I Built a Portable Off-Grid Water System

[freedom_in_4low]

If you decide you want details, I'm happy to provide as much as you want.

Your scenario is basically what I was going for but I will usually be filling jugs since getting an RV close to a water source is not always feasible. I have a small teardrop that has 2-15 gallon fresh water tanks that I can refill from 7 gallon jugs that I have. I just need to get close enough with a vehicle to connect to the battery while I'm filling jugs. Everything else (jugs, filter unit, hoses) can be carried to the water's edge pretty easily. I have at least 40' of power supply cable and can also employ the cables for my solar setup as extensions if needed. So the camper can stay parked while I drive to a cow tank/reservoir/river to fill jugs.

If I was designing a system purely for RV use, I might do something of a hybrid. Something like maybe a 2 stage filter with a high flow rate for filling tanks. Then you could go with a bigger pump with more pulling power to prime the pump from a greater distance/elevation. Then maybe a final microfilter/carbon stage and a UV unit installed in your RV water system.

My 1 GPM pump does not have a lot of pulling power for priming so I can't be too far from a water source. A bigger pump would prime easier but I would have to restrict it to 1 GPM anyway for my UV unit. And keep in mind that if you put let's say a 1 GPM restrictor on a 3 GPM pump for example, that 3 GPM pump will prime easier but it will be drawing a ton of current trying to push 3 GPM through a 1 GPM restrictor. I looked at performance data from 2 US pump manufacturers, Aquatec and Delavan. They have charts that show the current draw vs flow rate for the various pumps and a bigger pump than you need just wastes power and puts stress (heat/mechanical) on the pump when running at less than the rated flow rates. The pump I picked has a pretty consistent 1 GPM flow rate across a wide range of back pressure. And with fresh filter elements it's only seeing <5 PSI back pressure so it's hardly breaking a sweat and drawing very little current.

What type of pumps are these? Some sort of positive displacement I'm inferring from the characteristics you describe.

Sorry if you mentioned it already but I didn't catch it...what does your setup weigh?

It affects pump technologies differently but to some extent it'll always work better if you can bring the pump to the source. I recognize that's not the most practical but maybe you could run a small booster pump at the hose inlet to help with priming.

 

[g.hayduke]

What type of pumps are these? Some sort of positive displacement I'm inferring from the characteristics you describe.

Sorry if you mentioned it already but I didn't catch it...what does your setup weigh?

It affects pump technologies differently but to some extent it'll always work better if you can bring the pump to the source. I recognize that's not the most practical but maybe you could run a small booster pump at the hose inlet to help with priming.

The pump I'm using is a diaphragm demand pump. I have a priming method that works well enough. No extra pump needed. I loosen the first filter stage to eliminate any back pressure. Then I prefill the intake hose, start the pump, and quickly connect the intake hose with it mostly full of water. When it starts pumping water, I retighten the first filter stage and I'm good to go.

 

[srimes]

The pump I'm using is a diaphragm demand pump. I have a priming method that works well enough. No extra pump needed. I loosen the first filter stage to eliminate any back pressure. Then I prefill the intake hose, start the pump, and quickly connect the intake hose with it mostly full of water. When it starts pumping water, I retighten the first filter stage and I'm good to go.

I'd tee in a valve for priming.
Would also be inclined to keep the filters on the RV, only moving an intake hose and possibly portable battery-powered pump to the water, to avoid jug-hauling as much as possible. For cases where you have to carry I'd look at a lightweight hand pump (possibly bilge-pump style) to fill and do the filtering at the RV to avoid having to carry the filter system.

 

[g.hayduke]

I'd tee in a valve for priming.
Would also be inclined to keep the filters on the RV, only moving an intake hose and possibly portable battery-powered pump to the water, to avoid jug-hauling as much as possible. For cases where you have to carry I'd look at a lightweight hand pump (possibly bilge-pump style) to fill and do the filtering at the RV to avoid having to carry the filter system.

I have a priming method that works so no added complexity required for priming. And I often camp 20 miles or more from the nearest water source. So I would need one hell of a pump and longass hose to fill anything from that distance.

 

[srimes]

I have a priming method that works so no added complexity required for priming. And I often camp 20 miles or more from the nearest water source. So I would need one hell of a pump and longass hose to fill anything from that distance.

You're carrying 7-gallon jugs for 20 miles?

 

[g.hayduke]

You're carrying 7-gallon jugs for 20 miles?

Yes. In a vehicle. I don't have a motor home. I have a small teardrop and a tow vehicle. I hope to get an even smaller camp trailer setup that I can tow with my LJ. Either way, I'll always have a tow vehicle that is free to travel away from my campsite. It can carry 7 gallon jugs, 2 or 3 of them, whatever. I can drive my tow vehicle, with my portable system and empty jugs, to any available water source, and quickly fill my jugs with clean, safe, water.

One motivation for doing this was to enable me to carry less water from home when camping in places where there is no water on site. Eventually, that ability to carry less water (aka weight) will help me setup a camping trailer that the LJ can handle. In the past, I have carried as much as 50 gallons of water for a week of camping. With my new portable water system, I might only carry half as much from home and replenish in the field.

So I might be replacing a couple hundred pounds of of H2O with about 30 lbs of kit. The LJ will appreciate that

Works for me (I hope).

YMMV

 

[g.hayduke]

This is a favorite campsite in SE Utah. We love hiking in this area. Canyon country, rock art, ruins, other cool stuff, but most of the water is in potholes and canyon bottoms. The closest accessible water I know of is a cow tank that is probably roughly 15-20 miles from camp and may or may not have water. The next closest water I know of is the San Juan River and it is probably at least 40 miles from this campsite.