Off grid water storage in freezing climates

[boltonguy]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking for a while trying to learn as much as I can. Now I'm ready for my first post asking for input.
My goal is to build a 4 season, off grid, weekend getaway in ski country up in vermont. Two major challenges exist:
1. wife demands hot and cold running water.
2. 7 months of the year the average temps are below freezing in central VT: Jan 5degF; Feb 6degF; Mar 16degF; Apr 29degF; Oct 30degF; Nov 23degF; Dec 12degF.

So water is my primary concern. I think, based on all that I've read, that a deep well with solar pump into a large (500+ gals) cistern would be the way to go. Then I can have all the "normal" stuff in the house: intake line to pressure switch and pressure tank. Does that make sense?

Then I have a question about where to locate the cistern - given the temps, it will have to be below the frost line to keep from freezing so the options seem to be: below basement (my plan is to have a tradiditional basement), below the garage slab, or below ground in the back yard.
The only consideration I can get my head around is that if it is in basement or below garage slab, I had better have adequate overflow drainage to avoid flooding the interior of each space. But I was thinking that either location "may" be warmer and less likely to freezing than in the backyard under ground.

The only other consideration is that the piping in the house be quick and easy to drain when we leave on a weekend. I think that this would be facilitated by a drain in the basement floor near the pressure tank and system drain.

Can anyone offer some thoughts?

Thanks, David

[MountainDon]

What is the frost depth?

How big a tank, what shape are you thinking of?  Maybe you are aware, maybe not, only a spherical underground tank may be emptied completely. All other shapes need to be left with a minimum of 25% their capacity at all times.

At first thought a tank under the basement floor would seem to be best, but if the house is not heated when vacant would it really be any better there than "outside" under dirt? I don't know.