Water Barrel Prep
 

I recently picked up a couple of barrels from a local company that deals in food-grade plastic barrels. I wanted one for fuel, but picked up several when the guy told me they were only $10 each. I thought that was a good deal. Anyway, they had food products in them before (my water barrel has a hint of vanilla if I leave it sealed for a couple of days), but he said if he was going to store drinking water, he would "use a little bleach on it". I should have asked, but didn't...did he mean to clean it out with water and bleach first, or put a few drops of bleach in the stored water? Or both? I know, you guys can't read his mind at this point (or can you?), but what do you think he meant? What would you do?

And yes, I've already thought of how heavy 55 gallons of water is, and I won't be moving it, and it's on a cement floor in the basement, and I have a place to drain it and refill it occasionally...

Re: Water Barrel Prep
 

I did both with mine.:coolbeer:

Re: Water Barrel Prep
 

Bleach = Sodium hypochlorite

Chemical Formula: NaOCl

Synonyms

Chlorine bleach

Description

Sodium hypochlorite is usually sold in solution in water, where it makes a greenish yellow liquid.

Household bleaches usually contain sodium hypochlorite in a 3% to 6% solution. Some sodium hydroxide (lye) is added to keep the pH high to avoid decomposition. If the solution is made more acidic, sodium hypochlorite will dissociate, producing chlorine gas and oxygen.

It is made by bubbling chlorine gas through a solution of sodium hydroxide.

In the environment, it breaks down into water, oxygen, and table salt.

Uses

Sodium hypochlorite is the main ingredient in laundry bleach.

Because it is an excellent disinfectant, as well as a bleaching agent, it is used in many disinfectants and household cleaners.

Despite the name "chlorine bleach", in normal use there is no chlorine gas involved in the action of bleaching or disinfecting.

Sodium hypochlorite is one of the best disinfectants known, killing bacteria, yeasts, fungus, spores, even viruses.

Sodium hypochlorite is also used to disinfect water supplies and swimming pools, although calcium hypochlorite in powder or pellect form is also used, due to the convenience of the solid form. Sodium hypochlorite is too hygroscopic (it absorbs water from the air) to be used conveniently in solid form.

Re: Water Barrel Prep
 

I paid $16 for mine and thought that was a decent price as well considering the versatility of those things. They also work great as a compost bin. They're heavy enough that you can turn them on their side and roll 'em around to mix the compost. Using others for gravity-fed drip irrigation system for gardens. At that price, i'd buy more! Mind my asking what type of business it was that sold them to you?

ps... i was told to use bleach to clean them out as well. Nothing about using bleach in the water after filling.

Re: Water Barrel Prep
 

We have 2 of the barrels we use to catch rain water. Nothing fancy we just put them under the rain spouts. Saves us a lot of water. We could probibly use two more though. They fill up pretty quick.

Re: Water Barrel Prep
 

3J,
No, I don't mind...that is exactly what they do...professionally clean and re-sell food grade containers. Every size you can think of, from about 10 gallons to 55 gallons. I picked up two 55's for $20. It's in north-central Pennsylvania, anyone close can PM me for the name/phone number. If you're not close, I have to assume the shipping would pretty much kill the deal.

Re: Water Barrel Prep
 

Thanks Silverbullet .. that is a great deal. The ones i got still smelled liked peppers. I purchased them from a small feed store out in the country. They sell them as feed containers mostly for horses. Like i said, they're $16 a pop. But they have the 2-piece screw on lids kinda like Ball canning mason jars. I heard that soft-drink and fruit juice manufacturer plants will either give them away or sell them for cheap too but have not tried this route.

Re: Water Barrel Prep
 

I bought 2 barrel pumps from Northern Tool for about $20 each. I use 1 for water, the other for gas (I have several barrels of gas out by the barn...don't tell my insurance man, he'd have a stroke). The pumps work great. Not real fast, but dependable. And I don't have to worry about the drums ever rusting. BTW, I saw an "Emergency Preparedness" catalog today that had the same barrels, new, for $69 each, plus shipping. Somebody's making a buck there...

I may have to start buying these for $10 and selling them for $25 plus shipping, if there's that kind of market. One born every minute, huh? :smokin:

Re: Water Barrel Prep
 

I bought 12 orange plastic pickle Greek barrels for $10.00 each, use five of them for food, two for heating oil and one for lamp oil, I believe that each barrel holds 45 gallons.

For water I have a 550 and a 2,500 gallons water barrels, don't worry to much about it sinse I get my water by gravity and for free from a creek about 1/2 mile from me.

Re: Water Barrel Prep
 

I'm not concerned about water, either. I have a well, and a hand pump I can hook up. I only wanted a barrel so I can either A) take my time hooking it up or B) wait a couple of days to see if the power comes back on. That is the only way I would lose water right now. But then again, I now have enough gas to run the generator 24/7 for a month if I wanted to. That would be kind of silly, wouldn't it?

I'm getting tired, time for bed! G'night!