Beginning Lesson #7 HomeMade slow sand filteriong Water System for Your Retreat

**RICHFL** · 08-19-2012, 09:55 PM

HOME MADE SLOW SAND FILTERING SYSTEM FOR YOUR RETREAT

SLOW SAND FILTER SYSTEM: A home made SAND FILTER SYSTEM is the way to ensure your water supply is available at your retreat.

What you are building is the same water treatment system that every town and city uses today. I'm talking about making a system to handle treating over 500 gallons per day. So how do we make this slow sand filter system?

Materials:

Steel 30 gallon trash cans. (2) with lids. Use steel for strength

Insect screening Enough to make lids for the trash cans

Cloth Using cotton bed sheets 200 count is best for this pre filter

Pea Size Gravel 200 litters - Pick up bed load

Sand 200 litters of water treatment sand - 2 Pickup bed loads

Activated Charcoal (15) lbs per trash can.

Self Closing Taps (2)

1/2" Drinking Water Hose (1) 25 + feet moving treated water to points of use.

1/2" Water Hose (1) 10 + feet moving raw water to treatment center.

SET UP:

1 30 gallon trash can (TOP) will be mounted a minimum of 10 inches above the top of other 30 gallon trash can we will call the filter can. This allows the system to use gravity to move the water through the filter.

The TOP can set up:

Mount the can upright above the filter can. Drill a 7/16" hole placed in the lower 6" of the trash can side and mount the tap there. ensure that tap is water tight. Place the raw water hose down to the top of the filter can, place a lid of the insect screening on top the the raw water can with the cloth filter to remove visible particles out of the water when pouring water into the system. Replace the raw water cloth filter as needed. Ensure that the water flow is continuous and sprays a wide pattern across the filter can screen, When not pouring water into the raw water container cover it with its lid.

The Filter Can Setup:

The filter can is placed upright to ensure that the water flows down through the filtering elements. The filter can has the other tap mounted at the bottom about 6" up on its side, drill a 7/16" hole for the tap and fix it tightly, ensure no leaking around the hole. Fill the filter can 1/3 full of Pea Gravel. Once it is settled, fill the next 1/3 with sand. Next place and spread a layer the charcoal. The top layer 1/3 is again pea gravel. Place the insect screen with cloth filter on top and the raw water hose on top of the cloth.

Daily usage:

Start running the water treatment system continuous for a minimum of 4 hours. You need to refill the raw water container about every 30 minutes depending on the speed of the open tap. Ensure the bottom filtered water tap is wide open. Within a day you will see green algae growing on the sand - do not touch as these single cell animals are the true filtering agent for this system. You need to run a minimum of 200 gallons through the system before you can use it. Boil the water for the first 5 days.

Maintenance:

Maintenance is done when ever the rate of water flow from the bottom tap slows down. You remove the top 3" of pea gravel and replace it. Then restart the system as before. Do not reuse the old pea gravel.

**RICHFL** · 08-20-2012, 10:40 AM

This system was used by my grandfather for a hunting log cabin (1 room built into the side of a mountain area), he had this deep in the woods. No roads in and I still do not know how he got all the stuff I found around the site. He had running water from a stream up hill so all he needed to keep the filtration system running, was make sure the pipe in the stream was kept clean. Even in winter he had water running 24 hours a day. No one ever got sick from the water - well maybe from his cooking - it was bad!!! But never from the water.

He always said this was his home away from home for when you have 9 daughters and the youngest is your only son; you needed to get away once in a while! One thing I did find 14 years ago, he had all the items for distilling (1930's style) home made whiskey. A Lot of whiskey.

**wac220** · 08-20-2012, 10:24 PM

Originally Posted by RICHFL

He always said this was his home away from home for when you have 9 daughters and the youngest is your only son; you needed to get away once in a while! One thing I did find 14 years ago, he had all the items for distilling (1930's style) home made whiskey. A Lot of whiskey.

Now you know why it was his home away from home. had nothing to do with solitude.

**RICHFL** · 08-21-2012, 10:24 AM

I think he just needed to get away from all the women talking all the time.

That is 10 women in a house with 3 bedrooms. I help refinish/paint that house in the late 1970's, I was surprised to find that the siding was 2" thick Oak planks! Man they knew how to build homes prior to 1910!