How long do bottles of water last.
 

How long should I expect to be able to keep around jugs of water from the supermarket? They have no best-before date, but at the same time I wouldn't assume they last forever. I'm thinking of the large 10 or 20 litre (2-5 gallon) jugs of spring water.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

All water there has ever been is what is still around today. It has been drunk many times, by Hitler and the dinosaurs. Water doesn't really go bad, you just have to filter it or otherwise purify it. As long as the container holds I wouldn't throw it away. After a year or so in the plastic jug it does start tasting funny.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

I think the taste may be the main reason people say not to keep it for more than a year. Stuff can grow in water, which is the reason your supposed to keep in dark areas. So if it starts turning green or something, I wouldn't drink it.

I would say it can easily last a year though, maybe two. After that its a little questionable, but chances are it should still be ok, though it might taste funny.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

IF they are the cheap, one gallon type jugs like milk comes in, you'll also find they have a high leak factor after a while.....the plastic must break down or something, because I've had them simply starting leaking for no apparent reason....so be careful where you store them.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

I've thought about this too. You probably want to get a system going where you're buying new water jugs every other week or so and swapping out with water from your supply stock. Eg, you buy 10 jugs off the bat, and buy 1 or 2 new jugs a week until you've built up a 4 or 5 month supply, and then buy as much to replinish your stock. Keep it rotating and keep the empty jugs around in case you want to fill it with tap water in case of a known upcoming emergency.

It's either that or you get some sort of industrial style stainless steel water tank to store it.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Yea its the water that breaks down the plastic. Thats where the funny tastes comes from, small amounts of plastic dissolved into the water. Its a small amount so it normally shouldn't hurt much but I guess the cheap ones are so thin that it does.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Most of the water bottles I've had from 16oz size up to the 5 gallon jugs usually have a "best before" date about 2 years out. I've drank from 3 year old 16oz. water bottles without noticing any change in the taste or quality.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Ok, so plastic sounds bad-tasting. I can't find any glass though. Glass bottles are as rare as metal cars.

I'm now thinking of getting some metal beer kegs (aluminum or stainless) and cleaning those well and re-filling them with water. Each one is 50 litres and very tough. It should keep the light off the water. Any downside? (Like aluminum getting dissolved into the water or something like that.)

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

I think water will take the taste of metal too. Infact I think that may be a problem of almost anything you store it in. Thats only if you leave it for years though. A year should be fine.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

I know I can definitely tell the difference between beer in a bottle vs a can. I would think a keg would be better than the average beer can though, problem is they're just not big enough to be better than swapping out 5gal plastic jugs. You would probably want some sort of water purification filters in any case -- a ton of Brita water filters would be better than nothing.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

A friend of mine loves Bud in cans. I gotta tell you on the few occasions I've sat down and guzzled a few Buds with him I could not taste any metal at all. The stuff tastes like piss.:getdown: :rofl:

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Personally I don't drink any beer because I think most taste like that heh.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

The kind of plastic jugs (1 gallon) that milk comes in is #2. Look at the HDPE triangle on the bottom. That kind of plastic leeches chemicals into the water and you can taste it right away, if you leave it out in the sun a half day they taste bad. Now look at the one liter jugs that sodas and small bottled waters come in (#1). The latter is generally rated at one year for water and do not impart a plastic taste.
Unfortunately I have not found a source of large #1 plastic water containers other than the expensive 5 gallon ones for water dispensers.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Of course you've all missed the obvious answer...

Just dehydrate it. Scrape the residue into another container and when you need it, just add water....:Sorry: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I couldn't resist....

:cheers:

:creep: :creep: :creep: :creep: :creep:

For glass jars. Just go to wally world and get a big gallon pickle jar - toss the pickles. Cheaper than buying just a glass jar the same size.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

If the only issue is one of taste, then ordinary Brita-type filters will remove that taste. Any activated carbon type will do.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

It would seem glass would be a great material to store water in, except for its fragility. There are special water tanks made for cruising sailboats and all fittings required to run a sink from such a tank are available, it may be worth looking into. You can buy copper tanks that inhibit microbiological and algal growth, or you can add a few silver rounds to the container of your choice. I am starting to think stainless steel or maybe some kind of cement or stone cistern would be the way to do.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

You're right REV. Perhaps it would be worthwhile looking into buying some of the large glass distilers used for brewing beer. Those would be great. The only negatives is you'd need to devote a fair amount of floorspace for them and they aren't particularly handy for getting the water out. There's a reason that beer became so popular -- it was the best source of clean water during the civil war era. Oh wait -- why not just buy bottled beer and be done with it?

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Kegs are 50l, so I guess that's about 12 gallons or so each.

The ones I think I can get are stainless. Way back I used to work delivering the things, and I know they are nearly impossible to break open (I dropped a few pressurized ones from 3 stories onto a cement floor once). I just worry it will be too hard to effectivly clean out all the skunky beer taste.

I'm mainly thinking drinkable water for a scenario where we lose power for a few days. Not having to do with anything hitting the fan, just preparing for a semi-emergency. My problem is that months tend to go by so fast in my life, so my plastic bottled water would be long gone before I had a chance to rotate the stock. I need stuff that sticks around for years.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

What about the 5 gallon jugs they sell for bottled water machines in offices? The local warehouse club sells them pretty cheap here. If you have a dark closet in the basement or something, you could get a bunch of those and put them back in the dark to inhibit growth. Maybe even throw a thick blanket or something over them.

Does anyone know how long it takes for that sort of plastic to break down and get in the water?

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

If the tap water isn't that bad in your area, just dump them out once a year and replace the water. Might not be as good as bottled water or whatever but its basicly free. Unless you have major water problems it shouldn't be that bad.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

I do this with my 5 gallon jugs. Works great.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

I am a homebrewer....and armed with such knowledge.

You can get used old 5 gallon Pepsi "ball lock" stainless steel kegs for about $20 to $25. These are also known as Cornelius Kegs.

Much easier to to move around than a full keg.

If you get a C02 system for the kegs...you can not only carbonate your beer with it, but you can make homemade soda, and seltzer water.

Stainless steel should not give off any funny tastes into the beer, soda or water.

So make a few batches of beer, keep em rotating, and if and when TSHTF, you'll still be happy!!!:coolbeer:

PS...make sure you store up some sugar for me so when we meet up we can make some more.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Lowes in my area sells 3 gallons water jugs with plastic good enough for long term storage. It is a good and heavy PET plastic bottle like you get from the 5 gallon water services.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Thats because it is poured through a Clydesdale.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

I'll probably just use some stainless kegs then. I have noticed draught beer never has that metal taste to it, so I guess it's ok.

I like the weight of the 50 litre kegs. Keeps people from screwing around with them. I remember back in my days of delivering some teenagers were trying to steal a keg - but couldn't lift it out of the drop-hole! Right now I have a few empty ones that I've made tables from. They might as well hold some emergency water too.

I guess I'll get at least one more that still has beer in it. I know I can keep that stock rotating!

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

How does one get a hold of a Pepsi keg?

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

search on E-Bay for Cornelius Kegs or Google it. Here's an E-Bay auction for 2 of them for $34. Good price.
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-CORNELIUS-KEGS...QQcmdZViewItem

Used - should pay no more than $25 for a 5 gallon one.
For a 3 gallon one used - you will pay slightly more - like $35 (good old laws of supply and demand)

Also - you could look up your local homebrew shop in the yellow pages and buy locally.
They should probably have them.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

i'm surprised not more has been made of an obvious solution, which is to put some silver in the water. roman army used to do that on long marches. ate garlic for all manner of ills, too.

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

Mixing in a little Colloidal Silver will help it also!

Re: How long do bottles of water last.
 

OK kiddies, gather round and ol Unka Jimmy gonna share ONE more of my secrets.

Water storage. First thing is you MUST have a cool DARK dry place for storage, as that's optimal storing conditions. A basement closet that you don't go into is ideal. Or in your underground bunker. Whatever.

Second thing is water weighs about seven lbs PER GALLON, so storing any more than about 15 gallons per container will require a fork lift to move. If you are Hercules or Charles Atlas, the previous statement does NOT apply to you.

Third thing is even when storing 15 gallons, having air circulating around your containers will keep them in better shape. I put two 2x4's underneath every set of cubes or boxes of water that I store away. AND NEVER store anything else on top of them, as you are begging to have a problem with your water at the worst possible time. Like when you need it the most, only to find that whatever item you stored on top of it has caused whatever you are using past it's ability to handle the weight of just the water.

Here are two pix. First one is of the one of the cubes I purchase. Please note that it's a fifteen gallon container. I check and rotate (when necessary) water every six months. I use an oxygenator added to every container I use for long term storage. The second pix is a close up of the container label. Please note this container is UN (and US DOT) approved. It is 18mm black plastic. And like I said, it holds 15 gallons. It is a MOTHER to move around, as it weighs 105 lbs. (ask me how I know how much it weighs).

http://goldismoney.info/forums/attac...1&d=1148595097

http://goldismoney.info/forums/attac...1&d=1148595097

The water in these have been in storage for more than five years. Once a year, generally around January (hey, I'm bored), I test the ph and take a sample from each container. So far, no problems and no changes in ph.