I wanna have a little better piece of mind with some of the simpler preps. Scepter water cans and rotating bottled water packs is all well and good but only gets me to about 4-5 days max.

Do the 55 gallon drums suck for draining?

I’m noticing some 260-350 gallon units meant to get through a doorway and can be stored in the cool basement out of sunlight. Lower cost per gallon since I’ll be buying new drums and much less footprint.

250 gallons would get me to 2 weeks easily.

Anyone have a sure water, Rockwell, or similar unit?

I’m curios about this and how it would be treated for storage so I will be following. I chose not to store but have various treatment options available. I also have a friend with a 10 acre fresh water pond if it ever gets to that point where it is needed.

Is there a way to keep it from going stagnant and bad?

Unable to get water, seems like a walking dead scenario. How about just 20 gallons of water & rotate stock? If you want to fill, there are 5 gallon water containers available.

In a pinch, go to Lake Michigan, scoop & purify the water.

From my online reading it’s my understanding that no additional treatment is required if your tap water is already chlorinated. Which mine is.

But since it’s chlorinated it has to be refilled at least annually because the chlorine breaks down.

I have a drain in the basement floor for the washer which is easy with a hose on one of the purpose built tanks that have a bottom spigot. I’d just have to put it 10-12 inches off the floor before I fill it.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
Unable to get water, seems like a walking dead scenario. How about just 20 gallons of water & rotate stock? If you want to fill, there are 5 gallon water containers available.

In a pinch, go to Lake Michigan, scoop & purify the water.

I have a handful of scepter cans. I’m not preparing for the walking dead at all. Two years ago the hurricane in GA had my dad’s farm without water for 2 weeks. Both hurricanes in Florida as a kid had use in the same situation for more than a week.

With a family of 5 in the house right now, 250 gallons doesn’t last long. This wouldn’t be EOTWAWKI. It would just let us cook, water the pets, brush teeth, shower every couple days even if it’s a cloth rag and scrub down.

quote:

Originally posted by ryan81986:
Is there a way to keep it from going stagnant and bad?

A few drops of bleach or iodine (what we used in the Army) worked in the water buffalos. Not enough to taste, just enough to disinfect.

I have a collection of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y..._fed_asin_title&th=1

Purified for storage with these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08C..._fed_asin_title&th=1

We do. We plan on recycling it out this year. It’s critical to have a place to siphon the old water into. Unlike 5 gallon jugs, you aren’t moving these suckers around once they are full. We have a dedicated hand pump designed for the drum. To siphon, we use our RV water hose and run it into the tub.

We also have a 100 gallon triangular container that fits in a corner. You can put a tap in it and it takes less space as it is taller, I’d go that route. They are easier to use IMO.

Something like this. Costco sometimes sells them as does Lowe’s. https://www.tankandbarrel.com/...PB3wd2ptdXzv5vojSR8A

Used food grade IBC containers can often be had surprisingly cheap on places like FB Marketplace.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
Used food grade IBC containers can often be had surprisingly cheap on places like FB Marketplace.

If they had anything besides water or citrus in them are they still good to use for water? I’ve heard anything that had sugar, vinegar, or otherwise shouldn’t be used for potable water.

There’s a place really close to me that sells used ones. But I also can’t get those into the basement.

I haven't looked into it that far. I'm picking one up soon, but it won't be used for drinking water.. intentionally. So I'm going with "food grade", just in case someone drinks a little.

You can buy new, but cheap goes out the window. I've looked at lots of water tanks lately and I'm shocked at what some of the prices are for things that are relatively small.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
I haven't looked into it that far. I'm picking one up soon, but it won't be used for drinking water.. intentionally. So I'm going with "food grade", just in case someone drinks a little.

You can buy new, but cheap goes out the window. I've looked at lots of water tanks lately and I'm shocked at what some of the prices are for things that are relatively small.

Definitely overpriced. I’d like to buy a couple scepter cans here and there to get to 200~ gallons. But I don’t have room for 40 5 gallon totes in my house

Lake Michigan

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Lake Michigan

Hey, in all honesty I’m about 6 blocks away. End of the world it’ll be like a watering hole on the African plains. Dangerous!

In my prior house, we had two blue, food safe 55 gal drums for emergency water storage purchased new. We rinsed them out with hot water and a little bleach, then filled them using a food safe hose after pouring in a small bottle of water preserver good for five years.
We also had a bung wrench and a siphon kit for the barrels, each one sitting on a small dolly to move around the garage, each weighed over 400 lbs.

I don't have these anymore because there is not enough room in our garage to store. Ended up selling them, we now rely on some smaller 7.5 gal containers and an emergency filtration system since we have multiple ponds and a small lake nearby.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Hey, in all honesty I’m about 6 blocks away. End of the world it’ll be like a watering hole on the African plains. Dangerous!

I know you are. Being sandwiched between two major metropolitan areas isn't going to do you any favors if you try to shelter in place in any scenario where you are worried about not having enough water. I'm guessing that the means to treat water is easier to transport than water itself and a useful capability/ability to have.

I don’t have a good plan for something serious happening here. Bad riots a such I hope I’m okay being outside of Chicago/Milwaukee but I’m probably too close to both in reality.

If we get a blizzard or some other sort of natural disaster I’m hopeful the water remains on. In this area the type of storage I’m looking for may not be the most practical. But the equipment I buy will be of much greater use in 8 years when I retire to a rural area.

A cistern might be an option on rural property. We lucked out as our well is artesian.

30 and 55 gallon food grade barrels on Marketplace pretty routinely. Some as cheap as 30 bucks each. Some with bungs, some with removable tops (for easy cleaning).