Water Storage

SasquatchSniper · 07-07-2009, 03:04 PM

How should you store water for long term use? Will any plastic containers work or is something special needed?

99z28monster · 07-07-2009, 03:07 PM

How long we talking here? I have stored water in my CamelBak system which is just a hydration bladder in a backpack form. Had water in some for a few months and drank it after all that time.

SasquatchSniper · 07-07-2009, 03:16 PM

I'm talkin like a year plus. For use if the worst were to occur.

thrillbilly · 07-07-2009, 06:38 PM

I just rotate it, I keep a 10 gallon water jug full ICO power outages. I just pour it out and refill it every so often, water is almost free.

LiveToShoot · 07-07-2009, 09:03 PM

I reference articles these folks post on their web site...

Emergency Water Storage

...lots of helpful preparedness info.

LiveToShoot · 07-07-2009, 09:09 PM

Here's some additional water storage info I find helpful...

Millennium Ark: Long-Term Water Storage

Big Dog · 07-08-2009, 07:43 AM

Basically, if you use the clear plastic bottles, use the ones with the #1 recycle code - those are made for potable liquids. You want good thick-walled bottles, for best reliability. I have several one-gallon bottled-water jugs that I keep for my 'hurricane preps'. These are the good clear bottles, NOT the 'milk jug' type.
For larger containers, the 7 gallon blue 'water cube' from most large box stores are very good. They include a good spigot, and will keep water for a year before needing to be cycled out. I use a couple drops of clean unscented bleach per gallon, for purification. A half-capful for the entire jug works well.
Some stores sell a green 6-gallon 'jerrycan' style water jug - avoid it! If left full any length of time, the weight of the water will collapse it. It is also prone to leakage. I had two of them - they didn't last.
Best for true long-term water storage are the 55 gallon blue plastic water barrels.

jerry · 07-08-2009, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Dog

'jerrycan'

Hey man,
Don't be talki'n about my can

thrillbilly · 07-08-2009, 11:07 AM

The best long-term water storage is a well with a manual pump.

pico · 07-08-2009, 08:15 PM

or a Katadyn water filter. Having some bleach on hand will take some nasty plastic taste out of the water. Also, Koolaid works well. My father used that a bunch in Vietnam. As for water quality, keeping it out of direct light also keeps the plastic from turning. If planning to store large amounts, you should buy a few blue 55 gallon plastic drums and have the water filled to the surface, then sealed with a lid.

Johnnycat · 07-08-2009, 10:00 PM

55 gal drum and Big Berkey water filter.

Happy hydration!

tclu1308 · 07-09-2009, 11:03 PM

The first article LivetoShoot posted pretty much reiterated a lot of the stuff I've read. the average houshold waterheater is a storage tank that I think is often overlooked. I'm not big on water storage as a lot of my family members have wells and we even still have flowing wells around here. But I usually keep a few cases of bottled water on hand which are rotated frequently as I keep a cooler stocked at my job sites, and I also fill my empty freezer space with two liter bottles of water. It helps the freezer stay as efficient as possible and is a great way to store H20.
As for long term storage, I just checked one of my cases and it says its good till May of 2011. My grandpa used to always fill a bunch of 3 gallon jugs of water from a flowing well and then haul them in the back of his truck back into the timber to a cabin he owned that was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. He always wanted to dig a well out there but never did, and we always just used the water from the jugs as needed, for drinking and cooking, washing dishes, and personal hygiene. One time I asked him how long the water would be okay to drink and he said as long as it was in a closed container and in a shady cool place it would be good for as long as it lasted. Not a very specific answer, but if you are filling jugs and storing them I would say as long as the jugs are sanitary to begin with and you rotate 2 or three times a year the water will be fine for consumption.

07-07-2009, 03:07 PM	#2
99z28monster Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ottawa, KS/ Ft.drum NY Posts: 1,251	How long we talking here? I have stored water in my CamelBak system which is just a hydration bladder in a backpack form. Had water in some for a few months and drank it after all that time. __________________ In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons. Herodotus

07-07-2009, 06:38 PM	#4
thrillbilly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ozark Hill Country Posts: 3,184	I just rotate it, I keep a 10 gallon water jug full ICO power outages. I just pour it out and refill it every so often, water is almost free. __________________ *" I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on."* John Wayne

07-08-2009, 07:43 AM	#7
Big Dog Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 14,092	Basically, if you use the clear plastic bottles, use the ones with the #1 recycle code - those are made for potable liquids. You want good thick-walled bottles, for best reliability. I have several one-gallon bottled-water jugs that I keep for my 'hurricane preps'. These are the good clear bottles, NOT the 'milk jug' type. For larger containers, the 7 gallon blue 'water cube' from most large box stores are very good. They include a good spigot, and will keep water for a year before needing to be cycled out. I use a couple drops of clean unscented bleach per gallon, for purification. A half-capful for the entire jug works well. Some stores sell a green 6-gallon 'jerrycan' style water jug - avoid it! If left full any length of time, the weight of the water will collapse it. It is also prone to leakage. I had two of them - they didn't last. Best for true long-term water storage are the 55 gallon blue plastic water barrels. __________________ "A bold spirit embiggens the smallest man!" Jebediah Springfield

07-08-2009, 11:07 AM	#9
thrillbilly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ozark Hill Country Posts: 3,184	The best long-term water storage is a well with a manual pump. __________________ *" I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on."* John Wayne

07-08-2009, 10:00 PM	#11
Johnnycat Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Tupelo, MS Posts: 546	55 gal drum and Big Berkey water filter. Happy hydration! __________________ I reserve the right to be wrong.

07-07-2009, 03:04 PM	#1
SasquatchSniper Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 59	Water Storage How should you store water for long term use? Will any plastic containers work or is something special needed?

07-07-2009, 03:16 PM	#3
SasquatchSniper Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 59	I'm talkin like a year plus. For use if the worst were to occur.

07-07-2009, 09:03 PM	#5
LiveToShoot Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: SE IDAHO Posts: 4,920	I reference articles these folks post on their web site... Emergency Water Storage ...lots of helpful preparedness info.

07-07-2009, 09:09 PM	#6
LiveToShoot Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: SE IDAHO Posts: 4,920	Here's some additional water storage info I find helpful... Millennium Ark: Long-Term Water Storage

07-08-2009, 08:15 PM	#10
pico Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 439	or a Katadyn water filter. Having some bleach on hand will take some nasty plastic taste out of the water. Also, Koolaid works well. My father used that a bunch in Vietnam. As for water quality, keeping it out of direct light also keeps the plastic from turning. If planning to store large amounts, you should buy a few blue 55 gallon plastic drums and have the water filled to the surface, then sealed with a lid.

07-09-2009, 11:03 PM	#12
tclu1308 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Champaign IL Posts: 486	The first article LivetoShoot posted pretty much reiterated a lot of the stuff I've read. the average houshold waterheater is a storage tank that I think is often overlooked. I'm not big on water storage as a lot of my family members have wells and we even still have flowing wells around here. But I usually keep a few cases of bottled water on hand which are rotated frequently as I keep a cooler stocked at my job sites, and I also fill my empty freezer space with two liter bottles of water. It helps the freezer stay as efficient as possible and is a great way to store H20. As for long term storage, I just checked one of my cases and it says its good till May of 2011. My grandpa used to always fill a bunch of 3 gallon jugs of water from a flowing well and then haul them in the back of his truck back into the timber to a cabin he owned that was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. He always wanted to dig a well out there but never did, and we always just used the water from the jugs as needed, for drinking and cooking, washing dishes, and personal hygiene. One time I asked him how long the water would be okay to drink and he said as long as it was in a closed container and in a shady cool place it would be good for as long as it lasted. Not a very specific answer, but if you are filling jugs and storing them I would say as long as the jugs are sanitary to begin with and you rotate 2 or three times a year the water will be fine for consumption. __________________ If anybody asks I spent it on golf balls. Last edited by tclu1308; 07-09-2009 at 11:05 PM.