Kook Survival Tip

I am a kook you know. A bitter clinger type. Quick trip inside the Kook's head here. Southwest Missouri has been the victim of frequent power outages for about two years now. Two big ice storms, tornadoes, and most recently what they called a "land based hurricane." I live a little ways out from town; Not exactly the boonies though. Anyway, I bought a generator two years ago. It was all the store had, and I was not prepared before hand to be without power for 9 days. So it is just the medium/large size 5500 Watt generator. It will run a refrigerator, lights, etc. But I am on a well. It will not run the well pump. I do not have nearly 10,000 dollars to spend on a generator that will run the well. During the big power outage I bought a thirty gallon water tank and it is now suspended in the closet under my stairs with a hose attached that will reach the toilet. I can heat water on the gas stove to bathe or cook with. I keep at least 15 gallons of drinking quality water too. The water in the tank is well water and would be safe to drink, I think, for quite a while, but I prefer to use sterile water if I can get it to drink.

I have gas heat, so as long as there is propane in the tank I have a cook stove and heat. I use a vent less gas heater for supplemental heat during good times, but it will keep the house at seventy degrees in near zero weather. Of course, I do live in a berm home.

But I keep coming back to my problem of not being able to run my well pump. Did I mention I live in a berm home? They get damp, so I have a dehumidifier. The dehumidifier will run off of the generator. Even in the winter I get three gallons every 12 hours. In the summer I get three gallons every 8. I usually pour the bucket out once a day.

That, at least, is comforting, and although it might have some dirt in it, if the bucket was disinfected periodically the water should be mostly clean, it is basically distilled water coming from the air like it is. I am not sure I would drink it, at least not until I got thirsty. I am sure it would have impurities in it, but then my well water is not chlorinated either. I would not be too scared of it, especially if I were to use some water tablets in it. It would be OK for washing, and might be OK for cooking, or at least flushing the toilet.

So until I get my windmill, I can be comforted with the thought that I have a water generator. I bet I could get double the amount of water in the summer if I put the dehumidifier outside...