Water for hunting cabin

[2012_taco]

My buddy has a trailer converted to a hunting cabin. He has a septic system but no running water.  He has a rain gutter that fills a 55 gal plastic drum and from that he fills 2.5 gal containers and stacks them in the tub to use for flushing the toilet. He asked me to help install some kind of water system to be able to use the shower. I thought I would throw this out here to see what input you all could provide.

He has obtained a large plastic container approx 300 gal, a submergeable pump, and an electric hot water tank. The plan is to set the large tank with the pump outside and continue to use it for collecting rain water. Then install a 30gal holding tank above the ceiling to supply the toilet. The thought is the elevated tank will provide water pressure so a pump will not be necessary to run the water. I do know that drain valves will be required as we don't plan on keeping the cabin heated when not occupied. I will probably build an enclosure to insulate the tank so we can use it later into the hunting season and not have the tank freeze up.

My question is, has anyone installed any type of temp water supply to a cabin and what are the downfalls or issues I can expect to encounter? 

Also, I realize that I need to filter the gutter feed as I don't want the large tank to fill up with debris and plug the pump. Just not sure how to filter the gutter feeds without having them clog up with leaves etc.

As usual, thanks for the help.

[moog5050]

Maybe @Culvercreek hunt club will chime in.  

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Do you have permanent electric there or are you on a generator?

[G-Man]

We did a 55 gallon drum elevated 4 ft off ground at fortmans cabin , provides enough pressure to fill toilet and give water for rinsing hands.. 

a simple pressure 12 volt pressure pump the kind you use on a sprayer would eliminate the need for elevation of tank. And shut off at set pressure. Same as a pump on a well. 

We also installed a screen at top of barrel to keep insect larva out of it..  you have non potable water but would work. For toilet ect. 

Edited April 18, 2020 by G-Man

[2012_taco]

7 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Do you have permanent electric there or are you on a generator?

Permanent power.

[2012_taco]

5 minutes ago, G-Man said:

We did a 55 gallon drum elevated 4 ft off ground at fortmans cabin , provides enough pressure to fill toilet and give water for rinsing hands.. 

a simple pressure 12 volt pressure pump the kind you use on a sprayer would eliminate the need for elevation of tank. And shut off at set pressure. Same as a pump on a well. 

We also installed a screen at top of barrel to keep insect larva out of it..  you have non potable water but would work. For toilet ect. 

the existing 55 gal drum has filter cloth over the top to keep out debris. we just remove the screen to fill the containers. I'll look into a low voltage inline pump. 

[Bionic]

We are running a semi-temporary setup right now, we are solar powered, and generator powered.  We have a water tank outside(temporary) that is being fed by rain water from a gutter, we have a woman’s panty hose stocking as a filter right on the end of the gutter that hangs into the tank, the top of the tank has metal screen to seal off best we can.  We have low pines mainly, and do not have issues with tree debris.  I believe there is another inline filter but not positive, my dad set this all up.  An RV style pump is being used, along with a propane on-demand water heater.  It works VERY well(runs shower/sink/toilet).  Once the tank is full outside which fills pretty fast, we disconnect the gutter feed until we need to refill.  We will be getting permanent water tank that is for underground set, this summer.  Not sure if any of this is a help, but thought it was worth mentioning.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Bionic

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I’d grab a RV on demand water pump. And us one of the skid 275 gallon tanks for the bulk catch and your primary tank to draw off. It’ll give you 40 psi and plenty to use in a sink toilet or shower. We use an on demand propane hot water heater for hot water. In very cold temps we pump up to a 40 gallon tank in the loft. We then use valves to isolate it and pump out of that when temps are cold. Open a low drain valve and dump the whole system when we leave. Winter proof the toilet.

 

[ncountry]

5 minutes ago, 2012_taco said:

Permanent power.

Having permanent power, I would use the tank as your "well" and plumb things up conventionally with properly placed drain valves.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

You can also use a 5 gallon bucket as a debris trap inline on the gutter

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Having permanent power, I would use the tank as your "well" and plumb things up conventionally with properly placed drain valves.

Anything outside should use a fitting like shark bites to allow for easy removal when cold or leaving.

[2012_taco]

5 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

You can also use a 5 gallon bucket as a debris trap inline on the gutter

I assume you have the bucket set up with the outlet above the inlet to allow for debris to settle?

[ncountry]

1 minute ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Anything outside should use a fitting like shark bites to allow for easy removal when cold or leaving.

Since pex has been widely available, I've used this with sloped pipes, minimal fittings, and valves at low points. 

The spot that often gets missed is the bottom fitting on the shower valve, and the sprayer on a kitchen sink.

[Engraver99]

You tube has a bunch of videos on this,  been watching this To get ideas for myself. Interesting stuff there!

Edited April 18, 2020 by Engraver99

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I assume you have the bucket set up with the outlet above the inlet to allow for debris to settle?

I did. Now we pump into it and don’t sure rain after

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Since pex has been widely available, I've used this with sloped pipes, minimal fittings, and valves at low points. 
The spot that often gets missed is the bottom fitting on the shower valve, and the sprayer on a kitchen sink.

Since our pump is in the camp it “pulls” the water out of the 275 gallon tank. We pull that pipe off because it has standing water while we are there and it does freeze. We use the shark bite in that connection

[cas]

I just can't see how it's going to get enough water after say July. 

 

The thread reminds me of a now gone friends camp... their water was spring fed, no well or tank. So the sinks ran (had to) 24 hours a day, 367 days a year. 

[2012_taco]

Between turkey hunting and scouting, we did get started on the new water supply system.this is the existing system to gather water to flush the toilet.this hs the new system, I plan on putting in a 12v RV water pump in the cabin and a 20 gal HW tank.I'll use 1 of the existing 55 gal blue barrels and set it on the little stand to catch the gutter water and allow for debris to settle before it flows into the big tank. Of course i will be adding drain valves at low points in the water lines so that it can be winterized. I'm thinking about adding an insulated enclosure around the tank and putting a couple of light bulbs inside to keep the tank from freezing just to extend the water season through deer season. 

Edited May 4, 2020 by 2012_taco
added text.

[Daveboone]

My camp has no running water. for years we just collected rainwater into two 65 gallon bbls, We just used it for flushing the toilet and wash water. We wouldnt run them dry if we were carefull....no flush for a pee. 

This year I found a heavy angle iron rack that I am able to elevate bbls from. the first one acts as a settingl tank then feeds into a 2nd one, which I just finished plumbing to the toilet. The wife is apprecitive, but unless we are in a rainy spell, same rule....no flush for a pee. It looks like what you have will give plenty of water, as long as the water supply is above the outlet. And we have happily learned a quick wet down, fast lather with campers soap and rinse to suffice....usually uses less than about 3 gallons. 

[Jeremy K]

You guys are fancy , we used an outhouse and a shower bag until the camp got sold. We brought jugs of water with us every trip to keep the holding tank topped off. 

[2012_taco]

It's been a while but i got back down to Birdsall yesterday and worked on the water system. It was  real long day but we managed to get the bathtub, sink in the bathroom and the toilet all connected to the rain barrel system. We used a plug in 110 volt inline water pump (4.5 gpm) and a 20 gal electric hot water tank. Worked out really good even though the existing fixtures haven't seen water through them in 15 years. Only a few leaks in the supply lines. I'll fix them next trip. Still need to complete the lies to the kitchen sink but I ran out of time and pex pipe. And I need to add a 20 amp breaker and run a dedicated line to the HW tank. It's going to be awesome to have hot water and be able to take a shower at camp. Now we will have to keep an eye on the water reserve as I noticed there wasn't a lot in the tank even though I believe we had significant rain. It's possible that the heavy rain storms are going right over the gutter? I never took any pics as we literally worked to after dark. I'll try to get some pics next trip. 

[2012_taco]

Went down to Birdsall yesterday to finish up the plumbing. What a dummy i am! Got all the way there and realized I forgot to bring the pex crimper! We were able to rent 1 from the hardware store in Belmont, thank God! So we finished all the water lines and fixed the previous leaks. Added a couple of drains to the system in the lowest areas, and wired the HW tank. Primed the system and turned on the power to the tank and pump. Everything works great , we were able to wash dishes at the kitchen sink, after I fixed another leak, and take a couple of well deserved showers! Couldn't be happier! Thanks for all the previous advice, I took everything into consideration and came up with a system that functions perfectly. We'll see this winter if my drains work properly and we don't have any burst pipes or fittings? I'll take some pics soon as we worked late again. 

[Moho81]

Job well done Taco. Being able to take a shower after a hunt is a game changer. Not for hunting but for comfort.


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[2012_taco]

10 hours ago, Moho81 said:

Job well done Taco. Being able to take a shower after a hunt is a game changer. Not for hunting but for comfort.


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Being able to take a shower after crawling around in a mouse infested crawl space for 8 hours is an absolute must!! I never felt so dirty, and I've worked in a lot of disgusting homes over the years!