Looking for home water storage.
What’s your thought on the 3.5 gal water bricks?
Thanks

Also what are you using for water treatment?

Just a data point:

I keep a couple of the 5 gallon jugs as back-up for flushing/rinsing in case of emergency, I'm less concerned with the age because it's utility water, though I keep it cool/dark.

I generally have 6 or more full cases of bottled water stacked up for regular drinking and replace as I use the top case.
In my case - it's just me and the cat, so usage is lower.

I'm on a 100+ foot well, so what I need to nail down is a reliable way to get the water out of the ground when the power goes down, since my solar array is still OK, but the batteries have gone tits-up.

I'm in the same boat.  Need to get a hand well pump for when the power goes out but my well is over 200 ft.
Batteries in my solar went bad and can't justify spending the $2400 for four batteries.
I know Lehmans sells a hand well pump.
And OP as far as storing water, depending on space you can get 35 gallon food safe barrels with a pump that fits in the hole on top.
I personally filter my water with a homemade system with two 5 gl buckets a spigot and two ceramic filters.

Water storage? How big is your hot water tank?

The hot water tank can grow all kinds of biotics in it, depending on the source of the water inflow.
It is toasty warm, and frequently has organic matter in the water, plus other regular nutrients tasty to bacteria and sludge.

How many people do you know who actually drain their water heater tank on a semi-regular basis?

I'd use it to wash hands, and rinse stuff, but I wouldn't consider it a source of drinking water unless I was really that desperate.

I like the military water cans.  They store water as well or better than anything else plus give you options down the road nothing else really provides.  They may be expensive but it’s a buy once, cry once kind of thing.  Storing a few gallons of potable water was a good idea yesterday, it’s a good idea today and it’s going to be a good idea for the rest of your life.  Like any other job, having the right tool makes it easier.

I treat the water with NaDCC tablets when I put the water up.

I use.
2 blitz 6 gallon jerrys
2 15 gallon barrels
100 gallon tote
Few flats of bottles.
Then the means to filter and treat. From drip filters to pumps.
On site manual well pump.

I have 6 Water Bricks (the light blue ones).
I stand them upright, and I have 2 straps wrapped around them, one high and one low. There is NO WAY they will leak.
They are very tough, but the handle that comes with them kinda sucks.

The amount of water I want on hand would make small containers cost prohibitive.

Why do you want spare water? What kind of event are you preparing for? Do you have access to a source of water? Are you single or have a family?

The picture below is a 130 gallon rain barrel I recently purchased...havent plumbed it into the gutters yet or built a foundation for it.

I also have a 265 gallon on side of youse....same story, not set up yet.

But when I get everything up and running I will be able to collect and store 395 gallons outside, plus two 55 gallon barrels in basement plus waterheater. Attached File

Attached File

I bought 3 new plastic blue barrels & built
a rack to store them horizontally. I used
2x6's with joist hangers and the barrels
are stacked 3 high in my garage. I filled
them with clean water. I sloshed them out
with a mix of hydrogen peroxide to help
eliminate the plastic taste. I filled them
about 5 years ago. I taste tested them
about a year ago, and they were still
good to go. At that time I added a half
bottle of hydro peroxide and sealed
them up. I can use it for drinking water
if needed, and the I can gravity feed the
two upper ones to the tank in one of my
toilets if I need to.

I had Enginner775 add a Simple pump
to my well & it's plumbed into my house
so the barrels are a back up now. I have
had 2 power outages since I had the hand
pump installed and used it. My wife had a
doctor's appointment and was really mad
about not being able to get a shower. We
have a propane water heater, so I was able
to pump her a shower.  Money well spent
to keep mamma happy & clean!

I have the drums & fittings, etc to build a
rain catchment system, but since I have
installed the hand pump in the well, I don't
need it. I can get clean drinkable water, anytime
I need it, and I can fill the barrels with it, and
the tanks on my toilets, etc. Much better than
having to carry & filter creek water, or having
to maintain a rain catchment system & filter
that.

John

Not my image, but I built mine like this, except
I used 2x6's with joist hangers. You just need a
chop saw, screws & a drill to drive the screws.
I ran a 2x6 on edge down the length of each
drum underneath to give them good support.

It was easy to build, simple & strong.

way too expensive for quantity stored, its cost 10 dollars. per day for water.

blue 55 gallon barrel, cost 20-50 dollars
5 gallon PET water jugs from walmart are 5-8 bucks.
Hell a five gallon pail and lid is only a couple bucks.

water treatment: just chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) for groundwater/stored water.
couple 5 gallon buckets with mult step DIY home water filters + chlorine for anything else thats nasty- simple and cheap.

good for an apartment or just a few gallons but cost prohibitive for real storage. I have 5 of the 55 gallon drums that self clean/cycle/fill every time it rains. I set it up 4 years ago for under $200 and it's been fine since then. I check it when I'm out doing whatever else, and no issue. It's nice that it's always about fresh, and since we're a family in Texas I will need a large quantity on hand with the ability to get more.

I agree those water bricks are way overpriced, but cool. I am limited on space right now and don't have the ability to store 55 gallon drums, so I buy 5 gallon "campers jugs" at Winco down the street. They are under 7 bucks and include the first 5 gallons of water. I've bought 1 or 2 a month when grocery shopping and now have over 20. I rotate them out emptying them into a 2.5 gallon jug in the fridge then refill 5 gallons for 75 cents.

IBC Totes.  Place close has totes that are used for baby food additive.  They are food grade rated, and had food stuff in them.  Also are cleaned out pretty well.  Hose them down a few times, add a little bleach and you've got a nice 275 gallon storage.  Caviat, I did have one that I had for about 6 years that sprung a leak on the bottom.  This new one replaced it.

Sorry for the stupid question but how do you keep your outside water from freezing in the winter.
I am in KS with a 4 person family.  
Do you treat your rain water?  
thanks

This, also make great rain catchers.  Get some 5 gal sealed jugs from the store.  If i use one i fill it up with tap water, cheap way to store potable water.

Add bleach to the rainwater or buy a kit for swimming pools or water filtration.

1- Two 40 gal Rubbermaid trashcans fed by siphon from my 50 gal. rain barrel.

2- Ten or twelve clorox jugs filled and stored in the garage. (tap water)

3- A few flats of bottled water

4- Two five gallon plastic water cans kept empty for last minute filling.  These were for crisis relocation when I lived in hurricane country.

Noobish question, but what are the 'real' military water cans now?  Scepter brand?

I did a search and got a bunch of different brands / types.

Thanks......P

There are two military water cans, Scepter and Skilcraft.  The Scepter are the nicer can as far as fit and finish but they’ve always been more expensive.  Lexington Container is the big seller of the Scepter and LCI was, until recently, the go to place for the Skilcraft (it’s very common the see the Skilcraft cans refered to as LCI’s).   The Skilcraft can be significantly less expensive but now that LCI isn’t selling them anymore pricing is all over the map , so you need to really shop around to find them at a decent price.

Scepter cans
https://lexingtoncontainercompanysonlinestore.mybigcommerce.com/military-water-can/

Here’s a couple of Skilcraft sellers but shop around if you decide to buy.
https://www.grainger.com/product/53YJ23?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI74P5l4iu5AIVirHtCh3rsQQ5EAQYBCABEgKmrPD_BwE&cm_mmc=PPC:+Google+PLA&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMI74P5l4iu5AIVirHtCh3rsQQ5EAQYBCABEgKmrPD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!295913547105!!!g!589069421957!

https://www.tacticai.com/products/tan-military-water-can?variant=29224526905418¤cy=USD&utm_campaign=gs-2019-08-11&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign

10 5gallon MWCs
4 15 gallon barrels
12 of the 1 gallon bottles
Added a second 80 gallon pressure tank to my well setup

Use 1tsp bleach per 5 gallons for stored water.

I have two 20L Scepter cans, and two older AquaTainers also around 5gal

I use 2ml of Clorox per container as it is easy to administer with a 10ml syringe (20 drops per ml)

the old recommendation for unscented sodium hypo chlorite bleach was 8 drops per gallon of clear water... let stand 30 min, and be sure to disinfect the mouth if you are drinking directly from something like a canteen...

Waterbricks are cool, very nice to stack or stick under beds, etc.  Easier for smaller people to handle.  Not a ton of spout options yet.  A while back I found a deal at CampingSurvival for about $14 each, I see Brownells has them for that now too.

My main mobile supply is a bunch of LCI MWCs, they used to be really cheap.

My ultimate upgrade plan is an IBC tote, I have a spot in my garage that would work well.

If anyone is using MWC or MFC, do yourself a favor and visit JAGMTE: Just a Guy Making Things Easier for lots of cap, spout, and accessory options for those cans.  Including metal flanges for MFCs!

You have running water in your house, right?

Get one of those old style well pressure tanks with no bladder. Plumb it into your incoming water, doesn't matter if it's from a well or city.  Mount it high enough to open a drain and let gravity put it in a bucket. Instant constantly rotated potable water ready to go. Between that and the water heater, you have a lot of water.

Make sure you have good filter setups, like a black Berkey.

I don’t think that’s a very good idea.  The local water company has issued “boil your water” alerts at least twice that I can remember.  Your setup would have the emergency backup supply corrupted by the inbound source.  I think an emergency supply of anything needs to be well and truly separate from the normal supply, whatever that might be.

.

For each hurricane I've filled up ahead of time:

Many Thanks!!

Why you have those filters/way to make it drinkable in such a case.

From experience, I can tell you that having a large supply of fresh, rotated water at a moment's notice, even if it must be filtered (why you have filters), is better than having empty water jugs at the ready. You don't always get warning.

Of course, get both applies.

There are lots of scenarios where you simply lose incoming water, nothing wrong with what is in the tank. This gives you that always fresh and ready buffer that takes zero maintenance.

Oh, and put in a check valve so that your water supply doesn't feed back after a loss of incoming pressure.

My filtering and purifying equipment is on hand to replenish my emergency water supply, not to give me access to it.  Apparently you and I have completely different definitions of “moments notice”.

I have no idea why you’re talking about empty cans, I store mine full of clean, potable water that’s ready for use.  My experience tells me to square away things like my emergency waters supply before I need it, not during the emergency.

As I’ve already explained, your proposed system doesn’t guarantee you an “always fresh and ready buffer”.  Since it doesn’t do that. the fact that it’s zero maintenance doesn’t seem to buy you anything.  I rotate 1/12 of my supply on or about the first of every month.  I did it this morning in fact.  It’s part of my normal routine and I don’t consider it overly burdensome.  The little bit of maintenance I do gets me a comfortably adequate supply of fresh, clean water I can count on, should I ever need it.  Seems like a small price to pay, given the result.

Still, it’s your water, do what you want with it.

I am on private well. We filter all our water for cooking and drinking through a Berkey black anyway. Since we are on private well, the odds of our water suddenly being contaminated are exceedingly slim. However, well pumps fail (bt/dt). Power goes out. Having a full cistern saved our bacon more than once, particularly when it comes to watering the livestock (cattle drink 10+ gallons per day each btw).

If you are on a shit water supply that is routinely not safe to drink, adjust your system accordingly. I would actually filter all that incoming water you use for cooking and drinking anyway to be safe. Not fun to be the first one sick where they find out your water is contaminated...

I'll take having a constantly rotated, constantly full 350 gallons ready for my situation.

Or like I said: get both

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzcoPSEZIcQ

What do you think of this?
Would it be as good as a Berkey big?
If you made it would you use the filters he did or would you buy the berkey filter?

I have several of the tan mil 5’s, some 3’s and a lot of 1 L pop bottles refilled along with 5 cases of 1/2 L.
The 3 gallon jugs with handles are the best.  5’s are heavy.

I run a 42 gallon holding tank inline prior to our hot water heater.  Our system can be pressure-less and we still have a minimum of 70 gallons on hand at any time.

Gutters are plumbed to a single outlet so we can collect rain water during the warmer months.

Fresh stream located within eye shot of our house.

TLDR

Don't underestimate your family water needs.

I have a family of 6, 2 of them infants, 2 toddlers, myself and wife. We're currently doing a kitchen renovation and our RO drinking water system is disconnected. We're operating from 2 of the 5 gallon orange "Gatorade" coolers. That 10 gallons, used exclusively for drinking, lasts only a week. That doesn't include cooking water, and there is SOME supplemental liquids here an there (the kids don't take water to daycare with them, our bottles occasionally run low throughout the day at work and we refill from the fountain at work, etc).

Realistically, 2-gallons/day MINIMUM is what our family needs JUST for drinking.

Thankfully my water system is relatively independent and sustainable. I have rainwater collection that can be used to flush toilets & wash etc (would require a plumbing change to have pressurized feed into the house). The storage tank for that is 8,000 gallons buried. I'm on a low-production well for domestic water needs so we have a buried buffer tank for that as well. The buffer tank's primary purpose is to buffer water needs with production. IE, Saturdays are laundry days and we use more water than the well can produce. We draw the tank down a little bit, but by Monday/Tuesday it has normally recovered back to the full mark. That tank is 2500 gallons. IIRC, from my water consumption monitoring, that tank will last us around 45 days of normal usage w/o running the well pump, but if I have the pump in the tank powered up I may as well run the well pump too.