-
If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
-
Be sure to enter the NES/Pioneer Valley Arms February Giveaway ***Smith & Wesson SD9VE 9MM***
H20
- Thread starter Boman
- Start date
Water is the most abundant item on the planet. Storing enough for drinking, cooking and sanitation requires lots of space. Storing enough for a couple days and storing several water filters takes less space. I have several 15 gallon containers in place as well as a variety of filters. Containers get refilled every couple of months.
Filters are also one of the items I have cached here and there.
Filters are also one of the items I have cached here and there.
I store about 20 gallons of drinking water in the basement. I want to have more, but don't have the space at the moment. WaterBOB in the closet (probably only useful for a hurricane situation where there is some advance notice). Also have a couple of sawyer in-line filters in the go-bag.
Buck.
ETA: A buddy of mine has a nice rain barrel system set up. He's only using it it irrigate his garden, but something like that could easily be upgraded with filters/purification to convert it to drinking water. He runs the down spout from the roof of his garage right into a system of four 55-gallon plastic storage drums. Overflow gets diverted into a culvert.
Buck.
ETA: A buddy of mine has a nice rain barrel system set up. He's only using it it irrigate his garden, but something like that could easily be upgraded with filters/purification to convert it to drinking water. He runs the down spout from the roof of his garage right into a system of four 55-gallon plastic storage drums. Overflow gets diverted into a culvert.
Last edited:
Put a pressure tank inline with your water supply and a one way check valve. These are typically standard on homes with wells, but can be installed on homes with city water as well. Get about a 44gallon one. They last for at least a decade if you buy quality.
You can also get the 250gallon pallet sized tanks. Roughly 48" cubes. 1 and 1/2 cups of bleach to a full tank will keep it clean for years. DO NOT USE SCENTED OR COLORGUARD BLEACH!!!
You can also get the 250gallon pallet sized tanks. Roughly 48" cubes. 1 and 1/2 cups of bleach to a full tank will keep it clean for years. DO NOT USE SCENTED OR COLORGUARD BLEACH!!!
Stored water is about 200 gallons in barrels and smaller containers. We put some bleach in the water and try to change it out annually. That capacity is about 3 weeks for my family of 4. Additionally, it means that I would only have to run my generator for about an hour every 3 weeks to fill them.
If the generator fails I have a couple of well buckets that I made. Here is where I got the plans for the bucket:
Build a Well Bucket
It is a bit of a pain because I would have to pull the pump and piping out of the well to use but it is not difficult with a length of pipe to pull your pitless adapter. Our well is about 160 ft deep but the water is within 50 feet of the top. A hand pump would be better but at this point that is not in the budget.
We have a rain catchment system that has a capacity of about 150 gallons. It cost me about 125 to build. It is just a length of gutter running into 3 barrels on my garage. My eventual goal is to have gutters on the whole house with a couple thousand gallon cistern but that is several years away.
There are a couple of ponds within a couple hundred yards of the house and in a worst case scenario we can use the garden cart and wheelbarrow to move water from there.
Treatment is vital to prevent disease. You can use Clorox, boiling or filtering. For filters I have a Berkey as well as a couple of filter kits that can be built out of 5 gallon buckets. Those are both backups for us and hand outs for the neighbors as I don’t want people getting sick around me. The filter kits are here:
http://www.homespunenvironmental.com/product_p/bc-0102.htm
A good source of barrels here in Southern Maine is the Barrel Man in Scarborough. He advertises in craigslist.
If the generator fails I have a couple of well buckets that I made. Here is where I got the plans for the bucket:
Build a Well Bucket
It is a bit of a pain because I would have to pull the pump and piping out of the well to use but it is not difficult with a length of pipe to pull your pitless adapter. Our well is about 160 ft deep but the water is within 50 feet of the top. A hand pump would be better but at this point that is not in the budget.
We have a rain catchment system that has a capacity of about 150 gallons. It cost me about 125 to build. It is just a length of gutter running into 3 barrels on my garage. My eventual goal is to have gutters on the whole house with a couple thousand gallon cistern but that is several years away.
There are a couple of ponds within a couple hundred yards of the house and in a worst case scenario we can use the garden cart and wheelbarrow to move water from there.
Treatment is vital to prevent disease. You can use Clorox, boiling or filtering. For filters I have a Berkey as well as a couple of filter kits that can be built out of 5 gallon buckets. Those are both backups for us and hand outs for the neighbors as I don’t want people getting sick around me. The filter kits are here:
http://www.homespunenvironmental.com/product_p/bc-0102.htm
A good source of barrels here in Southern Maine is the Barrel Man in Scarborough. He advertises in craigslist.
Last edited:
I have 40 gallons of bottled stored in 10 milk crates which take up little room when stacked. I also have a water purification filter, purification tablets and bleach stored for when that is gone. I also have a rain barrel tied into my gutters.
Careful with storing bleach. Loses its potency rather quickly.
I've been reading and see others storing pool chemicals (I forget the exact name) because it stores a lot better.
Sorry I cant give specifics.
This forum has a ton of info. Its really good.
Survivalist Forum Survival Gear SHTF and TEOTWAWKI Articles
I've been reading and see others storing pool chemicals (I forget the exact name) because it stores a lot better.
Sorry I cant give specifics.
This forum has a ton of info. Its really good.
Survivalist Forum Survival Gear SHTF and TEOTWAWKI Articles
I found some food grade 55 gallon plastic barrels. I filled them with water and added some bleach to keep it 'friendly'. I figure I will cycle it through annually or so. Looking at some of those 250 gallon rectangular plastic containers. The wife is starting to say that we have enough water. I think we can never have too much. But, as usual, she wins!