if you elevate your totes, you can gravity feed your hoses. also, attaching a small 1/4 tube to the bottom of a full tote, it will create enough pressure to push the water through the tube up hill to fill a higher tote and give you more pressure like a water tower. just an idea you may want to try. i problem solve for a living for last 36 years lol

I just purchased 5 acres in NW TN and I can sure appreciate the work you cats have put into homesteading your property. So far in a week I've managed to clear a bit of land for my trailer and parking. Gravel and grading was just finished. I rented a skid steer and had some rock dropped off. Unless your doing what were doing, most will never understand how much work goes into being off-grid. Truth be told, when I was here looking at pre-built sheds and mini houses I remembered what you guys went through and even though I'm in an unrestriced county I knew that I didn't want the same issues. I bought a camper and as I clear the land I'll build the tiny home. Your video's have taught me so much. Thank you.

Could any of your solar panel areas be used for water surface collection? Basically, it would be a multi-purpose utility collection at that point. That's if, at the height of your solar panels, the water could be channeled to a collection tank. Maybe in the future, raise the structure if a new solar area is created if my suggestion could work out.

Thank you so much for this video. We live in the woods in Missouri where our power goes out more often than people in town, and when the power goes out, we have no well. We are about a mile from a large river, but it''s very steep terrain to get to it and we are in our 60's now. Your tips are very helpful. I've just discovered your videos and I'm enjoying them very much. I wish we had done all that when we were younger. Wishing you the best!

Need to shed the plastic tanks keep out of direct sunlight to prevent plastic degrading

Hey Matt and Cass! Love your videos, they remind me of the way it was when I was growing up and would visit my mamaw and papaw in southeastern Kentucky, we lived in Ohio, they didn’t have indoor plumbing until 1987! And we carried water from a spring every day until they were able to run a hose to it. They had chickens, goats and dogs. I loved staying there in the summer. Fast forward to 2015 and I moved down here and my son lives in mamaw and papaws old house and I live in my moms trailer, sadly she passed away in November. But things are so different now, we definitely aren’t living off the grid we have electricity I pay for, the same with internet, phone, water and groceries. My son just got 5 goats and 1 sheep recently and we’re hoping to get some chickens. Just thought I would say hi and tell you y’all are doing a great job at building your own homestead don’t worry about being on a schedule just enjoy what you have together, you have really came a long way since you moved there. ❤️

We all feed off each other's ideas which is the best way to do it

My wife and I ,lived in an Old Farmhouse for 34yrs had a Cistern in the fall the water would turn Brown from the Leaves like Tea the wife would say time to clean the gutters .We never ran out of water as long as there are no obstructions .I thought it was great .

And and they show you how to build the pump systems. And everything for that and you can buy plans for all of it at certain times for fifty bucks for all their solar panels, everything inverters split units systems that are solar powered everything they got it all

Consider a pond below the current rainwater collection setup to catch more runoff. Could provide thousands of gallons during a drought.

Another thing you might want to try out there is Gold Prospecting as the price is up $2300 / oz. and 1.0 oz. isn't very much. We have a Pamphlet we have to take with us when prospecting f/ DNR. There's YT stuff on how to read the Rivers and stuff. And then there is Leather Crafting.

There is a current KZfaqr who collects enough rainwater. His channel is frugal off-grid 😊

In Australia and New Zealand, it has traditionally been very common for remote hiking, hunting and fishing cabins, and some farmhouses to be entirely dependant on rainwater tanks. Corrugated iron roofing is very common and lends itself to collecting clean rainwater. Often with nothing more than a basic leaf filter on the tank inlet. A first flush system is optional but recommended. Using the metric system it is very easy to work out how many litres of water we will collect from how many millimetres of rain (and how much that water will weigh). (I have heard that in parts of SW USA rainwater needs to be treated/purified to avoid transmission of "desert fever". So be aware of local conditions). Rainwater contains zero Chlorine or Fluoride or other chemicals, and is much better than "city" water for seedlings, or restoring sick plants to health. Some well water is very pure and other, such as in parts of dryland Australia can be saltier than the sea. Australia and New Zealand sit isolated in the Southern Hemisphere surrounded by unoccupied Ocean. Folks elsewhere, please be aware of any local air pollution that might be in your local area.

Hey Matt & Cass, look into using a 12 volt jacuzzi pump to move your water to where it needs to go, hook it up to a 12 volt battery and keep the battery charged by a small solar panel. On our off grid property down here in southern Alabama we had a well dug, they only had to go down to 60 feet to hit water. I went with a 110 volt pump on the well, I have to use our generator to transfer the water to our storage tanks, which our 500 gallons each, I thought I had the tanks high enough so they could flow into out camper, but nope to long of a run, so I installed a jacuzzi pump half way to the camper. We also have a jacuzzi pump down by the lake to pull water from the lake to water the garden, the lake is 800 acres and it's spring feed and private, the water is crystal clear you could probably use it as a source of drinking water.....

I have been Filtering My Spring Water for about 11 yrs now and I had Problems with Green Slime Moss Growing in My Filter Tanks and I Put a ! oz Silver Bar/ Round in the Filter Tanks and it has taken care of any Green Slime Moss Growing. Back in the day when there was No Refridgeation and they used Horse Drawn Wagons to Transport Raw Milk Every Milk Can They Would Put in a Silver Coin to Kill The Bacteria that would grow in the cans of milk. Works Great.

It depends on the spot of the spring on your property. You may need permissions, and you could potentially dam up a spot to create a pool then filter pipe it to a reservoir which you could then pump from or if enough downhill you could maybe get enough force to feed uphill but thats iffy.

I would be on the lookout for larger tanks those ibc tanks are very popular but a hassle in my opinion. 2000-10000 gallon tanks are often for sale on marketplace etc. This just reduces all that pumping and connection fittings not to mention the filters for each tank... Plus they often come in darker material so you wont have to buy the covers like you do for ibc. If it freezes regularly I would rent/borrow a way to bury them to keep them insulated. This is a common "mistake" I see off grid ppl do is try to "save" a few bucks here and there while causing a lot more effort. I just think the most important parts of the homestead make them as easy and effortless by spending the money upfront. One I still don't understand is how many off griders still use an axe to cut wood when there are 50 cheap contraptions to make it 100x easier. Another is watering the garden... there are automated systems that run on minimal solar power to water the garden. I also think shipping containers are under utilized by a lot of people I see on youtube. Two 40' footer with a roof connecting them gives you such a huge surface to collect rainwater. You get a shop, weather proof storage, etc. for under 10k. I also think how to make food production as easy possible... Composted wood chips for garden ground cover. Food forest. mimic nature it grows food without human intervention. I also think everyone should have storm shelter and root cellar which could be combined to serve both needs.

Maybe you can find an older semi tanker trailer. Food grade. Mine holds 6000 gallons

I would find out as much as you can from the locals how deep down where any hand dug wells in the local area. Where i live most hand dug wells were any where from 10 feet deep up to 20 25 feet deep down in the ground. A drilled well here can be any where from 40 feet deep up to 100 feet deep. At Cherokee lake where my dad owned property the drilled well there was over 200 feet deep and supplied water to five homes. Just about every where the first water you will hit is surface water which is still good water.

Wondering you must be able to buy big round water tanks in the USA. That is what we have in Australia. 6000L tank we have 3 for in house usage and 1.5 tank total aprox 3500L for gardening. We have never ever ran out of water. We have the house and the garage surface. Of course we have filter on the one line comes into the house and for drinking we filter the filtered water we have 2 Britta filter jug for drinking and coocking.

should be using you excess unclean rainwater for gardening plants for grey water for flushing

Lived with a cistern for many years filter at outlets in gutters sediment would settle in bottom of cistern not much had the foot check valve sitting in a cinderblock in the bottom of cistern that kept any sediment out of our water did that for over ,34 years city water came down the road I decided that would of cost me about 4grand .

Guess I like your work out fit

I have rainwater collection, wait till winter when it all freezes up. Now you have a new set of problems to solve. I wont go into it ,just to much to write about. Offgrid is not easy people but can be done fairly easier these days with all the cool products available. I eventually got electric cause im 66 yrs old. Solar only does so much unless you have a huge super expensive system. Be prepared to run a/c off a generator with a short 10/3 cord. Or no air conditioning. Just a few things to think about

We're moving to east Tennessee Crossville. That's if all goes right went our youngest son and my wife drive to see the place this Friday... I physically can't handle another SE Wisconsin. These old bones have been worked hard and I want to enjoy my years that GOD lets me stay here... LOL... May you kids be blessed in Jesus name... BBE..

Hey guys great video glad yall are doing so good!! Much Love!!

Great video Matt and Cass

This was a great video.I'm really glad I came across your channel🙌🏼 Im building an earth home in New Mexico, As well as starting my rain water collection throughout my property. Good job, keep the videos coming.I just subscribed & 👍🏼👍🏼.

It only takes 2 days to dig a well and 1 day to line it with masonry. Ive done it 3 times

You guys are great

I like these two, making due with available water capacity without waste. I have access to a well & built a dual filter bucket system. But even so the filters are good for so many hundred gallons then need replacement. And they aren't cheap. Good luck.

How far away is the spring? If it is better for drinking maybe you could transport the spring water in 2 litre bottles like cheap lemonade comes in. A couple of carrier bags and 2 of those bottles wouldn't be too hard to carry if it isn't far and that would be 4 litres. Not sure how much the water filter takes but you might be close to filling it?. There are also those 5 litre bottles that spring water sometimes comes in that have their own handle and aren't too bad to carry. and there are those water drums with a handle that are supposed to roll along but I'm not sure how much use they might be.

You all rock and really did your homework!!! We have 4,500 gallon holding capacity. I mainly use it for garden and livestock and it really helps! So I got a adapter so I could hook up a hose on both ends to any two tanks at one time. No pump needed they will equalize out. I have also used this from big tanks to smaller. It's easier to fill up off a bigger roof! So just before a rain I top off my slower filling tanks from the big catchers! Then I am maxed out as much as possible from a good rain. I love our system and yes get an automatic waterer for those chickens and catch the water off their roof. I use two 50 gallon barrels attached together and never have run out of water for them. And the animals prefer it to my rural water. I have not drank mine yet but I am prepared to if I need to. We have a Berkey. Great job! And just remember that if you raise those tanks off the ground you will have a lot more pressure! 1 pound per foot of drop. So if you ever get bigger tanks go for as tall as you can versus lower. Y'all are doing great!!

Tiny shiny homes Homestead on KZfaq. They use water collection for all their deals. All their buildings and they make enough for a family of six

i bought a 2500 gallon tank from home depot , collects all the rain no worries

The answer is to stop trying to filter as you capture. Filter secondarily, and flush the rest out. Create A large sand filter to filter all raw rain water. I would use layers of biochar/Sand to help filter. Eventually, the filter will be replaced, that's how it works. There is no perfect solution that last forever. Or used a water bridge to separate raw rain water from semi pure water before using filter. The filter will last longer this way.

That looks better at least you got a Camper. MS Weather app goes out months so you could try to use it to predict months in advance. If you need a job you might consider Forest Service of some kind they are hiring. A Drafting Cert. should only take 1 yr. and then you'll learn how to design alot and how things are done in Engineering and meet some Engineers along the way or work with some that can really help you along. And the pay is above average unskilled. Or you may consider temp work as they tend to suck but will usually part with $20/hr for most contract temp jobs. Then you can be home if you want. If one wants school then one works while the other goes through and vice versa. At least your a team. I'm willing to bet your shed does not have any insulation for winter months. I leave the research to you. That falls under the MEP Engineering category of HVAC. You may want to do something for that. I guess you could continually buy RV's or Trailers after they run down or wear out. It is inevitable that things will break, fail or need occasional repair. Well at least your a team you have that can be a leg up. Nobody want to wait for me to finish 10 yrs of school before I make a move on anything. I do plan along the way though.

Check out zero water,it is simple,cheap,comes with the water meter,the same filter fits all their models.Great videos.❤

Speaking of winter. I think you should check to see if you are in the Ice Storm Belt. And if you are or know you are make appropriations for that. I think you guys are probably aware of what an Ice Storm is they are not that often to be like yearly but do happen every few yrs. The Physics id the rainfall is below the temperature of freeze point 0 C ot 32 F and when the Supercooled water impacts something it then freezes into a solid it's on the net. However, they can be quite damaging to many things. Even structures that are properly engineered. Again I leave the research to you. I Bid Good Skill, as we can never rely on luck. Ever in Engineering.

Yep, it's nice that you guys get 53" of rain every year. You could have talked about the tote covering and why you used it. There's no perfect solution. Wells can be expensive, and you still have to power pumps, and run piping everywhere. You get enough rain, maybe you could build distributed covered water tanks each with their own roof to catch rainwater. It might not all need first flush or additional filtering if you're just watering plants with it. What do you think of Clearly Filtered?

Great video

Given your situation, I'd be tempted to rig up a drinking water system from your spring. It give you an option that wasn't dependent on rainfall. Stick a solar panel in a clearing to power it. Just run it when the temperature was above freezing.

Hey Neighbors 👋👋👋 Yall are doing great !we Have 4- 6 days of more rain this week

So enjoy your channel. I’m sort of new here and wanted to say hi. Xoxo

Hi great job, I am also going off grid, just bought 18.55 acres of just land, learning a lot from the university of KZfaq, one suggestion, your reducing tee just below the leaf eater is upside down, for best results get a long radius reducing tee wye and you will not get any first flush thru to the tank.

Time to dig the pool!!!! Who's not the puppy anymore? You make your own beer, why not buy a still. Thats what I plan to do. I don't have the water needs you do but I do have a lot of uses for distilled water.

great job you two!

Wow! I didn't realize a roof could collect that much water. Great video!

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I'm so happy foe you guys !!! What a beautiful property

Awesome video God Bless you and your family Amen

I think if you check into the area of that you're in and as close as you are to the Springs. If you know somebody's got an excavator get you a concrete Colbert. Pipe, that is big and noodle. I'd say around 4 foot diameter standard on its end. Get it down. Deep stand it on the sand and then stand another one on top of it. And then dig at the bottom of it and it'll sink those 2 pipe sink, but you gotta have the coal or the excavator to keep it standing straight up and as you dig down and you dig under it, it'll sink into the ground and you keep doing that until you hit water and the. They've got rubber seals that goes in between the 2 pipe. When you stand them on top of each other that you can actually seal them up and then it'll build water up in Em. And if you get down into gravel and the water starts sleeping up, don't worry about it. The gravel won't filter the water until it gets up, and then you make sure your pump's not all the way to the bottom

Great show! I learn a lot from your show. I had recently bought a gravity filter system similar in size to yours so that I don't have to buy bottled water any more. I've never been fond of the taste of my coffee or tea with local tap water and don't trust any city system for what they put in it (though my body is probably full of plastic from those water bottles. lol).

Could you put a lilnkfor the screen for the cap? Thanks from off grid in N Arizona

Have you? Considered getting a big storage tank that's placed up a few feet above your pipeline? You would need a pump to put the water to the tank, but gravity would provide the water pressure.

As always the best. Love how you make something out of nothing. Stay safe and love ya!

. I've been doing rain collection for 16 years. I rarely have to fo anything except check the down spout make sure it clear. Dont waste a bunch of money on those IBC tanks your gonna be unhappy. Get you a. 1100 gallon solid colored tank. Those tarps you got covering them will not keep 100% of the sunlight out and your water will grow. Oh i am in Arizona and I've never run out of water but i use 3 of the 1100 gallon tanks and my roof is 800 sq ft. I can't put enough emphasis on not alowing any sunlight hiting your stored water. Unless you like green water and wasting a fortune on filters.

Rain. Water is OK for the grass but not for human drinking given the fact you are in Tennessee. And not the west coast you can drill your own drinking and farm water well for free. Not hard at all to drive the well it can be easily done with the Cement block pipe system but it might take the day to get it done but very well worth it

Just curious as to how you keep it from freezing, and also, you must have a way of keeping it circulating through all the totes by use to prevent stagnation ?

Hear is An idea I saw that Home Depot has a pressure tank mounted on a two wheel dolly they use to carry around the garden center that would be an idea

Love your videos guys

For the first 10-15 years I drank nothing but rain water and we didn't have any filters hooked to it and I'm still alive. Those notheads in Washington and the College airheads think everything has to be filtered, my father grew up on the farm and he lived to 83

What happened with the zoning of your cabin ? Did they allow it afterall ?

See "My 5500 Gallon Rain Barrel System" from Simplify Gardening

What are you doing to prevent your tanks and pipes from winter freeze?

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

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ram pump

How do you keep it from freezing in the winter?

Any chance of putting a well where your spring is? Looks your rain water catchment is working well!! Great job guys!!

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Cass? Why/how do you 2 get my orage/ginger feline overthere whilst I'm in Europe with my (female) Munchkin next to me

In what area of TN is your homestead? 😊

Why not well with a hand pump? No power needed.

Like most of the country, we have had much more rain than usual, buy El Nino is changing to La Nina and you will likely need a plan B by July. Like people I watch in Panama and other places with a rainy and dry season, you should get a well pump to put down by the spring and did a hole or build a dam and put the pump in it to move the water to where needed, even your cabin storage. You can prepare ahead, or wait till the time comes, but a spring is not 100% dependable, but much more than rain because it stores up much more spring season water than you can.

💧💧💧🌊🌊🌊👍👍👍🍻🍻🍻

minerals?

How far away is your creek? Maybe just pump H2O from there into your tanks.

20-30 years from now you'll want a well. Tennessee is currently on pace to reach 45-50 days of 90-degree plus days by 2050. The risk of drought and fire could be greatly elevated compared to the current climate, so you need to be looking ahead by building now when the cost is lowest. If you wait, you might not have the resources to adapt.

You better check with local laws about your rainwater catchment system. Some states, counties and and cities have laws against you stealing their water if you live up hill from them.