Cabin in the woods

[Janne]

The rainwater that ends up in the water butt - does it bounce off the trees and roof to get there?
I would be concerned about bird droppings amongst other things

Flavour!

'Natural' water (streams, lakes) has a taste from the organic matter.
I would maybe not drink natural water in UK, but I have untold times in Sweden.

Much better than any water, including that plastic infused Fiji water todays people pay crazy money for!

 

[JakeR]

The rainwater that ends up in the water butt - does it bounce off the trees and roof to get there?
I would be concerned about bird droppings amongst other things

Oh I didn't think of that 😳


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[Leshy]

Activated charcoal gets rid of smells tastes and even some chemical pollutants...

 

[Janne]

Brita filter.

 

[Robson Valley]

I'll bring reliable drinking water of a known standard. Wrong place for a serious attack of the Running Green Screamers,
Montezuma's revenge, The Pacific Rim Quick-step. .. . . . . . Dead squirrel consumme'

 

[Janne]

I'll bring reliable drinking water of a known standard. Wrong place for a serious attack of the Running Green Screamers,
Montezuma's revenge, The Pacific Rim Quick-step. .. . . . . . Dead squirrel consumme'

Mumbay Trot!

Best way to bring safe hydration is to take a bunch of beer in Al cans. Water is fine but beer is better!
Water for tea - a liter a day for two people.

Sounds like UK is a very dirty and polluted place, but really it is not!

 

[Robson Valley]

Interesting how there are so many names for such "gastric upsets!"

Pre-Pasteur, beer and wine in medieval communities were about the only clean drinks there were.
I saw that in an episode of a reinactment TV series, not long ago.

Just in recent days, we had a successful six-day search on for a horse that bolted up a mountainside in prime grizz habitat.
There was a good domestic supply of potable water at the meeting place, despite there being a wild, bouncing mountain river,
a stone's throw away.

 

[Janne]

Yes!

It is a horrible affliction.

I have drunk pure, unboiled marsh water hundreds of times in Northern Sweden. It has the opposite effect, it blocks you.
Saves on paper I guess.

I used to carry dried prunes to counteract this. still love prunes, and Prune Juice. Love the flavor.

 

[Robson Valley]

Working in Northern Canada, it was just standard practice to boil any water we drank or cooked with.

We had a bloom of Daphnia (water fleas). Without a filter, we always made a big show of adding black pepper
to the mashed potatoes. Nobody noticed the crunchy bits.

 

[Janne]

In Scsndinavia we have loads of mozzies and gnats, they drop down into the food when we cook it. And into the coffee too.
Extra protein.
If you spend enough time in the bush you get used to things like that.

Re water: the village where I have been going all those years, Reine in Lofoten, have a nice water supply. It is a lake fed by melting snow and ice, plus rain.
They had to install a filter due to recent regulations. Sand filter. Water tests perfect, like before.
That lake is a very popular swimming area for seagulls and other birds. Also it happens that foolish foreigners try to practice Extreme Sports like skiing and rock klimbing and die. Maybe 6 idiots have died there the last 10 years. The solo people are found in early summer when the gulls start feeding.
So the juices end up in the water. One guy, a Polack, they only found select body parts from, the rest is gone.

That water is the best I have tasted! Think Voss water, but better!

Working in Northern Canada, it was just standard practice to boil any water we drank or cooked with.

We had a bloom of Daphnia (water fleas). Without a filter, we always made a big show of adding black pepper
to the mashed potatoes. Nobody noticed the crunchy bits.

 

[Robson Valley]

I've had the priviledge to spend lots of time off the grid, in the bush, 40 miles from the nearest road.
Month after month. It's important to have a well-developed sense of self preservation.

 

[JakeR]

I've had the priviledge to spend lots of time off the grid, in the bush, 40 miles from the nearest road.
Month after month. It's important to have a well-developed sense of self preservation.

RV- you writing from Canada then?


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[Toddy]

The old way to deal with the roof was to bundle it with faggots. Rushes, bracken, heather, tied up brash, whatever was on the site or around the area. It lasts about three years before it needs stripped and redone. It insulates both from heat and from the cold.
The other way is to make double hurdles and stuff the space with bracken and the like.
If you have a fire going underneath then the smoke permeates in and kills of insects and really discourages rodent activity too.

Water ? sand and charcoal filter it. Just have it run through a butt full of layers of grit and charcoal and draw from the bottom. It needs cleaned out and refreshed every couple of years if there's 'organic' debris getting in too. If you cover it and have a rone into it from the roof rainwater, it'll help cut down on the debris and insect infestation. Keeps the newts out too

Boil the water; our guts aren't constantly being assaulted by the 'wild bacteria' these days, so it makes sense. Make tea or coffee, and when you cook with the water make sure you do bring it up to the boil.
For washing /brushing teeth/shaving, etc. just keep a big kettle on the fire or side on to it. It'll boil up quickly, and it means there's always 'clean' water. It just becomes habitual to think raw or clean.

The cabin sounds excellent I hope it's a pleasure for years to come.

M

 

[JakeR]

Excellent - thanks Toddy. Great advice. We've got three butts up there. I'll empty one out and do as suggested.

 

[Muskett]

For drinking water then there is not much better than the 15lts Drinksafe gravity system:
http://www.drinksafe-systems.co.uk/products.php

Insulation is trapping a barrier of air so anything that does it to reasonable thickness and weight would do. Fire risk and arson being the real issues. Straw bail houses are warm and last as long as the wet doesn't get to the straw. Sphagnum moss collected and dried on mass is another one. The classic wood cabin used pretty thick trees with the wood itself being the main insulator. The trick is a good wood burning stove and burn plenty of fuel which will pump out plenty of heat; gets through a lot of wood though. Any stove needs a good flue pipe and correctly insulated from the wall as they get very hot.

Having tabbed over most of Wales in the military there is a lot of dead sheep and beasties in the becks and streams, loads of bracken spray and other farming chemicals too. Melt water has huge levels of bacteria which requires at least boiling. I would filter the water. Rain water collected is fine if fresh. The bigger the water tank the better as we all get through loads of water.

Rodents will gnaw through plastic in no time if they think there is food there. Steel bins are good just keep the bottoms off the dirt as the bottoms rust away pretty fast.

Loads of info out there for off the grid living.

 

[JakeR]

For drinking water then there is not much better than the 15lts Drinksafe gravity system:
http://www.drinksafe-systems.co.uk/products.php

Insulation is trapping a barrier of air so anything that does it to reasonable thickness and weight would do. Fire risk and arson being the real issues. Straw bail houses are warm and last as long as the wet doesn't get to the straw. Sphagnum moss collected and dried on mass is another one. The classic wood cabin used pretty thick trees with the wood itself being the main insulator. The trick is a good wood burning stove and burn plenty of fuel which will pump out plenty of heat; gets through a lot of wood though. Any stove needs a good flue pipe and correctly insulated from the wall as they get very hot.

Having tabbed over most of Wales in the military there is a lot of dead sheep and beasties in the becks and streams, loads of bracken spray and other farming chemicals too. Melt water has huge levels of bacteria which requires at least boiling. I would filter the water. Rain water collected is fine if fresh. The bigger the water tank the better as we all get through loads of water.

Rodents will gnaw through plastic in no time if they think there is food there. Steel bins are good just keep the bottoms off the dirt as the bottoms rust away pretty fast.

Loads of info out there for off the grid living.

Watch this space for photographs of improvements!


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