Posted: 9/16/2007 8:11:14 PM EDT
| I'm thinking about bying a CAR. I'd like to store water in the 6 gal containers they sell at wal mart, I'm in an area that has cold winters hot summers. My concern is freezing, how much water should I put in it during the winter so if it freezes it won't break the container? |
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3/4 or a little less seems to work, but I wouldn't use the aquatainers for car storage, I think the freezing will crack them pretty quickly. I have 20 oz. bottles of aquafina that have been riding around in my truck toolbox for 2 years in CO without problems. YMMV, but you could distribute a case or two around the trunk and even out the weight distribution too. Plus that way, if one springs a leak in the trunk, you don't get 7 gallons leaking out all at once... 
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I haven't had much of a chance to test this out but I have read in various post that many of the bottled water containers are designed for freezing....apparently thats why they are corrugated - to allow for expansion. I haven't had a chance to test this out here in DFW/TX, go figure we only get a couple days a year of serious freezing temps. YMMV but on the surface it does make some sense - all the trucks that transport normal groceries are not insulated and most contents are subject to extreme temps through out the year (BTW - same for UPS/FEDEX) so it may be true. If it is indeed a correct statement then a case of the right kind of 'bottled' water may be a better choice than a filling your own. 
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We keep a couple of the liter sized AquaFina bottles filled & frozen in the freezer, for used as auxillary cold blocks. Plus, when they melt, they're drinkable water. They've been filled/frozen several times, with no ill effects. Additionally, I usually keep several 16 or 20oz bottles in my truck, year-round. They're new & still sealed. While they don't often freeze solid (I'm in TN), at least once every winter they do. Have yet to have one break or leak. Depending on the bottle design, freezing does distend the bottom of some bottles, so they won't sit upright properly on a flat surface, so you might want to watch where & how you sit one down. here Regards, David |
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I keep 3 one litre nalgeen type (cheapo's) bottles in a cooler in the trunk of each car. Never have frozen water even in the dead of winter. Toss in a couple of power bars and a LED flashlight and a couple of batteries and you have the start of a car kit. We make adjustments depending on the time of year for other stuff we carry. |