Hot tub spa water storage

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by oil pan 4, Aug 17, 2016.


  1. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I finely got a small 260 gallon hot tub for my wife. She wanted a big tub to relax in and I wanted an excuse to have water storage. A larger luxurious bath tub wont fit in the house with out rearranging wall, electrical, moving the kitchen and pouring reinforcing pillars under the house. Plus a traditional big bath tub stays empty most of the time and take a long time to fill up that doesn't do you any good if the water suddenly stops. That's kind of the reason to have your own water storage.
    I would like to have water because I am in the damned desert, the rumor mill says the well pumping stations get low or stop brining up water all together occasionally. Also incase of a fire, the logical thing is to turn on a hose and spray away but if the fire station is pulling water out of the utility or other people are wetting down their roofs or yard utility water pressure may be little to none.

    I am pretty sure I will have to let the water out of the tub during the winter or it will freeze and bust the pump but I should have it going for at least 8 months out of the year.
    To keep the water drinkable I will flush out the tub once or twice a year, the water can be used by my pressure washer or let out on the ground and will water the trees and what little grass I have.
    I also have an old 5hp briggs and Stratton engine I would like to turn into a pump. Its been raining a lot since late 2014 and a lot of grass and weeds have been growing so its only a matter of time before it gets dry, all that plant material truns brown and everything wants to burn again. We had lots of grass fires in 2010 through 2012.
     
    Bandit99, Motomom34 and sec_monkey like this.
  2. Pax Mentis

    Pax Mentis Philosopher King |RIP 11-4-2017

    If you are using the tub during the winter (which, by the way, is heaven) and have a good cover to keep from heating the neighborhood there will be no problem with pipes. Even if not using it, I would recommend keeping it on and setting the temp at it's lowest setting, which will keep the water above freezing and circulate it so there is still no pipe danger. It does mean you will have to test the water regularly to keep from getting algae etc, but that isn't a major chore. We put in a 6 person when we built our place and upgraded about 8 yrs ago and it is the most enjoyable water storage you will ever have,
     
  3. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Oh yeah I spent a few extra dollars to get the insulated hard cover. I keep the cover on it when not in use. In NM if you have a large open pool of water it attracts everything, birds, bugs, dirt blowing around. It could get nasty fast.
    It has a 1,000 watt heater built in and I ordered a 500w 240v industrial strength fish tank heater, the fish tank heater non GFI so it will be turned off and removed before anyone touches the water. The 500 watt heater should extend the season.
    I also have my flirI7 and will use that to find where heat is escaping and try to add insulation.
     
  4. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    We use a Industrial 1.5Kw "Stock Tank Heater" to keep our Insulated Water Storage Totes, Ice Free, in the Alaskan Winters... These are Great for this purpose, as they turn OFF, when the water is at 35F, and ON at 33F... You only use enough Power to keep the water, liquid.... and No More.... Ours only run when the Genset is running, and they were a REAL Find, when I was trying to figure out how to keep from throwing away 20% of our water, as it turned to Ice... We use to just dump in on the ground, and had a Giant Pile of Ice, in the Spring. Now we just put the Heater in the Tote, and in 3 or 4 Hours, No Ice, and ALL Water... Magic...
     
  5. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I'm betting you find that when the cover is on, your greatest loss will be thru the skirt, closely followed by the air leakage between the cover and the sidewalls. Both should be easy to solve, if the loss is worth the added insulation and flap to seal the gap.
     
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