In my busines(steam engines) I seem to spend most of my time educating folks on more than just steam and electricity. So much so, that I wound up giving classes. Being a newbie here, I have not seen any discussion on storage....and I dont mean food. You have got to store your food, and your energy, and your heat (y2k is in the winter), and most importantly...your water. It is not a drinkin thang, it is a fire thang! Every pioneer had a water tower ...after the first fire. Not to mention that it takes a huge load off the generation system if you run your well pump 1 hour a week instead of 20 times a day. One thing I do preach is that for every $1 you spend on the load end, you will save $10 on the generator end. Another thing about investing in storage is that you have a permanant improvement to your life that increases your net worth. y2k notwithstanding! I say: dont survive...thrive! thanx Skip Sensible Steam Consultants

-- Skip @ Sensible Steam Consultants (146942@msn.com), July 20, 1999

Answers

Ok, Skip, I'll bite. I have a 500 gal. water storage tank. I have it for irrigation and it is uphill and above ground from house and gardens for gravity feed through a hose. I had planned on emptying it for winter. (Max 3 feet snow, but almost never gets below the teens.) What suggestions do you have to keep it operational in winter?

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), July 21, 1999.

well, us folks here have the tanks partially in the ground or bermed up a few feet. draw water from the bottom of the tank anyways and it never freezes below the ground. you will get a layer of ice on top of the water, but the only problem from that is that the minerals separate out and sink to the bottom and if you dont flush it out once a year, you get cloudy water and algae.

-- skip@sensiblesteam (146942@msn.com), July 21, 1999.

hey, I could berm it up and it would still gravity feed. That's a thought. Thanks!

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), July 22, 1999.