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drewk4 | 03-25-2006 09:53 PM
Storing Drinking Water I'm thinking of getting two or three food grade plastic 45 gallon drums to store drinking water in. My question is; how should I prep-clean them first and then what would be a shelf life for the water? Should I add anything to prolong the shelf life? Any thoughts?

melbo | 03-25-2006 10:01 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water I'd clean them with a Clorox/water mix and scrub them out and then rinse a bunch of times. Water that is kept out of sunlight lasts pretty well. Keep some more Clorox with the containers if you want to add a little bit before consuming. Here's an excellent article on water storage: http://survivalmonkey.com/water_stor...tainer_faq.htm

Ponce Cuba | 03-25-2006 10:17 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water As long as you have water change it every six months..... why not, the fresh water is there.

drewk4 | 03-25-2006 10:18 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Thanks, M, just what I was looking for.

drewk4 | 03-25-2006 10:19 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water would the barrels have to be reflushed every six months as well?

melbo | 03-25-2006 10:24 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water I don't think you'd need to. Quote:
For long-term water storage, use standard storage common sense: store in a cool, dry, dark place. If stored outside, protect the containers from light and ensure the containers are robust enough to survive freezing temperatures and allow enough headroom (usually 1/4 of volume). Do not store potable water containers near sources of gasoline, kerosene or other petroleum products, pesticides or other poisons or chemicals; the fumes from these products can and will penetrate the plastic water container material and be absorbed by your stored water. Here’s what the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)[1] says about preparing containers and water for storing: • Containers for water should be rinsed with a diluted bleach solution (one part bleach to ten parts water) before use. Previously used bottles or other containers may be contaminated with microbes or chemicals. Do not rely on untested devices for decontaminating water. • If your water is treated commercially by a water utility, you do not need to treat water before storing it. Additional treatments of treated public water will not increase storage life. [emphasis added] • If you have a well or public water that has not been treated, follow the treatment instructions provided by your public health service or water provider. • If you suspect that your well may be contaminated, contact your local or state health department or agriculture extension agent for specific advice. • Seal your water containers tightly, label them and store them in a cool, dark place. It is important to change stored water every six months. If you wish to treat our water prior to storing it, I recommend the chlorox.com site for the latest information on disinfecting water with chlorine bleach. Any “clorox” type bleach product will work, as long as it only contains 5.25% or 6% sodium hypochlorite as its active ingredient and does not contain brighteners or scents. Per the Clorox site use the following amounts of bleach to disinfect water: 4 drops per quart, 16 drops per gallon, 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons; shake or stir the water and let sit for 30 minutes before using. If, after 30 minutes, you cannot smell chlorine, retreat and wait 30 minutes. On my used barrels from the local bottling plant, I treat my stored water with a saturated iodine crystal solution, just for insurance. Again, if you have confidence in the cleanliness of your local tap water, using it as-is is okay also. Some may advocate the use of potable water-compatible hoses to fill large barrels. However, I just use my garden hose, running the water for several minutes to ensure I am getting fresh water direct from the water main in front of my house. Again, YMMV; use what you’re comfortable with.

wallew | 03-26-2006 02:59 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water I'd reconsider the SIZE of your water storage containers. We purchased several 15 gallon water containers. They are UN approved (yeah, I know) specifically for water. Even at only 15 gallons, FULL it takes a two wheel dolly to move them around. I wouldn't EVEN want to have to attempt three times that weight EVEN WITH a four wheel dolly. Even if you had one per container and could just permanently set them on the dollies, they would be a mother to move around. Regarding storage. IF the water is stored in a cool dry place (like a basement), you can store them for really long periods of time. Again, just moving my 15 gallon cubes is a mother WITH a dolly. I've done a water check every six months for the first two years. Now I check it yearly. We treated the water with an 'oxyginator' instead of clorox. But clorox is an excellent substitute IF you can't find the 'oxygen additive' that we use. Though there are several stores that carry them. Both brick and mortar AND web stores. Our water has currently been stored for about five plus years. I recently sampled all containers (8oz out of each) and did a ph test and they were right where I had left them the previous year. My cubes are stored on 2x4's underneath them so they don't sit on concrete, which I have been told can be bad for plastic storage containers. Better safe than sorry. My great grandparents had a 'tornado shelter' on their little place in North Texas. Inside were the usual canned good (they canned them) and candles and dominos and over in the corner a LARGE clay pot FULL of water. When I asked them how often they changed it, the answer was "Never, why?" They both lived into their nineties, so I think if your water was good going in, you use some form of preservative AND have a good place to store it, I wouldn't worry about it too much. But that advice is worth what you paid for it. Zippo. Just my experinces. jim

drewk4 | 03-26-2006 03:29 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Thanks J, I have been thinking about the container size as well and will be getting smaller ones.

Book | 03-26-2006 03:34 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Many people are unaware that their home Hot Water Tank is an excellent source of stored drinking water. It even has a faucet at the bottom. During Hurricane Katrina people went thirsty waiting for FEMA bottled water while most Hot Water Tanks sat full.

drewk4 | 03-26-2006 06:48 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Go pour yourself a gallon of water from the bottom of a hot water tank. Use a clear container and then ask yourself if you want to drink that orange rusty mess. Which reminds me it's time to expel that mess from the bottom of the tank.:afraid:

wallew | 03-26-2006 06:54 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Quote:
Originally Posted by drewk4 Go pour yourself a gallon of water from the bottom of a hot water tank. Use a clear container and then ask yourself if you want to drink that orange rusty mess. Which reminds me it's time to expel that mess from the bottom of the tank.:afraid:
I bet you don't have NEAR ENOUGH IRON in your diet anyway, right? Just kidding. Most of the current hot water heaters insides are plastic, not metal. But that means you will have had to replace it within the past few years, which most people have not. You should 'flush' your hot water heater about every three months. Most don't. Having said that, yes, the first five gallons or so WILL be pretty gross, but the water after that will become fairly clear and if nothing else is usable as 'washing up' type of water. Which is what most of us use their hot water for anyway. I would NOT attempt to drink it. Unless you have a filter to put inline BEFORE you drain it. I actually have two, but would hang onto them for OTHER purposes.

Ponce Cuba | 03-26-2006 06:57 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water 8 LBS per gallon, 15 gal LBS....... even a 5 gallons is 40 LBS. Water is heavier than gasoline.

Alric | 03-26-2006 07:03 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water I hear about the hot water tank all the time. I personally would rather not try it though. If its a matter of life and death its a good thing to know, but I am saving it as a last option. Right after water from the back of a toilet.

Ponce Cuba | 03-26-2006 07:10 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Toilet water tank is fresher than what you keep in the frig.....also you have the water in the water hoses sitting outside.

Alric | 03-26-2006 07:24 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water I would go, all the juice in the fridge, melted ice from the freezer, all the extra warm soda I got in the house, water I have stored for an emergency, water in the pipes, toilet tank, hot water heater. After that I am going to dig up the sand and clay in the backyard and try and filter any other water I find. At that point I don't really know what I am doing so I hope it doesn't get that far.

Book | 03-26-2006 11:16 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Just so "waiting for FEMA to deliver bottled water" is last on the list. :hahaha:

Ponce Cuba | 03-26-2006 11:22 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Alric? to talk that way means that you suspect that something is going to happen therefore if you are not ready then you have no one to blame but yourself. Don't you take a raincoat with you if you see that is going to rain?

Alric | 03-27-2006 12:11 AM
Re: Storing Drinking Water I don't think I will ever have to drink that water but I know I can. Can't plan for everything. Which is why I am trying to store enough water that I don't even have to touch it, but you never know.

Pragmatist | 03-27-2006 01:05 AM
Re: Storing Drinking Water 8.35 lbs per gal. and a viscocity of 26. Sorry, couldn't help myself. I use those number every day. Prag :D

Worldmariner | 03-27-2006 03:19 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Quote:
Originally Posted by drewk4 would the barrels have to be reflushed every six months as well?
Interesting question... No, they do not as long as they have been kept out of the sunlight and are not contaminated. Ships keep water in tanks for YEARS between tank cleanings. Sometimes a little green slime grows in the tank, but not to worry. A good place to learn about storing water in tanks is at a sailboat site... or talk to a marina operator. Especially handy is the chlorine tabs and dosing tables found at marinas and West Marine, US Boat, et cetera.

Worldmariner | 03-27-2006 03:24 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Quote:
Originally Posted by Book Many people are unaware that their home Hot Water Tank is an excellent source of stored drinking water. It even has a faucet at the bottom. During Hurricane Katrina people went thirsty waiting for FEMA bottled water while most Hot Water Tanks sat full.
That is because people are dumbshits, and rely on someone OTHER than themselves for help. Darwin helping us undo what OSHA has done!

Book | 03-27-2006 03:38 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Quote:
"That is because people are dumbshits, and rely on someone OTHER than themselves for help." -Worldmariner
Darwinism can't work as long as they use our tax dollars to pay for the FEMA bottled water delivered to the dumbshits. FEMA trailers are now sitting here.

Ponce Cuba | 03-27-2006 08:01 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water An inexpensive water container that you can keep at home is a water bed, put some Clorox inside before the water. Also your one gallons plastic milk containers will do.

wallew | 03-28-2006 02:17 PM
Re: Storing Drinking Water Quote:
Originally Posted by Worldmariner Interesting question... No, they do not as long as they have been kept out of the sunlight and are not contaminated. Ships keep water in tanks for YEARS between tank cleanings. Sometimes a little green slime grows in the tank, but not to worry. A good place to learn about storing water in tanks is at a sailboat site... or talk to a marina operator. Especially handy is the chlorine tabs and dosing tables found at marinas and West Marine, US Boat, et cetera.
Worldmariner, DEAD BANG ON. I should have included that one. Getting old I guess. GREAT SUGGESTION! Folks, listen to this one, because people who spend their lives on ships know a LOT about storing water that those of us that are land locked will NEVER think of. WAY TO GO WM!!

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