Thursday, June 18, 2015

Water Hook-Up - Part 1...We have Running Water!!

We are so excited to get this part done!  I probably say that about all of the steps along the way but having running water is such a wonderful thing!  We have been getting by with a pitcher of cold water in the fridge for drinking and a 7 gallon jug on the porch for anything else.  It's been okay but filling and carrying that jug is a pain.

First thing we had to do was order our water storage tank.  We looked at some of the cheaper water tanks online but none fit our specs.  Most people buy their tank and build a space around it.  We had a specific space in mind and needed a tank that would fit our dimensions, so we ordered a custom tank.  It was a bit more expensive but was worth it for us.  We ordered our tank from Plastic-Mart.  They were really helpful and also custom fit our inlet and outlet water holes where we wanted them.   http://www.plastic-mart.com/category/33/rv-water-tanks


We then had to get some water filters, a pump with strainer and accumulator.  The filters we bought at Home Depot.  The other stuff we ordered on Amazon.  Here's some links to the specific items so you can check out the specs and prices. 

Pump = http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E5UVXJ8/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2PM1IS2Z68BF4

Strainer = http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V2W0GE/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Accumulator = http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N9VF6Q/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


We wanted to have the option to use our storage tank OR hook up to a pressurized water line or hose.  This meant we had to have a way to shut off the tank and pump system and bypass it completely.  The hubby drew up a schematic of how he wanted the system to work.  This kept us from missing any steps when we were installing the system.    



The top drawing is our drinking water system.  The bottom drawing is our shower system.  It will be a closed loop system that recycles 10 gallons of water for showers.  We'll be working on that pretty soon!

 










Now, on to installation! :D




We supported the tank on a piece of 3/4 inch plywood.  Once we had it in place, we started figuring out where the filters would mount, as well as the pump and accumulator. 









We strapped our tank in place.  We used some left over roofing metal and a piece or heavy rubber mat under it to protect the tank.  We built a small shelf to mount the pump to.


 We ran our fill line into the tank at the top.  This line goes outside to a garden hose hook up.  There is a shut off valve right above the fill hole to bypass the tank and one on the line above to open the pressurized line hook up.




 


The line running through the floor is a drain line.  This is in case we need to drain the tank.  It runs under the trailer and is fitted with a cap that can be removed when draining the tank.  The line not connected is our main water line.  Both have shut off valves for maintenance and draining. 






We mounted the pump and accumulator in place, ran the main water line from the tank into the strainer, then into the pump.  From the pump it goes into the accumulator. From the accumulator it goes to the filter.  There is a shut off valve so you can bypass this stage when hooked up to a pressurized hose.  This allows the pressurized hose to connect straight to the filter.  Getting confusing yet???




The water line leaves the filter and connects with our sink water lines.  This system runs both the bathroom sink and the kitchen sink.  It's one line from this point into the water heaters.  Once it branches off from there, it becomes a hot and a cold line to each sink. 

The drinking water filter is a 5 micron carbon filter.





We also have a second fill hole with a cap on it.  We took a standard cap and drilled some holes in it to allow air to escape the tank.  We can remove this cap and fill the tank with a jug if needed. 









And there you have it.  Our drinking water system is running!  Albeit, cold water only as we don't have our propane system hooked up just yet. 





Bathroom sink running!! 















Kitchen sink running!! 









It seems confusing but it's really not.  A good drawn diagram will help you set everything up.  That way you can visualize where each line needs to go.  You can then decide what kind of fittings you will need for each step.  This really cuts down on trips to the hardware store for another fitting or two later in the day!  We hope this was helpful to anyone trying to figure out how to hook up their water system.  Thanks for reading and let us know what you think!  :)







13 comments:

Unknown said...

Gosh I`m so jealous and ecstatic for you guys!

Unknown said...

Thanks Jordan! It's one more big step closer to move in now! Hoping we can get the shower system done soon. You'll be at this stage hopefully sooner than you think. And you are doing a fantastic job without water, way better than I could! :)

Unknown said...

I am lucky to have many nomadic years of showering in offices and bathrooms, so i can`t help but adapt! You guys are going to do great!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh! You and your husband are "AMAZING!" Such attention to the details in everything you two do! I wish I could hire the two of you to build me a tiny...I know it would be done more than right! Whoever builds my future tiny house will have a "high bar" to live up to, as I intend to use everything that you and your hubby have done as the "gold standard" for my tiny house! Again, simply amazing!
Thanks for keeping such an informative Blog!
Angie Fischer

Anonymous said...

Just had an "inspirational" idea...You could see the country, see new things, meet new people by traveling around the country, building quality, tiny houses for people! You like? "PLEEEZE? PURTY PLEEZE?"...ME FIRST! Lol
Angie Fischer

Anonymous said...

:)

Unknown said...

Thank you for leaving us such a wonderful comments Angie! I'm glad you find the blog helpful. I don't know about us being the "gold standard" lol but we just figured out what we wanted out of our tiny house and tried to design around it. Neither of us had much building experience when we started so I know anyone can do it with the right research and drive. We are just happy that everything we have designed has worked out well so far. Can't wait to be finished and move in! The build process has been long and taxing for us, so not sure we'd want to do it professionally for others. Building our own has given us a lot of joy, don't get me wrong but I'm ready to have my time back to relax. And craft...I miss having time to make stuff! :D

I hope you can have your dream "tiny" house built soon. You'll have to be sure and share pictures with us when you get it done. :)

Anonymous said...


Chrissy, you're just having "labor pains" right now with your tiny...once you and "the guy in the pics" actually "give birth" to your tiny and have a chance to rest up...who knows...maybe you'll forget the "pain" of labor and want to have another tiny! Lol...That being said, I too, like to craft and make stuff..it relaxes me so I do know what you mean. Thanks again!
Angie F.

Unknown said...

That is a very detailed post about how you installed the water system in your home! It’s interesting to see that you don’t need any other outside help (or pay others to do it for you) in order to install it properly. Well, it seems simple to do based on how you and your husband did it. Thanks for sharing!

Bryan Blasucci @ Highland Rim Springs

Anonymous said...

I used to be a control electrician. Building electrical controls is no different than water systems. Valves act just like relays and water lines are just like wires! A parallel or series circuit works the same with wire as it does with water. I know the diagram pics weren't all too explicit but, the system is all aboot directing water flow to achieve a result! This part of the water has actually been the easy part. We are trying to get the shower up and running now and it has turned out to be a big brain drain!

Guy in the pictures!:-)

Anonymous said...

Just thought I would leave a bit of an after thought. I was playing with the system while filling the tank up the other day and found out something? If you turn the valve that runs from the filler to the tank OFF and the valve from the filler to the accumulator tank ON, the outside water faucet we use to get water to the tank becomes active remotely??? That means that the outside water faucet that we normally use to fill the tank with a hose can serve two tasks! One, we hook up a special made hose to the faucet outside and fill the tank using outside water pressure. And two, we use the inside control valves to make that same faucet work as a pressurized outside faucet (pressurized from the pump that runs the rest of the house)! This was just a happy side effect of the layout we built for the water system.

Lois Blake said...

Of course! A running water system signifies the near completion of the house – it’s a milestone, actually. And it looks like this took a lot of work! Kudos to you and your husband for designing and working your way around those water piping and system! It really looked complicated, but with a good diagram and plan, you made it seem easy! Thanks for sharing!

Lois Blake @ Commercial Reverse Osmosis

Anonymous said...

I'll probably end up refining the drawing a bit and have Chrissy repost it. I've had a lot of people asking about the specifics with this system and once the shower is done there really should be a post on translating my technical jiberish! We are having to go back and dampen the pump motor mounts and water connections to it because of excessive noise when on and running. That post should have a bit more detail to it! :-)

Guy