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?

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

Re: Storing Drinking Water
 

As long as you have water change it every six months..... why not, the fresh water is there.

Re: Storing Drinking Water
 

Thanks, M, just what I was looking for.

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would the barrels have to be reflushed every six months as well?

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I don't think you'd need to.

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

Re: Storing Drinking Water
 

Thanks J, I have been thinking about the container size as well and will be getting smaller ones.

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.

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:

Re: Storing Drinking Water
 

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.

Re: Storing Drinking Water
 

8 LBS per gallon, 15 gal LBS....... even a 5 gallons is 40 LBS.

Water is heavier than gasoline.

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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.

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Toilet water tank is fresher than what you keep in the frig.....also you have the water in the water hoses sitting outside.

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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.

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Just so "waiting for FEMA to deliver bottled water" is last on the list. :hahaha:

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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?

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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.

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8.35 lbs per gal. and a viscocity of 26.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

I use those number every day.

Prag :D

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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.

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That is because people are dumbshits, and rely on someone OTHER than themselves for help. Darwin helping us undo what OSHA has done!

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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.

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.

Re: Storing Drinking Water
 

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!!