[Russellnyg745]

How do you guys store water for a longer period time? if that's even possible. I was thinking about getting a few 5 gallon water jugs and having them filled and stored just in case. More so for power outages and what not. Thanks for your time!

 

[blaster]

keep your water jugs in a dark place or they will grow algae.

 

[Oakleaf]

The local Foodland puts cases of bottled spring water on sale 3 for $10 every couple of months. I and my relatives stock up on them then. I have never had any problem with any of it growing algae or anything else going wrong, but I'm careful not to buy any cases with dented bottles or visible damage.

Keep them in a cool dark place if possible is all I can suggest on storage.

I wish we had a creek, but we don't (I know the water would have to be boiled or purified somehow for human use anyway, but would be nice to have). My neighbor thinks there may be underground water in the back pasture, though. I can fill in two or three dozen holes back there during the winter and in May or June when the hay gets cut off the first time there will be another twenty or thirty of the bleeping things (I screwed up an ankle stepping in a hole in high school, don't want to mess it up worse, and one of my worst fears is the horse doing the same thing, since it would likely be fatal to him). Neighbor thinks the holes are a sign of underground water since there often doesn't seem to be sign of animals digging them.

 

[Russellnyg745]

Thanks!

 

[blue fox]

How do you guys store water for a longer period time? if that's even possible. I was thinking about getting a few 5 gallon water jugs and having them filled and stored just in case. More so for power outages and what not. Thanks for your time!

If you do it this way, don't just stack the jugs on each other because the seams may split (Trust me I know) Set them in milk crates and stack the crates.

 

[Russellnyg745]

If you do it this way, don't just stack the jugs on each other because the seams may split (Trust me I know) Set them in milk crates and stack the crates.

Great idea. I didn't even think of that. That must have been a mess!

 

[Mindy up North]

I use 5 gallon blue water jugs. For every 5 gallons you should treat with straight bleach solution - - 4.2 ml (about a teaspoon) of 4% bleach (sodium hypochlorite) - - 6 % is acceptable too since the solution will start breaking down once it hits the water. Recommendation for storage length using this method is two years, but I like to refresh annually. I also have a gravity type water filter on hand to run my stored water through if I need it for cooking or drinking. This filter allows me to de-chlorinate the water - - so I can store with chlorine levels on the upper end of the scale and not worry about having to consume yucky bleach water.

There are other treatment options for water storage, but chlorine is the most cost effective and easy to strip. I do recommend having a good water filter availible just in case your water supply is comprised or lost.

 

[runfiverun]

i just finished a test of those blue 5 gallon jugs.
i filled one and let it sit in my shop for a bit over 5 years.
straight out of the tap filled it, and added nothing to it.

i was afraid i'd have to toss the jug when the test was over, but when dumping it out nothing but clear water with no funky smells or anything is all that come out.
i didn't taste the water, and probably should have, but i figured i'd probably boil it before use anyway.

the shop stays about 60-65F pretty consistently, and it's out of the sunlight.
so in the basement somewhere would duplicate that pretty closely.

 

[Mister Dave]

I'm not an expert of any kind.

We keep several gallon jugs straight from the store in the basement, and cycle them out for drinking as we get new ones.

Do NOT buy nylon jugs. The seams will break. Get the clear plastic ones. They're a lot stronger.

We keep the used jugs and fill them from the tap for non-potable water for flushing toilets and such. A water main broke here a while back and wifey kinda freaked out when there was no water pressure.

 

[blaster]

I have had the cheap milk jug type jugs leak and split for no reason while stored at my cabin. the heavy plastic 5 gal. jugs are the way to go for quantity. for storing smaller amounts, I like the larger sized plastic Gator Aid bottles.

 

[Russellnyg745]

Awesome replies. Thank you soo much.

 

[aris_unlimited]

We use 55 gallon plastic drums (we live near a desert). Add a small amount of bleach to keep the water good. We use 6 drops per gallon. We store it in the basement sitting on pallets.

 

[thebeav]

I'm not really sure how bad it is, but I do use 'BPA free' plastic for storage.

 

[blue fox]

We use 55 gallon plastic drums (we live near a desert). Add a small amount of bleach to keep the water good. We use 6 drops per gallon. We store it in the basement sitting on pallets.

This thought occurred to me also today. A couple of those if you have the space would work well.

 

[blaster]

a simple 12v pump, some hose and a battery makes it really easy to get water out of a 55 gal drum.

 

[aris_unlimited]

a simple 12v pump, some hose and a battery makes it really easy to get water out of a 55 gal drum.

We actually bought some mechanical pumps that screw on to the opening of the drum. Just in case we don't have access to batteries/electricity.

 

[ralph.fife]

We actually bought some mechanical pumps that screw on to the opening of the drum. Just in case we don't have access to batteries/electricity.

i used to use a 55 gallon drum gravity feeding a 20 mm surplus ammo can. In the ammo can was a marine submersible bilge pump. Drive my F250 to my county garden plot. Hook the truck battery to the submersible pump. Open the gravity feed to the ammo can. Feed that output to the garden. Eezie peezie. I used PVC manifold with a ball valve in each furrow. From there the manifold went to drip hose buried in each furrow. Took one hour to feed that 55 gallon directly to each furrow and underground. Took the dogs and worked them for an hour. Good reason to be out of house. Good luck.

 

[MoosemanOK 684]

I installed a 5 stage Reverse Osmosis system ( $150.00 with extra filters) under my kitchen cabinet because the treated lake water we get is horrible and sometimes comes thru untreated. The RO unit gives me Clean pure (99.99%) chemical and organic free water for drinking, cooking and Coffee, Since it only needs water pressure to work and has a 3 gal storage /pressure tank , I bought a 65 psi RV 12 v automatic water pump , the fittings, and a used food grade 250 gal plastic tank that is in a metal cage to be able to collect rain water , or fill with buckets from a spring or lake that is outside next to the house. I have a 12v Deep Cycle battery , and a 40w solar panel to keep it charged , and all I have to do is drill a 5/16" hole thru the wall and run the plastic RO supply tube outside to the RV Pump , which will be mounted on the outside wall , plumb it to the tank with a garden hose, hook up the power and I can make up to 50 gallons per day of Pure water , on a stand alone power system that solar recharges.
We keep 1 gal water jugs full stored in a closet now in case of a water line break as it may be a few hours or a day or so to fix a broken main line at the water company. We also fill our own small drinking water bottles for pennies.
Rich

 

[Zebraranger]

Since I live in Hurricane ally, I use six 35 gallon food grade plastic drums with the threaded bung caps, a little easier to store and move when filled.

 

[Chet Blaze]

I keep a 55 gallon barrel with a hand pump. I treated it with whatever came with the package and it's supposed to last for 5 years. I'm 4 into that and looking for how to refill and treat because I can't find the liquid treatment right now. I will look at using the bleach method mentioned above. I also keep several thick plastic gallon jugs that I sanitized. I boil the water and fill the jugs. Every year when we go camping, I use those jugs and refill the same way. That revolving system seems to work pretty well. I also keep several life straws and other filter systems on hand just in case.