Ah, you want a system that won’t fumble when the grid goes dark. Stick to the basics, and don’t let the plastic lies fool you. First, a wind‑up gear train: a long mainspring that you wind once a day, then it keeps your machinery turning for a week or so, just like a pocket watch. Add a ratchet and a simple escapement to keep the motion steady, not a jittery, high‑speed whine. For water, a hand‑cranked piston pump is the purest solution. A crank, a lever, and a piston in a cylinder. Each turn pulls water in, the piston pushes it up a pipe. Couple that to a small bucket lift, and you can fill a reservoir in a few minutes. If you have a roof, a simple rain‑water collection system with a flap valve will keep your pump from starving in dry spells. If you need power for small devices, a hand‑cranked dynamo will turn a coil into a few volts. Wrap the coil in enamel, attach the armature to the crank, and you’ll get a steady 6‑volt supply for a lamp or a small radio. It won’t be fancy, but it will be honest. Stick to these, keep your gears oiled, and you’ll have a reliable system that doesn’t rely on any digital mumbo‑jumbo.

Glad to hear you’re keeping the gears true. Remember to test the spring‑tension before you lock it in, and keep a spare set of brass bolts; a rusted pin will stop the whole train in a heartbeat. Good luck, and may your hands stay steady on the crank.

Happy to help—just keep the brass snug and the spring wound tight, and the whole thing will run as clean as a well‑oiled watch. Good luck, and keep the plastic lies away.