# boreholes, tanks and bottles



## lucifers cat (Feb 17, 2019)

Hello everyone,
I've been checking out a load of properties lately and coming across a number of them that have boreholes, sewage tanks and gas bottles and a few with solar cells.
Having spent all my life in big cities, I have come to expect utilities to be plumbed, piped or wired and I just pay a bill for them.
Without going into detail, just how much work and hassle is involved in dealing with these kind of supply mechanisms, e.g. maintenance, reliability, costs to run, resupply, etc. In a nutshell, should I avoid these properties and stick to ones with full mains supply.
I'm in my sixties and my wife fifties, neither mechanically minded.
Any help is most appreciated.
Thanks


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Boreholes & wells are a great idea until you have to live with them & a royal PITA when they go wrong so my advice would be to avoid them unless the property also has a municipal water supply. 

Fosse/Septic Tanks are easy to live with & relatively easy to fix when they go wrong IF (note the big IF) there is good & big vehicle access to them.................. If you can get a tractor & pump out trailer or a digger into the area then they're fine................. but try to avoid property that has been empty for years because a fosse thrives on regular use & might need to be kickstarted if it hasn't been used for years. 

Bottled gas is easy & commonly used here.......... we prefer to cook electric though because I hate gas ovens.


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I forgot to mention solar................. It appears to be the way of the future & I certainly don't mean to knock it but if I were buying now, I still wouldn't buy a property that has solar as the only option simply because it usually works least efficiently when you need it most.


----------



## lucifers cat (Feb 17, 2019)

Thanks travelling man,
Excuse a townies ignorance, but would I be right in assuming boreholes are used for both domestic and garden water. For domestic, there would be a need for pumps, filters and storage tanks, etc.
Fosses, from empty, roughly how long before it needs emptying assuming ave size and two people in house.
Can I assume services for all these requirements are readily available since so many properties have them.
Essentially, can I take the view, bit of a nuisance but nothing a man and a van can't sort out relatively easily.
After a lifetime in the city, I'm looking for somewhere, not remote but peaceful
Thanks


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Some boreholes & wells have to be used for domestic water as well if they're the only source and you need to avoid those especially as they can get contaminated so easily........ if you have municipal water as well then boreholes & wells can just be used for gardening etc & then they sometimes become a bonus but boreholes especially are a nightmare when they go wrong & have to be pulled, fixed & replaced. 

A proper fosse is a soakaway but there are also sealed septic tanks & how long they take to fill obviously depends on how big they are & how much goes into them (some houses redirect grey water & some don't) but a properly working fosse should in theory never need emptying.................. We put a new one in about 5 years ago & it never worked properly from the start because of the compressed shale soil we have around the house so I got a man with a digger in to dig me 2 trenches each about 5 metres long and sloping downwards from the top of the 3rd compartment & then knocked 2 holes in the wall of that compartment, put land drain pipe in & backfilled the trenches. 

That solved the problem & it hasn't needed emptying since but if/when you do need to get one emptied then most Juntas/Councils have a contractor that will come in & suck out the full tank..................... Prices vary by area & costs in my (rural) area is about €40 but I've heard of some areas, especially in the Algarve & surrounds that ask well over €100 per pump out.


----------



## lucifers cat (Feb 17, 2019)

O.K. beginning to get a handle on this now.
Lots of useful info there, many thanks for the detail.
Apologies for disturbing your breakfast.
Appreciate your time and insights.


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

You'll also need to address the heating situation as well & the first thing to remember is that no matter how much heat you generate, you'll lose it as quickly as you make it if you don't have good insulation absolutely everywhere................ including windows. 

Then you have the heat source itself & we've tried a variety from wood to electric to diesel to gas to wood pellets & incidentally are in the same age range as you are.......... and the best by a country mile is a wood pellet burning boiler linked to radiators. It's not the cheapest to install but is the cheapest & easiest to run & maintain.


----------



## lucifers cat (Feb 17, 2019)

Never considered the heating, another invaluable snippet for me and anyone else reading this.
No substitute for experience, my thanks again for allowing me and others to draw on yours.
Absolute gem!


----------

