Water filtration — gravity vs pump
Just bought a Mountain House for water filtration. Works great.
For a family of 6, what's your water plan? I'm calculating about 1 gallons per person per day. That's a LOT of stored water.
Rain catchment + filter
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Wait, Mountain House makes water filters? I thought they just did freeze dried food lol. For a family of 6 that's a ton of water to store... we're only 3 people and I'm already running out of space in the garage. Rain catchment sounds smart but what about winter?
For 6 people you definitely want multiple filtration methods - gravity fed is great for base camp but pump filters are faster when you need volume. I run a Berkey at the homestead plus have portable options. Rain catchment is excellent but don't forget about treating it even after filtering. Also consider greywater recycling if you're thinking long-term.
Water storage gets expensive fast when you're buying containers. But it's more critical than food imo. I picked up a bunch of 55 gallon drums from a local business - cost me about $15 each vs $100+ new. Rotate them every 6 months and you're good to go.
1 gallon per person is the minimum but with kids you might need more. I'd go with a combo - store what you can afford (start with 3-day supply, work up to 2 weeks) plus a good filter system. Sawyer Mini is like $20 and works great. Rain barrels are cheap if you can set them up.
My two cents — don't overthink it. Just get what feels right in your hand and train with it.
How long have you had yours? Any reliability issues?
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