If your house has well water, you're in luck! The BlackoutBucket will get you all the water you need, even after your generator runs out of fuel. Water is the most critical need in a survival situation, so secure your water supply today!
BlackoutBucket enables you to turn your well back into a clean water source when the power grid goes down.
Get your BlackoutBucket, rope, and review the included instructions and your well info... before you need them!
Carefully remove well cap to expose the well shaft and allow bucket access, as detailed in instructions.
Lower your BlackoutBucket down the well shaft with rope, water enters bottom of bucket, retrieve once full.
(Not sure which size to order? The 2" x 40" should work on almost all wells, but see here for more details.)
Includes your 2" x 40", 3" x 30", or 4" x 30" BlackoutBucket (carries .55 gallons, .9 gallons, or 1.6 gallons), fully assembled and ready for work.
Each purchase also includes full instructions on how to safely and effectively use your bucket in emergency situations.
You can also add 100ft or 200ft rope (high-strength, lightweight paracord) to your order, if you don't have any dependable rope on hand.
Water is your most critical need in a survival situation, so please protect your family today!
Order NowThese are the most common questions about BlackoutBucket and how to use it, but if we missed anything please let us know!
If you're not certain which size to order, the 2" x 40" BlackoutBucket should work on almost all wells, with the exception of the rare 2" well shaft. You want to choose a bucket with a diameter smaller than your well size. For example, if you have a 4" well shaft, you would probably want to go with a 2" bucket, and if you have a 6" well, a 3" bucket will probably work (although, again, you can't go wrong with a 2" bucket). The 4" bucket should be fine for an 8" well. The issue is not just the width of the well, but the fact that the well shafts contain electrical wiring, piping/tubing, and likely a mechanism called a "pitless adapter". All of these things can get in the way of the BlackoutBucket, and just opening up your well cap ahead of time to see what you're dealing with has its own challenges, so unless you can find reliable documentation on your well or get an expert opinion, your best bet is to go as small as you can.
The easiest way to determine your well's diameter is to check your well's documentation, such as the well completion report or driller's log that should have been provided when the well was installed, which will list the exact casing diameter. Alternatively, you can estimate by measuring across the top of your well cap with a tape measure and determine which size is closest (typically 4", 5", 6", or 8" in diameter), as almost all residential wells are standard sizes.
The 2" x 40" BlackoutBucket holds .55 gallons, the 3" x 30" BlackoutBucket holds .9 gallons, and the 4" x 30" BlackoutBucket holds 1.6 gallons.
First, make sure you read up on the safety concerns. To open a residential well cap, you typically need to unscrew or unbolt the cap from the well casing - some caps have bolts around the sides that need to be loosened, while others may twist off or have a hinged design that lifts up. If the well cap has a lock, you'll need the key or code first, and always ensure you're following any local regulations about well access and consider having a licensed well contractor perform any maintenance that requires opening the cap.
Well shafts are typically only 4 to 8 inches wide, and the static water level you need to reach is often dozens or even hundreds of feet down, so you need a long and very thin device especially designed to pull water from a well. If you try and use some small bucket or bottle without knowing what you're doing, you are liable to jam the well or do damage to it, and most importantly, not get the water you need in a time of crisis. Our buckets are designed to allow water to enter from the bottom of the device, and then "seal up" as they are being pulled from the water, so they won't just float on top of the water like a regular bucket or bottle would.
Sadly, yes. However, a surprising number of people with city water are now having back-up wells installed for emergency situations. There are also much less expensive ways (although labor intensive) to self-install a well, but they aren't typically permitted in areas that have city water. There are some people who have prepared by having the equipment on hand to self-install a well, should a survival situation occur where these types of regulations would be suspended. Even without your own well, it could still be beneficial to have a BlackoutBucket handy in times of emergency for use at a neighboring property, or if you end up having to evacuate to somewhere with well water. No "Go Bag" is complete without a BlackoutBucket.
The rope will need to lower your bucket down to the static water level. If you don't have that info from your well installation, the easiest way to estimate it is through online research is to look up your local or state groundwater monitoring websites (like USGS groundwater maps, state water resources boards, or regional water districts) which often provide interactive maps showing groundwater levels and water table depths for your area. This month we highlight a new interactive map that allows users to determine the depth to groundwater at any location How can I find the depth to the water table in a specific location? | U.S. Geological Survey, and many states have similar tools - you can also check well logs from nearby properties through your state's well database, as these often include static water level measurements that can give you a reasonable estimate for your area. The only other option is to open your well cap and
Any time you open your well shaft there's a chance of contaminating your water supply or damaging your well, so the best practice for a non-expert is to avoid it unless it's truly necessary. That said, human beings have been using well water for thousands of years, long before bleach and weather-tight sealing, so if you are truly in a survival situation your choice should be obvious. If you do end up needing to open your well cap, you should definitely consult with a well expert afterwards to see if they recommend treating your water (a bleach flush, for example) before resuming drinking it. You should also take extreme care not to allow any organic material (leaves, grass, insects, etc.) to go down the shaft while it's open, and then re-cap the well as soon as you've completed your task. If possible, you should consider wiping down your BlackoutBucket, your rope, or any other object you extend into the shaft with a light-bleach solution before doing so.
