Those of you full time boondockers who went big with fresh water storage…

[shaymcquaid]

Hello and thanks for looking…

I’m mounting three 55 gallon plastic tanks under the bus for fresh and gray tanks…but the third tank is being a little difficult,lol.

The plan was 110 gray and a 55 aux fresh. (I have 100 gallons fresh under the bedroom floor.)

Those who went big on their fresh:

Do you actually use/need all that capacity?
What have been your observations?

Thanks in advance,
-Shay

[Danjo]

How many people? How long? Taking showers regularly?

[Drew Bru]

We had 100 gal fresh water for two adults and a dog. That lasted about 10 days of average use. Since we usually wanted to stay the full 2 weeks allowed wherever we were camping we bought a few 5 gal collapsible jugs and filled our tank from them to stretch it the extra days.

[mmoore6856]

check out showerloop if you want to enjoy long showers and extend water use

[HamSkoolie]

I've got the same question. We plan 200 fresh and a 35-40 gal reclaimed tank that pulls the grey through a series of filters ending with RO and UV sterilizer for shower, washing machine, and toilet flushing. Shower and washing machine back to grey and then reclaimed again.


It sure would be nice to avoid all the extra plumbing and expense if 200 fresh will last 3-4 weeks with judicious use.

[Gyrkin]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

It sure would be nice to avoid all the extra plumbing and expense if 200 fresh will last 3-4 weeks with judicious use.

We average 6 gallons/ day with judicious use. That is for cooking, washing dishes, general cleaning and sponge baths, not showers.

[Rucker]

40 gallons for four days off grid. We have a 25 Gal. freshwater tank, three jerry cans, and two 20-gal tanks for graywater. Composting toilet.

[Rwnielsen]

Originally Posted by Rucker

40 gallons for four days off grid. We have a 25 Gal. freshwater tank, three jerry cans, and two 20-gal tanks for graywater. Composting toilet.

That seems like a lot to me but I've never kept track of how much I use at home.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by Gyrkin

We average 6 gallons/ day with judicious use. That is for cooking, washing dishes, general cleaning and sponge baths, not showers.

Our design requirement (handed down by the Goddess) is that she WILL be able to shower daily.
I've designed a reclamation system (to supply the shower and washing machine) that I hope will allow that without consuming large quantities of water.

[Oldyeller]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

Our design requirement (handed down by the Goddess) is that she WILL be able to shower daily.
I've designed a reclamation system (to supply the shower and washing machine) that I hope will allow that without consuming large quantities of water.

The hour shower approach?

[bearbus]

I'm planning on using an AWG (Air water generator) for extended stays. Something like this which has an incredible multistage filtration system: https://nuimagesolution.com/product/nu-water-30/

See a video about it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ZFTyiT6Kg

It produces up to 8 gallons daily of pure potable water.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by Oldyeller

The hour shower approach?

Not that bad and I think that might make propane the limiting resource.....LOL
We're going to have a washing machine and they take about 30 gallons so I'm looking at a 35ish gallon reclamation tank. That will feed the shower, the washing machine, and toilet flushing.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by bearbus

I'm planning on using an AWG (Air water generator) for extended stays. Something like this which has an incredible multistage filtration system: https://nuimagesolution.com/product/nu-water-30/

See a video about it here:

It produces up to 8 gallons daily of pure potable water.

YIKES 2 grand!!!!!
We're considering capturing the AC condensate when they're in use. Same process to obtain the water (condensation on a cold surface) but without the filtration and 2 grand price tag.....OUCH

[Rucker]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

YIKES 2 grand!!!!!
We're considering capturing the AC condensate when they're in use. Same process to obtain the water (condensation on a cold surface) but without the filtration and 2 grand price tag.....OUCH

Yeah, spaceship features, spaceship prices.

And I thought I was out there with the hot water recirc pump.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by Rucker

Yeah, spaceship features, spaceship prices.

And I thought I was out there with the hot water recirc pump.

As in recirc to reduce water waste waiting for the hot water to get to the fixture?

We've been wondering on that and I think we've settled on simply catching the water in a dedicated container and returning it to the main tank (po boys recirc LOL). Recirc seems like it would cause more energy (electric or propane) to be used for heating water that cools in the recirc circuit.