Making a Trad hunting cabin more comfortable..

[Marblesonac]

I bought my trad camp a little more than a year ago.

It was a cabin with a woodburner.  No electricity, no water, no sewage.

It sits too far back from the nearest road to run electricity.

A few weeks ago I had a well drilled and a  www.bisonpumps.com  deep water handpump installed.  My water table is very high, and I could have used a shallow water pump, but did not want to worry about it freezing in the winter or wearing out etc..

Bison did a great job of thinking of everything down to the teflon tape on the threads!


Then I built a camp shower.  I bought the Zodi x-40.  It works great off a propane tank and 12v battery.

 http://www.zodi.com/web-content/Consumer/zodix40shower.html

 

Anyway, it took me a while to do the research on how to make my trad hunting camp a bit more comfortable and thought I would try to pass on what has worked for me.

Shoot 'em straight and true.

[fireman_3311]

Looks like you're headed in the right direction...now all ya need is da bigscreen and popcorn!!!!

[Orion]

My cabin is off the grid as well.  Don't have a well so am still carrying in water.  I use a gravity feed shower.  Have a small loft and place a 5-gallon bucket upstairs that I fill with warm water that I heat over the stove.  A plastic tube with a shower head leads to a small shower stall in the bathroom on the first floor.

[Marblesonac]

Fireman, I bought a Xantrex Powerpack 1500.

It is a battery/inverter all in one.  Can't run a bigscreen for very long, but it will run a small TV/DVD player for about 15 hours.

 http://store.sundancesolarcorp.com/xaxppo15.html

I can pop corn over the fire.

Orion, sounds like a great idea!!

[Oregon Bill]

I'm envious. I've always dreamed having a little piece in the woods. Keep living the dream, guys.

[tamure]

How long of a shower can you take with 5 gal of water?

[Marblesonac]

about 10 minutes

[sgrogg]

cool!

[BobCo 1965]

I have the same ZODI model for a camp shower. We have a 55 gallon air tight barrel that we use for the water source, and we re-cycle the fresh water back into the barrel (soapy water goes down drain, we basically rinse, lather, rinse and recycle fresh water back into the tank). We found the water able to get scalding hot, but little pressure. So I bought a pump twice the size as the one included to get more pressure.

But be careful and drain the system. If water freezes in the copper coils, they WILL crack. I made that $80 mistake only once.

[Whip]

My cabin is off grid as well.  The best creature comfort we have added is a shower stall indoors, and use a small pump that runs off D cell batteries for showers.  We also have a kitchen set up with sink that just drains into a 5 gallon bucket underneath.  Much easier than filling dishpans and dumping outside.  

I have propane lights inside, and use those most of the time, but it is wired so that I can power the cabin lights (and watch the Packers!) with a generator.  Seriously considering adding a solar panel set up next year.  

That Bison pump looks like something I should check into as well - get tired of hauling water up all the time.

[Orion]

Joe:  My "kitchen" is simiilar to yours.  Have a countertop and built in sink, but the H2O just runs into a 5 gallon bucket under the drain.  Lights, refrigerator and cooking stove are propane.  Though I wired it for electricity when my brother and I built it 12 years ago, have never plugged in a generator.  I sparingly use a propane lantern or two for lighting.  Mostly use candles for light.  Use a woodburning stove for heat.  My shower stall is in a small utility room.  Just run the water through a hose out the floor.  Still use an outdoor Jon.  Never have to worry about pipes freezing up.  Just open the door and I'm ready to go.