View Full Version : Water Storage
The top of the list for disaster prep is water storage.
For Miami area folks, I picked up a couple of new 55 gal food grade blue barrels from this co. a couple of years ago for $45 ea.
I don't know if the price has gone up but, this place has a wide variety of barrels, drums & containers at wholesale prices.
IFCO Industrial Container Systems
1587 NW 163rd St
Miami, FL 33169
(305) 621-3335
I treated the filtered water I put in them with Oxy-Stabile.
http://www.nitro-pak.com/product_info.php?cPath=40_72&products_id=1137
If you are really serious about water storage solutions here is a good place to start.
http://www.watertanks.com/products/0005-005.asp
MarshallDodge
03-03-09, 13:26
One place I recently learned about is your local soda bottler. They will sometimes have empty plastic barrels that were used for the syrup.
The Pepsi bottler near me sells them for $10 each. I have not purchased any yet but the people that have seemed to be pleased.
I've gotten the 55gal used blue barrels from the local bottling plant too. $5 each.
The problem with used barrels is you can't get them cleaned out because the product leeches into the plastic. Then again I'm picky about my drinking water.
Used barrels would be good for general purpose water though, like storing rain water for washing and showers. I have a low cost filter set up for rain water.
http://shop.monolithic.com/products/just-water-ceramic-drip-filter
shadowalker
03-03-09, 17:17
You can also use mylar drum liners to create a barrier between the drum and water, you should be able to get them for $5 to $10 depending on quantity.
For a lot of people it isn't realistic to store a long term water supply, it simply consumes too much space. I have a one month of water on hand for my family.
You should have a supply of water and have known sources of water and a good water filter (such as a Katadyn) and other methods to make water safe for drinking.
I don't mind the Hawaiian Punch aftertaste in my barrels, actually. We cleaned them well, and let them soak for a while too, but what taste is left is not objectionable.
Also, get a Berkey filter with the black filter elements and the optional heavy metal / flouride filters. We use this for our day to day drinking water actually (get rid of flouride as well as chemicals and crap) but this will take surface or pond water and make drinking water out of it so for emergency use you could get water for your family from your local ground water/pond/etc. Use a cheesecloth or something to pre filter it to avoid covering up your filter elements and slowing the flow with the algae and stuff...
These filters also will get rid of lots of the bad taste and chemicals that leach into the water from plastic drums...
Keep your drums in cool temperatures out of light to slow down the rate at which the plastic chemicals leach into the water.
Also, I use the 5 or 6 gallon plastic water storage things for my water. 55 gal drums cannot be moved once full and you should rotate your water once a year anyway and it is easier to use and also rotate with smaller storage containers.
Chad
I have tried several times and my barels still taste like soy sauce:eek: LOL but where I live in the summer it could taste like pepto and still go down well.
A good & very useful alternative to the 55gal drum is to reuse 2L soda bottles. Wash them out, fill & cap them and store them in the backs of cabinets. They are even better when put in the chest freezer to add mass to the freezer. You can use them as 'cooler ice' and refreeze them repeatedly without failure. Just be sure to leave expansion room in the bottle when you fill them. By filling the bottom of my chest freezer the unit runs more efficiently too. And has the advantage of providing a non-messy way to delay the thawing of the freezer if the power is lost for an extended time.
Also, get a Berkey filter with the black filter elements and the optional heavy metal / flouride filters. We use this for our day to day drinking water actually (get rid of flouride as well as chemicals and crap) but this will take surface or pond water and make drinking water out of it so for emergency use you could get water for your family from your local ground water/pond/etc. Use a cheesecloth or something to pre filter it to avoid covering up your filter elements and slowing the flow with the algae and stuff...
These filters also will get rid of lots of the bad taste and chemicals that leach into the water from plastic drums...
Keep your drums in cool temperatures out of light to slow down the rate at which the plastic chemicals leach into the water.
Also, I use the 5 or 6 gallon plastic water storage things for my water. 55 gal drums cannot be moved once full and you should rotate your water once a year anyway and it is easier to use and also rotate with smaller storage containers.
Chad
This place has a sale on the Big Berkey.
http://www.h2ofilters.com/britberbiggr.html
Littlelebowski
03-04-09, 12:07
What about one capful of bleach per 5 gallons? Not fancy but i read that it does work.
Gutshot John
03-04-09, 14:20
If you got really creative on your property you could build some cisterns.
shadowalker
03-04-09, 14:24
You can have a deep well put in, I will at our next house. Most residential wells are fed from surface water and at risk of contamination in a disaster. My preference is for under ground water storage, I'd rather people not know I have it and it avoids the visual blight too.
Bleach is a great option to have, you need to cycle it because it does breakdown and there are some risks with long term consumption.
FEMA has some information about it here (http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/watermanage.shtm).
I have a couple gallons of bleach that we cycle through each year. It is good to have it to use as a disinfectant too.
What about one capful of bleach per 5 gallons? Not fancy but i read that it does work.
Always good to have alternatives and redundancy in every area of concern.
If your barrels get damaged or you use them up, you would be glad you had the bleach around. Then there is the good old boiling option too.
Right now I have the capacity to store 70 gallons of water in 10 dedicated water containers. I store them in the garage and their size is good considering our storage option. They remain empty until a hurricane is approaching. Then they get filled prior to the storm landing, then if we dont have to use them we just use the water for other purposes, clean out, dry and have them ready for the next storm. Maybe its inellegant, but for now it works.
Parabellum9x19mm
03-05-09, 19:21
this looks like a good product.
better than drinking soap scum.
http://www.waterbob.com/Welcome.do
My family and I drink mostly water normally. So for a while we have had home delivery of spring water in 5 gallon bottles (like the ones in an office). We just had them deliver a few more bottles than we would normally expect to use in a month.
Now we have anywhere from 25 - 60 gallons on hand, depending on the time from last delivery.
Advantages:
1. No real effort involved; delivery truck brings you the water and takes away the empties - no cleaning or filling, etc.
2. We are doing it anyways.
3. Easy to store and transport.
Disadvantages:
1. Cost is higher than DIY (but to be fair it is spring water not tap)
2. Fairly small supply
3. Relies on delivery truck
My family and I drink mostly water normally. So for a while we have had home delivery of spring water in 5 gallon bottles (like the ones in an office). We just had them deliver a few more bottles than we would normally expect to use in a month.
Now we have anywhere from 25 - 60 gallons on hand, depending on the time from last delivery.
Advantages:
1. No real effort involved; delivery truck brings you the water and takes away the empties - no cleaning or filling, etc.
2. We are doing it anyways.
3. Easy to store and transport.
Disadvantages:
1. Cost is higher than DIY (but to be fair it is spring water not tap)
2. Fairly small supply
3. Relies on delivery truck
I do the same. I change mine out at my shop every 3 months or so. At $12 a bottle, w/ $6 deposit, it's really not a big expense for the peace of mind. I had a buddy laugh at me that I had 40 gallons in my basement covered in brown wrapping paper. I asked him how long he was going to drink water out of his bathtub if a disaster happens. He has about 15 gallons now.
You can get new 5gal military plastic water cans for $16 from LCI; free shipping on orders over $50.
Well here is what I found today at the local Wall Mart in the sporting goods / camping section. Reliance products 7 gallon Aqua Tainer, Looks nice for medium size storage, square, BPA FREE FOOD APPROVED, built in liquid level and a hide away spigot.
Cost was around $13. These will be a bit easier to store than one gallon jugs, and more rugged. My need is not just for SHTF, as i live on top of a mountain in a community that uses a complicated multi well and pump system to deliver water. I have been here a year plus and the system is reliable, the water is good, and the cost is very reasonable. But you never know when the system make breakdown.
here is the link http://relianceproducts.com/products/hydration/79.html
The only disadvantages are; the company is Canadian, not American,the cost out of pocket, and that according to the manager they only stock two at a time. So it looks like weekly vists for the next 8 to 10 weeks.
Regards
Matt aka Billy Mays
I have several of those but be warned. Be careful when you put the spigot on the cap. If you over tighten or cross thread the screws that spigot will break off. I had to learn this the hard way a time or two.
Beat Trash
12-04-10, 14:14
I have 8 of those Wal Mart 7 gal Aqua Tainers. I bought 2 per family member. I do NOT stack them. I put 1/8 teaspoon of bleach per gal of water (Use a new bottle of unscented bleach) in them and rotate the water every 6 months. I once went 12 months without rotation and had no issues.
I plan on getting some 5 gal Military water containers as they are much more robust than the Aqua Tainers. If I had to throw the water containers in a truck to bug out, Iim not sure the Aqua Tainers are rugged enough.
The bath tub liner shown in an earlier post might not be a bad thing to have also if you can have some advance warning of the need, such as a hurricane warning.
I like the idea of having portable water containers, such as the 5 gal Mil containers. But I also like having 55 gal barrels in the basement. I can justify having both.
An ideal setup would be a well with a means to pump the water without needing electricity.
FromMyColdDeadHand
01-01-11, 02:24
I'm picturing number of containers that are nestable like coffe cups for storage, but can be undone, filled and capped when needed. Anything out there more sophisticated than 5 gal pals?
Some of the water to bleach ratios I see on this thread seem to be somewhat high. Here is the amounts as recommended by Clorox...as well as a couple of links that I found of interest,
*Ratio of Clorox Bleach to Water for Purification
2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water
8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water
1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water
If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Clorox Bleach.
http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/bleach.htm
For larger water storage needs.
http://www.endtimesreport.com/water.html
Are there any issues with using the home swimming pool for emergency water? I have a Katadyn ceramic filter and have close to 50 gallons of bottled water in the house (2.5 gallon Arrowhead water dispensers and 1 pint bottles). I figure if it gets really bad, having access to the swimming pool with 12K+ gallons would be fine.
For large volume storage -
http://www.surewatertanks.com/
PA PATRIOT
04-19-11, 19:00
Well here is what I found today at the local Wall Mart in the sporting goods / camping section. Reliance products 7 gallon Aqua Tainer, Looks nice for medium size storage, square, BPA FREE FOOD APPROVED, built in liquid level and a hide away spigot.
Cost was around $13. These will be a bit easier to store than one gallon jugs, and more rugged. My need is not just for SHTF, as i live on top of a mountain in a community that uses a complicated multi well and pump system to deliver water. I have been here a year plus and the system is reliable, the water is good, and the cost is very reasonable. But you never know when the system make breakdown.
here is the link http://relianceproducts.com/products/hydration/79.html
The only disadvantages are; the company is Canadian, not American,the cost out of pocket, and that according to the manager they only stock two at a time. So it looks like weekly visits for the next 8 to 10 weeks.
Regards
Matt aka Billy Mays
I have 8 of those Wal Mart 7 gal Aqua Tainers. I bought 2 per family member. I do NOT stack them. I put 1/8 teaspoon of bleach per gal of water (Use a new bottle of unscented bleach) in them and rotate the water every 6 months. I once went 12 months without rotation and had no issues.
I plan on getting some 5 gal Military water containers as they are much more robust than the Aqua Tainers. If I had to throw the water containers in a truck to bug out, I'm not sure the Aqua Tainers are rugged enough.
Everyone in my family has a water storage system which utilizes several of the Reliance products 7 gallon Aqua Tainers. Over the past three years no one has reported a problem with leaks or durability and the three I currently use for camping has seen some rough use and are still going strong.
http://relianceproducts.com/images/resize/320/Aqua-Tainer-with-BPA.jpg
[Price at my local Wal-Mart is $10.99
Those Aqua*tainers are ok. However they are indeed not the most robust. You cant throw them around and expect them to survive. You can count on the bib breaking and the screw cap becoming unusable. I ought to know, I have had 7 of them. Best bet for portable water storage would be a surplus water can or an orange igloo cooler / drink dispenser.
PA PATRIOT
04-20-11, 15:15
Those Aqua*tainers are ok. However they are indeed not the most robust. You cant throw them around and expect them to survive. You can count on the bib breaking and the screw cap becoming unusable. I ought to know, I have had 7 of them. Best bet for portable water storage would be a surplus water can or an orange igloo cooler / drink dispenser.
True they are not built to with stand abnormal abuse of throwing or dropping them on their screw caps, but most would use these for back-up water storage inside the home or at a camp site. I can attest that the three I use for camping/hunting bounce around the back of the pick-up on extended road trips only secured by by a rope looped through the handle and they survived for the past few years. The ones I use for the home and mountain house (10 each location) so far have shown no problems.
Please keep in mind that the breakage I am taking about has occurred around the home and at camp sites. The bib / screw cap joint is the weakest part and the one most frequently to break, and I do not mean from dropping them. Simply tightening it can cause the breakage or stripping of threads. Im not talking about tightening using a torque wrench, I'm talking about just using your hands. They are good for what they are, but folks have to be very mindful of this part especially or they will wind up with a useless 7 gallon container.
Does anyone know were to find some of the 55 gal water barrels in the austin or temple area?
Does anyone know were to find some of the 55 gal water barrels in the austin or temple area?
Craigslist there everywhere.. $10-$20
PA PATRIOT
04-04-12, 22:24
http://relianceproducts.com/images/resize/320/Aqua-Tainer-with-BPA.jpg
Walmart is now carrying a different 5 gallon Jerry Can version of Reliance Water Containers which I think are a much cheaper in design then the Aqua-Tainer.
With that said Walmart has a clearance on the 7 gallon Aqua-Tainer containers for $8.99, I have been able to pick up ten more from my local area stores.
LCI cans are now 24.99 a pop.
Had someone ask me for link to LCI cans so thought Id post it here:
http://www.buylci.com/CatalogProductDisplayG.aspx?Keyword=water%20cans&sc=BM&fi=1&fr=1&ps=0&av=0
blue5t1050
04-22-12, 16:13
I feel that the storage area would almost deter most from using this idea. The square footage would be ok it stacking up or digging down. That's a completely other investment though. What about water bladders that could conform to void space within houses, sheds, etc.?
PA PATRIOT
04-22-12, 18:58
Something I saw that K-Mart and a few other Internet retails sell for under $12.00 was a Primo Bottled Water Pump with Handle which can be used for 3 or 5 gallon water bottles. Since bulk bottle water prices have drop due to reduced demand because of the economy this maybe a cost efficient way to store water in the home and have easy access to it.
http://store.primowater.com/getattachment/d9a480b7-1fc8-4922-a28a-1b7f32429d8f/900179.aspx?maxSideSize=400
A quick question about the barrels that had syrup in them. I found a place that has them for $15 ea. besides the taste of whatever was in them prior to, is there any other down side? And is there some way to get the taste out?
A quick question about the barrels that had syrup in them. I found a place that has them for $15 ea. besides the taste of whatever was in them prior to, is there any other down side? And is there some way to get the taste out?
A berkey filter or something like that may have a positive effect on the taste. A Berkey filter is a good idea to have as part of your water storage plans anyway, as it can remove excess chlorine and chemical seepage from your water as well as let you use ground water...
--
Does anyone know were to find some of the 55 gal water barrels in the austin or temple area?
Try the local area soda bottling plants...
I slowly built up those 7 gallon blue cubes (Aquatainers), mostly from Walmart. I have 14 of them now, mostly stored underneath a bed. I've had some of them for about 7 years. They have all, always been full.
Nothing but good things to report on their quality. :)
I also have a Berkey Light gravity filter with the black filter elements. We use it pretty much daily, in the kitchen. Have had it for at least 5 years. It's still good to go. Highly recommend. :)
I also have a Berkey Light gravity filter with the black filter elements. We use it pretty much daily, in the kitchen. Have had it for at least 5 years. It's still good to go. Highly recommend. :)
We've been using a Berkey Light with the black filter elements and the optional heavy metal/flouride secondaries since 2007. We use it daily for our drinking water. (Have replaced the secondaries but the primary blacks have not reached their usage limit yet).
One good thing about the Berkey is you can use it to filter your stored water that you should be rotating every 6 months but that sits there for 5 years because very few people actually rotate it that often. It will help eliminate the leached in chemicals, and the clorox you used to help store it.
And can also be used to filter ground water etc for use. Highly recommended. I want another as a backup.
--
Does anyone know were to find some of the 55 gal water barrels in the austin or temple area?
What did you find?
We've been using a Berkey Light with the black filter elements and the optional heavy metal/flouride secondaries since 2007. We use it daily for our drinking water. (Have replaced the secondaries but the primary blacks have not reached their usage limit yet).
One good thing about the Berkey is you can use it to filter your stored water that you should be rotating every 6 months but that sits there for 5 years because very few people actually rotate it that often. It will help eliminate the leached in chemicals, and the clorox you used to help store it.
And can also be used to filter ground water etc for use. Highly recommended. I want another as a backup.
--
I don't see why water should be rotated every 6 months.
And, of course, I certainly don't. :no:
sandsunsurf
11-15-12, 15:11
There's no reason to rotate water. If your tap water is already treated with chlorine, it's just fine in a jug straight from the tap. Otherwise add the correct amount of bleach. If you're really concerned, then filter or treat when you drink it.
There's no reason to rotate water. If your tap water is already treated with chlorine, it's just fine in a jug straight from the tap. Otherwise add the correct amount of bleach. If you're really concerned, then filter or treat when you drink it.
Some people are concerned about the chemicals that leach out of the plastic into the water from the storage containers. Most people are not storing in glass lined containers.
I don't know the validity of this concern but it is the major reason I read about for rotating water.
--
Moose-Knuckle
11-15-12, 17:52
Just an FYI, Reliance (http://www.relianceproducts.com/bpa_story.html) brand water containers are all Bisphenol-A (BPA) free as they are from Canada where BPA is banned from use in containers housing items intended for human consumption.
PA PATRIOT
11-15-12, 21:08
Just an FYI, Reliance (http://www.relianceproducts.com/bpa_story.html) brand water containers are all Bisphenol-A (BPA) free as they are from Canada where BPA is banned from use in containers housing items intended for human consumption.
I had contacted Reliance a little ways back asking if there was any detectable levels of chemicals (used in the manufacture of the seven gallon Aquatainers) in long term stored water.
The response I received was a cryptic answer which did not directly specify if there was or was not any leeching of chemicals into stored water and they could not point me to any publicly accessible testing results which would tell the tale.
Basically they recommended changing out the water every 90 days.
I leave mine filled for no longer then 60 days because the lack of information about chemical leeching.
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