no separating our rams from the ewes like I am doing. Thank you so much for explaining this water system deal. My husband is handy but not that handy to put a system like that together, we’re a bit lost in the wilderness when it comes to water collection. I think I am going to start small and go from there.
Why wouldn't you use the sediment filters before the carbon filter? I would think that would keep the carbon filter cleaner longer. Love the channel by the way.
Thank you Doug for thr run down!
Nice to meet you Doug. You seem like a nice, decent person. Thank you, and best of wishes.
I watched you build all of this in the past, but this was a good refresher. Our property might get half the rain you get and all of our buildings are going to be really small so rain catchment will be just for small animals and maybe landscaping plants. We went with a well finally after waiting so long for a company to brave our road AND it went a lot deeper than anyone predicted. $$$$ can you say Goodbye tractor fund? So we will be using a gravity fed system, but from a well pumping the tanks full up the hill. I have some videos about some of this on my channel with more to come someday..
I’ve been watching here and there but you have me hooked now. I use a ton of water for a large pool snd for my herbs and veggies which means water and sewer bill are high. I would love to rely less on the outside and be more self reliant so I stumbled on this video which has given me some good ideas for a system at my home
Doug and Stacy....YOU SHOULD HAVE A SHOW IN TV>......! I would tune in to watch you everyday....! Discoverer Channel...!
Planning my rain water system now great information 👍
Goodness! You are hardy folk! If I understood correctly, you have only had a cold shower available for the last ten years. Do you use the kitchen sink for washing then, if I may ask? And what about heating the water? I might have missed something - shouldn’t ask questions when dog tired!
I’m loving the videos and thank you for them. Waving from across the pond - Ireland 🇮🇪
Dear Doug, you have the basic materials to incorporate a recirculating shower
if extreme drought were to occur. Pending filtration system, soap water diversion,
& amount of water in reservoir used for shower, the water would be perfectly clean.
Most people also include a UV light for killing the smallest microbes.
I'll have to go watch your video about your 3 filter system for your house.
The rabbit hole of creating your own filters may also be necessary. I wish
you never have to deal with these far fetched ideas. Really admire you & all you
are doing. Love, Orion
Thank you Doug all the informative information on your water system. May you and Stacy have a blessed week. Shalom my brother Shalom
Wow!!!😀👍 you guys are really something!!!
I would love to have a system like that..but we have very cold winters, C -20 or even more..not easy to manage that.
But I tried only rainwater in the summer..and it works perfectly...Greetings from Sweden🇸🇪
Been watching your older videos on when you started out with your gravity fed water system. Nice to see how things are working out so good as time goes on. I'll have to catch up on other videos too. Very much appreciate you sharing so thoroughly on how to do stuff and plans in the works too. Did you have to insulate under the cabin for cold weather so nothing freezes?
Doug You are an amazing man! If I ever get money, I want to come and see you and your set up! You know so very much!
It's good to hear about the hot water shower doug, it will make you and Stacey lives a lot more comfortable and a lot less easier.
What an awesome system! Looks dependable now that you have all the problems worked out.
beautiful what you built gravity fed water system..... beautiful to see when you showed the faucet .
Just found you on UA-cam. Enjoying the videos and your tips. I collect water on a very small scale, for refilling birdbaths, fountains on the patio and some watering outside, but hey, I feel that any steps taken to help save on our resources, we can make the world a better place. Thank you.
How Do You Treat Your Water For Bacteria ? Chlorine ? We Use Water Out Of Our Pond ,We Are On The Grid ,We Use A Koenders Windmill To Aerate The Pond ,No Algae,Works Good ,They Also Make A Windmill Water Pump That You Could Use In A Drought Year
Appreciate this. I am building a two story home in the middle of Mexico in a small community with 55 inhabitants. I am aiming towards making the home green and renewable. In all aspects and main source.
So sad. Prayers and peace