Ok, so I derped & somehow included the mesh file in my package even though I didn't intend to. I was told that if the string files were listed in the warehouse that it was including the mesh but people still need the original object from Serinion to make it work. Serinion has updated the object on patreon (but not on MTS from what I've seen) and is working on even more improvements with the shadows that cause some weird effects and is making the water transparent so you can see inside the bucket (which looks very cool from the screenshots).
I asked on the Sims4Studio website what I did wrong but haven't received a reply yet. I'm also trying to figure out where to edit "reliability" of an object as well as water usage.
Serinion's new object is less expensive, has lower reliability (3 instead of 8), uses 1 water, is now listed in off-the-grid buy catalog, and works with Eco Lifestyle pack.
Anyone know how I can do a standalone recolor so that if the source object gets updated my object will automatically reflect the changes if I install the new source object/mesh in my mods folder?
