Wow! I just noticed that it has been a month since my last entry. Not surprising really. I moved to Calistoga, CA at the end of February in connection with a new job and that process, plus added distance from Sparta, has made work on, and discussion about, her more difficult.
So I have ordered three 21 gallon fresh water tanks off Ebay at $39 each, ensuring me a maximum onboard capacity of 63 gallons – admittedly not a lot but, hopefully, enough to get me through between water deliveries, well-water production, a spring-fed aquifer or whatever my future water source may be in my off-grid set-up. It is possible, but unlikely, that my land in Quincy, Ca will have municipal water available. I don’t plan on buying a piece of property with improvements like water, power, etc..
After shopping around, the best deal I could find on these tanks was at R & P Carriages in Seneca, Illinois. I just rec’d them yesterday so I can’t yet comment on their quality but the buying experience (on Ebay) and follow-up customer service was good. I saved well over 50% from other sources that popped up first on a Google search, so shop around. Keep R & P in mind, though.
I have decided to situate these three tanks in the spaces between the cross-beams and the two wheel-wells. As I have mentioned before, these particular gaps are deeper (by 4 “) than those elsewhere in Sparta and will accommodate larger storage vessels. The waste line vent pipe (pictured below left) will be pulled out.
There are actually four deep spaces. I may add a fourth tank, making a total of 84 gals.
Depicted below is a picture of a representative tank and a crude drawing of the installation. I will be linking three tanks together by connecting tanks 1,2 &3 with water lines (see “Drain Valve” below) and common Air Hose vents. Steel mounting brackets will be affixed below the belly skin to the frame to support these tanks.
I neglected to draw in the pump hose (supply line). Kinda important. It will attach to the pre-drilled nipple to the upper left of tank#3.
The water supply line will feed tank #3 and overflow into tanks 1 & 2 as it is filled. The drain valve will be on tank #1. All three tanks will be vented to breathe, permit more rapid filling and avoid a vacuum. Installation next week.
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