Water Tank...refilling on playa...

topic posted Thu, July 30, 2009 - 10:03 AM by  Panty
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Hey guys,
I'm having a swamp cooler installed on the roof of my tiny trailer, and the unit will go through 2-4 gallons of water per day. If I run the unit on "low", I'll get by closer to the 2 gallon side. My tiny trailer also has a tiny water reservoir of 10 gallons so I won't make it through the week with one "fill up".

I've got a crazy idea and need advice:
I have two sinks. I really only use one. If I divert the drain line on the second sink to become a "fill sink" for the reservoir, I would have a very easy time of draining cooler water and melted ice directly into the tank. I would need to add a second water pump according to the RV service guys.

Is this nuts? Am I on crack? Should I just find an easier way to fill the tank using the external fill trough? Does anyone have a suggestion for filling that stupid outside trough?

I guess I could buy a coleman sink set-up and then drain that directly into the fill trough. Sort of a "big fat funnel".

Thoughts?
posted by:
Panty
San Jose
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  • Re: Water Tank...refilling on playa...

    Thu, July 30, 2009 - 10:41 AM
    I usually just buy a lot of the 2.5 gallon square jugs of water in addition to filling my water tanks. I then fill my water tank with those when I need it.

    I'm guessing your swamp cooler feeds from your main water tank. If so I would find some type of pump to feed it into your trailer tank.

    I use a small water bottle cut in half as a funnel to pour water into to fill my tank. This kinda requires one person to help. You can probably purchase a pump to help you. But you can get by without one.

    Are you sure your swamp cooler uses 2 gallons on low? Is that for all day?
    • Re: Water Tank...refilling on playa...

      Thu, July 30, 2009 - 10:57 AM
      Yeah, I buy the 2.5 gallon jugs too, they just get cumbersome.

      There is only one fresh water tank and no grey or black water holding tanks in my little guy. I already have a water pump on that for the faucets on the two sinks.

      Low-tech might be my only option with the funnel...

      Yes, 2-4 gallons is the manufacturer's estimate based on a 10-hour per day usage on either low or high setting. Since my trailer is only 10' x 7' interior dimensions, I'm going to have no problems keeping cool on low. I would only expect to have it on for 4-6 hours per day, if that...I'm really only needing it during white-outs...

      www.turbokool.com
      • Re: Water Tank...refilling on playa...

        Thu, July 30, 2009 - 10:05 PM
        Ok so maybe we can help you calculate things.

        Let's pretend you use your swamp cooler for 5 hours per day. From your stated it would take 1 gallon per day.
        I'm going to assume your going to be there 7 days. You'll need 7 gallons which comes out to ruffly 3 of those 2.5 gallon water jugs. That shouldn't be so bad. At least it seems worth the convenience of a swamp cooler. Eh?
        • Re: Water Tank...refilling on playa...

          Sun, August 2, 2009 - 11:57 AM
          You can get a fresh water refill from the guys who service the porta potties. I know people who have done it.

          But at two gallons per day, it seems easier and a LOT cheaper to just carry some water with you.

          Personally, I carry 80 gallons in my water storage tank. That is reserved for showers and other cleaning. I reduce water use by using disposable dishes. Dishwashing can be a relatively large water consumer. All of our drinking water is from bottled water that we carry with us.

          My holding tanks are 40 gallons each. Black storage is not a problem. Plenty of capacity for that. For the gray water, I build an 8 foot square frame from 2X4's held together with angle braces. I staple black plastic on top of that to make an evap pond. I put a block in the center to keep the plastic from tenting up in a high wind (this might be overkill), and I tie the 2X4's down by pounding L-shaped rebar through holes pre-drilled in them. I put solar powered lights and a flag or two up to warn pedestrians of the hazard.

          The entire thing takes about 15-30 minutes to assemble.

          Each morning, I push the accumulated dust aside in order to expose the heat absorbing black plastic, and I let a few inches depth of gray water into the pond from my holding tank. I stop doing this two days prior to departure, to be sure that all water evaporates and the plastic is dry for departure. When it is time to go, I just roll the plastic up and stow it to be discarded later.
          • Re: Water Tank...refilling on playa...

            Sun, August 2, 2009 - 11:14 PM
            last year, we were there for two weeks, and refilled the tank and the portables twice. Chasing down one of the two honey trucks with potable water can take a little while...use a bike, and be persistant. Each year, we've had full service, and each year there was a bit of sport making it happen.

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