[Kartographer]

If you have room consider getting one of these:


275 gallon Food Grade tote. You can often find them of Craigslist for $100 or less.

[Kartographer]

Preppers’ PING!!

[Kartographer]

A follow up article by N.P.

http://survivalblog.com/a-few-thoughts-on-water-storage-by-n-p-2/

[driftdiver]

I havent been able to find those. I did find a couple of 55 gal barrels and 3 of the water bobs

[driftdiver]

A new ones is $322

http://www.plastic-mart.com/product/9530/275-gallon-re-bottled-ibc-tote-ce-275tote

[CGASMIA68]

Question for the pros?
Article starts out by saying “those of us not fortunate to have our own well”.
We have 3 on the property one deep two shallow,can we leave H20 out of our prepping?
The shallow can be accessed through the top with a bucket on a rope should the power go out(old fashioned way)

[MountainDad]

Got a lot of those.
Work great!!!

[Iron Munro]

POLAR PURE^® WATER TREATMENT

Bailing Out?

For those interested in a low cost way to treat questionable water to make it safe for drinking Polar Pure is once again available.

Polar Pure^® was forced off the market by the federal government several years ago because drug manufacturers were using the chemicals it contains to make drugs. The Polar Pure^® manufacturer has finally been able to institute controls that satisfy the government and has brought the product back on the market.

Polar Pure^® isn’t the long term answer to providing large quantities of safe drinking water for your family but it is perfect for the short term, bailing out, emergency carry bag, camping, storm and power emergencies, etc.

One $20.00 bottle of Polar Pure^® treats up to 2,000 quarts of water.

POLAR PURE^® GEAR REVIEW:

http://www.backpacker.com/gear/essentials/water-purifiers/gear-review-polar-pure-water-disinfectant/

BUY POLAR PURE^® HERE:

http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Pure-Plus-disinfectant-Purification/dp/B00N5AGT1Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410912646&sr=8-2&keywords=polar+pure

HISTORY: WHY THE GOVERNMENT FORCED POLAR PURE^® OFF THE MARKET:

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_19385037

[Eagles6]

Local farm supply stores have good prices on tanks. Also find out now where the springs are in your area and plan on catching your rain water.

[SpaceBar]

I have heard bad things about standard hdpe milk/juice containers, but they work quite well, are easily handled, and if one fails, there are many more. Milk contains fat, and needs to be washed with a hot detergent/bleach solution to remove all lipids sticking to the plastic, then a final rinse with boiling water. After that, ten drops of chorine bleach and tap water, cap it, and tape it. Will be potable for decades... centuries if left undisturbed and away from damaging sunlight.

[Scrambler Bob]

M4Later ...

[BobL]

Nice to see this article pretty much confirming what I was saying yesterday, which was non food grade plastic bags, if brand new, are fine to use for storing water with the only difference being that they haven’t gone through the expense of certifying that capability. The idea that pesticides are added to bags was silly on its face and the bag makers deny it (and why on earth would they do that in the first place). The idea that chemicals from the plastic could leach out has more merit, but I suspect that the EPA wouldn’t be too happy about that, since many, of not most, of those bags end up with groundwater running over them.

Furthermore the wording they use warn you on the boxes is very, very, weak: “Not recommended for food storage” Nothing about poison control and nothing about harmful chemicals.

So, as I suspected, the companies simply don’t see an upside in spending the money for certification and it probably exposes them to additional liability, so why bother with it?

[Iron Munro]

Good post - Thanks

I never knew about those 275 gallon totes before but already found one on the local Craigslist for $75.

Here is another idea for smaller quantities:

I reuse the empty plastic bladders from box wine for water and Gatorade.
They work great for emergency home use, camping, backpacking, tailgating, car trips, etc.

The sizes I see locally are 2, 3 and 5 liter and come equipped with an outlet valve.
The outlet valve is made of a soft plastic assembled by a force fit.
The valves are a tight fit but can be disassembled just by pulling them apart.

Remove the bladder from the box, pull the valve apart, then rinse out the bladder several times.
Fill it with a strong baking powder solution and let sit for a few days.
Empty, rinse and let it air out for a few days.

Give it the smell test - the soak and rinse should render it pretty well odor free.

Then it is good to go.
Fill with water, and reassemble the valve.

The filled bladder can be frozen if you leave room for expansion when refilling.

I have never had one of the valves leak even after multiple disassembly/reassembly for refilling.

[CPT Clay]

I bought a house w a pool, 12,500 gallons

[greeneyes]

We have 20 gallons of bottled water stacked in the water closet in the basement.

We have filters and purification tablets. We are on a well, and hubby plans to hook the generator up to run the pump, if needed for long term.

We also have a swimming pool that holds 4000 gallons full of rain water for the garden, that can be filtered and treated for drinking if needed.

For short term, if you should run out of water, don't forget that your hot water heater can be drained to give you additional water very easily. Ours is 50 gallons.

Calcium Hypochlorite has been ordered.

[T-Bone Texan]

I got my blue plastic 55-gallon barrel from my local beermaking store.

They use them to store the malt (similar in vicosity and components to molasses) that is an integral part of brewing beer.

I have sterilized and scrubbed it out several times but it still smells like molasses, which I guess is not a deal-breaker. I was surprised at the filled weight. There was no way I alone could even tip it when full. I would have to use a car or truck, and get a running start. It was very heavy.

[rfreedom4u]

If you don’t have room for that I suggest using the 2-liter soda bottles. Just leave a little room for expansion and put them in the freezer. If the electric goes out they will help keep things frozen longer.

[Iron Munro]

Many commercial buildings, especially in urban areas, have outside water bibs that do not have a handle to turn them on and off.

They require a special tool.

In a SHTF emergency when the water system isn't pumping anymore a commercial building is likely to have water in its plumbing system.

A multi-story building will have even more water resting in its piping.

That water can be drained from the outside spigot - if you have the tool to operate it.

The tool you need is called a Four Way Water Valve Key or just a Four Way Key.
They can be purchased at most plumbing supply stores, Amazon, Ace Hardware - probably at Home Depot and Lowes too.

They usually cost anywhere from $3 to $7 or $8.

Here are a couple of links where they can be purchased online:

http://www.amazon.com/Jones-Stephens-J40-005-Four-Way/dp/B000DZKYVC

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1276472

Here are a few examples of what the tool looks like: