Tom Guettler on sat 25 jan 03
I am about to renovate the second floor ( 14' x 20' ) of my garage as a
ceramics studio. Unfortunately, I cannot run a water line to the garage, and
cannot connect to my city's sanitary sewer system. Considering that I will
be consuming low volumes of water, however, I believe it feasible to install
a water storage tank (filled by a garden hose), plumbed to a sink, heated at
the sink by an electric demand heating device, and drained to another
storage container.
A couple of my concerns center around pressurizing the system (though
gravity might work), and heating the storage tank (though the space will be
heated, a winter power outage may cause problems).
Is it worth the trouble?
Has anyone had experience with any of the components in this sort of
system?
Tom Guettler
tguettler@tcq.net
St. Paul, Minnesota
Lily Krakowski on sun 26 jan 03
Well, welcome to the club.
Unless you plan to bathe in the studio, you do not need that much water.
Build a SOLID shelf above your sink, get one of those 5 gallon water jugs
from a camping supply house, and keep the jug full. Those jugs have dear
little spigots and it is no problem to attach a plastic hose to one so you
can direct water stream into sink. Refill the water jug by bringing water
in in plastic one gallon milk or juice bottles.
DO NOT drink stored water. ALWAYS bring fresh water into the studio for
drinking.
As to hot water? Those on demand heaters cost a fortune. How about an
electric water kettle and a basin for mixing?
What to do with dirty water? Ok. I simply use pails and empty them. You
could I expect rig up an elaborate system whereby the sink drain goes out
the wall, down the outside wall into a 55 gallon drum--the same idea as a
rain spout...but is it worth it? Have never done it--but someone else
probably has.
As to a toilet. Section off a little corner and get a chemical toilet.
People around here do that with camps...and it is neither costly nor
offensive.
REMEMBER THIS: Potters tend to become water wasters as they splash around
their studios. If you scrape the clay off your hands and prerinse them in a
1 gallon pail BEFORE washing them you will save lots of water. If you learn
to throw dry, ditto. For regular use you should not need more than 2-3
gallons a day.
During World War II (I was a teenager then, but not much smaller) I read in
a girls'magazine that Army Nurses learned to take a complete bath with the
water from a helmet--1 gallon or so. I learned how to do that, and still
can today--washing hair included (my hair is only about 2" long, however.)
LAST: Can you put up a rainbarrel and cistern idea? Gathering rain on your
roof, getting it into a barrel that you then can pump in?
Tom Guettler writes:
> I am about to renovate the second floor ( 14' x 20' ) of my garage as a
> ceramics studio. Unfortunately, I cannot run a water line to the garage, and
> cannot connect to my city's sanitary sewer system. Considering that I will
> be consuming low volumes of water, however, I believe it feasible to install
> a water storage tank (filled by a garden hose), plumbed to a sink, heated at
> the sink by an electric demand heating device, and drained to another
> storage container.
> A couple of my concerns center around pressurizing the system (though
> gravity might work), and heating the storage tank (though the space will be
> heated, a winter power outage may cause problems).
> Is it worth the trouble?
> Has anyone had experience with any of the components in this sort of
> system?
> Tom Guettler
> tguettler@tcq.net
> St. Paul, Minnesota
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Lili Krakowski
P.O. Box #1
Constableville, N.Y.
(315) 942-5916/ 397-2389
Be of good courage....
Kenneth D. Westfall on sun 26 jan 03
Regarding the "on demand" instant water heaters....a 2-1/2 gal 115V heater
costs only about $125 and is substantial for most "hand washing" type
functions. The cost to operate would depend on the cost of electricity in
your region, but they usually are not cost prohibitive to operate. You
might read up on "alternative home power" and similar information regarding
how to pressurize a gravity fed water system. You can find info on-line or
at a local library, Mother Earth News, Home Power magazine, etc. I do not
have personal experience in building such as system, but I have visited
friends' homes who use gravity fed water system from a spring and who have
indoor hot water, with the overflow going to a "wetlands" filtration
area. They have not spent a ton of money or time to make this a part of
their homes. If you don't plan to have a toilet in this renovated space,
the problems are greatly reduced.
In the event of a power outage, will your renovated space have a
non-electric dependent heat source? If not, you're going to need/want a
generator for backup power anyway, so the water storage tank and water
heater wouldn't be any more of an issue than your wet pots. If your heat
source in non-electric, then your water storage tank should be located in
the heated space, along with your water lines, and thus no freezing
concern. Solar power is another alternative to investigate. The worst
thing that you would have to do if you had no way to prevent freezing in
the event of a power outage is to have to drain your storage tank and your
water heater and lines...assuming the power doesn't go out and stay out too
often. (though it does here in our part of WV and we have back up generators)
A water bucket to pre-rinse clay-covered hands is a great water saver. I
agree you probably won't need more than 3 or so gallons of water(at the
most) per day, and a tank mounted on a shelf above, with a bucket below
your sink to catch the runoff would work. BUT, in Minnesota warm water on
your hands is pretty desirable, so I would be trying to rig up some source
for the hot water. A cistern is a great idea, if you want to invest in the
pump, pressure tank, etc. But again, no electricity, no water. One thing
is for certain, carrying pails of water up steps in winter or summer gets
old fast. Good luck whatever you decide.
Tracey Westfall
Pine Hill Pottery
Harrisville, WV
At 09:37 AM 01/26/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>Well, welcome to the club.
>
>Unless you plan to bathe in the studio, you do not need that much water.
>Build a SOLID shelf above your sink, get one of those 5 gallon water jugs
>from a camping supply house, and keep the jug full. Those jugs have dear
>little spigots and it is no problem to attach a plastic hose to one so you
>can direct water stream into sink. Refill the water jug by bringing water
>in in plastic one gallon milk or juice bottles.
>
>DO NOT drink stored water. ALWAYS bring fresh water into the studio for
>drinking.
>
>As to hot water? Those on demand heaters cost a fortune. How about an
>electric water kettle and a basin for mixing?
>
>What to do with dirty water? Ok. I simply use pails and empty them. You
>could I expect rig up an elaborate system whereby the sink drain goes out
>the wall, down the outside wall into a 55 gallon drum--the same idea as a
>rain spout...but is it worth it? Have never done it--but someone else
>probably has.
>
>As to a toilet. Section off a little corner and get a chemical toilet.
>People around here do that with camps...and it is neither costly nor
>offensive.
>
>REMEMBER THIS: Potters tend to become water wasters as they splash around
>their studios. If you scrape the clay off your hands and prerinse them in a
>1 gallon pail BEFORE washing them you will save lots of water. If you learn
>to throw dry, ditto. For regular use you should not need more than 2-3
>gallons a day.
>
>During World War II (I was a teenager then, but not much smaller) I read in
>a girls'magazine that Army Nurses learned to take a complete bath with the
>water from a helmet--1 gallon or so. I learned how to do that, and still
>can today--washing hair included (my hair is only about 2" long, however.)
>
>LAST: Can you put up a rainbarrel and cistern idea? Gathering rain on your
>roof, getting it into a barrel that you then can pump in?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Tom Guettler writes:
>
> > I am about to renovate the second floor ( 14' x 20' ) of my
> garage as a
> > ceramics studio. Unfortunately, I cannot run a water line to the
> garage, and
> > cannot connect to my city's sanitary sewer system. Considering that I will
> > be consuming low volumes of water, however, I believe it feasible to
> install
> > a water storage tank (filled by a garden hose), plumbed to a sink,
> heated at
> > the sink by an electric demand heating device, and drained to another
> > storage container.
> > A couple of my concerns center around pressurizing the system
> (though
> > gravity might work), and heating the storage tank (though the space will be
> > heated, a winter power outage may cause problems).
> > Is it worth the trouble?
> > Has anyone had experience with any of the components in this
> sort of
> > system?
> > Tom Guettler
> > tguettler@tcq.net
> > St. Paul, Minnesota
> >
> >
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> > Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> > You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> > settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> > Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>
>Lili Krakowski
>P.O. Box #1
>Constableville, N.Y.
>(315) 942-5916/ 397-2389
>
>Be of good courage....
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
Mudkitty on sun 26 jan 03
" I am about to renovate the second floor ( 14' x 20' ) of my garage as a
ceramics studio. Unfortunately, I cannot run a water line to the garage, and
cannot connect to my city's sanitary sewer system. "
I too was faced with a detached structure with no hope of having plumbing at a
reasonable cost ... I am a small volume potter, but do mix my own glazes and do some
plaster work...
My husband constructed a work bench with a black plastic mortar mixing tub for a
"sink". I used silicon caulk to put a drain in the tub, and then followed Vince's
instructions for routing the drain through a clay trap, but instead of draining into
the sewer, the clay trap drains into a regular old mop pail. The supply side is one
of those 5 gallon drinking water jugs that work crews have on their trucks.
I find that one good bucket of water is very sufficient for my needs most days. I
simply bring the slops (clear of clay, after the trap) to the laundry sink at the end
of a studio session, toss them down the drain, and leave the bucket in the sink.
Next day, I run a full bucket of hot water, carry it to the studio, and pour it into
the water jug. That one bucket of hot water tempers the water supply for a whole
day - no freezing hands, even though my studio goes to 50 degrees at night. If I
need really hot water, I have a little coffee pot that heats a potful to boiling in
just a few minutes.
The "sink" works great, let's me wash things out, and tolerates a moderate amount of
clay slop going into the trap. Since I have to hold my finger on the button to keep
the water running, I find I use much less water than usual. Best part was the cost -
maybe $35, counting all supplies and wood for the bench.
The setup would probably be less functional if I had to go into the house for water,
or had only cold water - the nearby laundry sink makes the whole thing work well.
Good luck - it can be done!!
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