It has been two months since I decided to do that, and I have gradually been buying the parts. I would have the components on hand, and if the crisis comes, the well buckets can be made at that time. So I decided to buy all the components needed to make six well buckets. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I have that kind of money to spare. There is no reason why I shouldn't, except that it would cost me a lot of money to buy six more WaterBoy Well Buckets. When that thought entered my mind, I pondered on it for awhile and came to the conclusion that I should act on it. If there were a sturdy well bucket at each of those locations, everyone in a fairly wide radius around me would have access to fresh well water in the event of a long-term grid crisis. I identified six strategic locations on the country roads that are near my house-six locations where there are small groups of houses, usually at crossroads. But the thought entered my mind that I should have half a dozen more well buckets for my neighbors. What good is my family having water if those around us don't have water? Maybe they've got plans of their own. Then I got to thinking about my neighbors. I bought a length of good-quality rope and put it up there too.Īs for the well bucket, I confess to taking it apart and studying the design for awhile. We tied the tripod up to the rafters of one of my storage sheds. If he thought I was being kooky for thinking and planning for the grid to go down, he didn't say so. I told him that I might be dead and gone before the electrical grid crashed, but I wanted him to know about the well bucket and the tripod and hang onto it if something happens to me. I explained to my son why I had bought the bucket and tripod. To attach the legs to the top assembly I had my youngest son help me drill some holes and bolt the assembly on. I bought the tubing new from a local welding shop. I needed to purchase three 12' lengths of 1.5" square tubing (1/8" thick). The tripod kit I bought isn't the whole tripod. But to be ready for that crisis, I needed to make the tripod. It's a good feeling to know that I can now fetch good drinking and cooking water out of my well in the event of a crisis. Darren is obviously a talented "shade tree engineer," meaning he has taken commonly-available parts (made for things other than well bucket components) and put them together to make a product that not only works very well, but looks to me like it will hold up for a lot of heavy use. The well bucket is intelligently designed. My order arrived in a timely manner and I was impressed. The total cost, including shipping, was $216 ($84 of that was for the well bucket). While I was at it, I bought the tripod kit too. ![]() I watched This YouTube video of Darren showing how his well bucket works, and I decided that, instead of making my own well bucket, I would buy one from him. Then I saw the Heavy Duty WaterBoy Well Bucket that is made and sold by Darren and Linda Holliday, who are located in Missouri. ![]() There are numerous designs for homemade well buckets on YouTube. So it has been on my mind for some time to try making a well bucket. The well is about 80 feet deep and the water level is down about 25 feet. And the well is full of good drinking water that doesn't require any filtering or other treatment. It is easier to get to than the creek, which is down in a gully. To filter water for drinking, I have a Big Berkey water filter (do a Google search for Big Berkey).Īside from the short-term fix (a generator), the plans I have to gather water are all very low-tech, which means they are relatively cheap and very dependable.īut the fact is, I have a drilled well not far from the door of my house. I also planned to collect buckets of water from the creek behind my house and carry them with a Whizbang Shoulder Yoke (See The Same Book for How-To Plans). The generator will run the 110 volt submersible pump in my drilled well.įor a long-term outage the plan was (and still is) to collect rain water into drums using Steve Lonsky's Amazing Siphon-Tube Rain Barrels (as explained in This Informative Book). It's not a scenario I'm obsessed with, but I do feel compelled to consider the possibility enough to have a plan in place to keep my family supplied with clean water.įor short-duration power outages I have a small generator and a few cans of gasoline. If/when that happens, I won't be surprised if the power is off for weeks, months, or even years. I hope it doesn't happen, but I do expect the electric grid to really go down someday.
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