option for water storage

[fern]

I just ran across this info but have not checked other sites for pricing. I am going to call them to see what the new material is that is food grade.

http://directive21.com/aquatank1.html

[Toepopper]

Interesting but that is a pretty pricy unit. I guess it would depend on your needs and how/where you are planning to store it. May not last very long outdoors in the woods, tree branches falling on it etc. I had a $29 water bed in the woods many years ago. Light weight and easy to carry up the mountain, ran some black pvc pipe up to it and pumped it full from the creek then removed the pvc pipe so that it couldn't be seen from a satelite. The first summer the water turned real nasty from algae so I made a camoflauge net and hung it over the waterbed to prevent sunlight from hitting it and causing algae to develope. It worked great for a couple of years. You know what did it in? During a drought year, ANTS ate several large holes through it to get at the water and quench their thirst! All that work for nothing. These new units will work fine if stored in your garage or some other protected place and I am glad they have a new food grade material. (as long as it does not leach any chemmies into the water.) You can buy a 1500 gallon capacity green poly water tank, designed for above grade water storage, for $600- a 3000 gallon tank costs $870 but is 12 feet tall x 8 feet diameter and hard to manipulate into place. Once in position though they work great for water storage.

[Watchman]

In between crises today, let me add my two cents. A gallon of water weighs 8.35 pounds so a 150-gallon aqua-tank would weight in at 1257.5 pounds, not counting the weight of the material. The 150 gallon model is 3x8 feet or it takes up 24 square feet of floor space. Food grade 55 gallon drums made for water storage can be stacked then filled and if the spigots are all facing outward they can be accessed easily. What does a barrel take up? Maybe 9 square feet? Two barrels, maybe 9 square feet? 3 barrels maybe 9 square feet. That is on top of each other. Or store them in line but then they would take up as much square footage as the aqua tank. Stacking drums on top of each other may be the answer. I venture to say the aqua tank could not be moved once it was in place. Hell, I don't know.

[fern]

I agree it would only work for a certain application but I can think of a few. For me, without my retreat determined, it seems a positive since moving barrels would be a problem. I have barrels full of food now that worry me. I know we can fit what we have in the trailer but if we had to leave quick...it would be here for whoever. These bags can be packed and easily taken.

[WillyPete]

I took a second look at those containers and I'm still not sold on them. This "space age" material, not their words, seems to be too flimsy to withstand much stress. It may very well be as strong as the plastic of those plastic rain barrels but, I'm not so sure.
I would consider food grade plastic barrels for water storage faster than I would consider those bags. Plus, the barrels wouldn't be that difficult for me to move them. I have hand trucks and heavy straps to lash the barrels onto the truck, I just roll them up a fair ramp onto the trailer, lash them down there and get going.
I was also looking at the "Water BOB" www.waterbob.com and it seems OK for short term use. That thin, clear vinyl doesn't appear to be able to handle a lot of usage.
Any of those thin fabric containers would not likely be my first choice for storing something as important as water, barrels are my first choice.

[WillyPete]

Doin' some surfin' around here and re-found this thread. I used to do refrigeration work at Tractor Supply stores and remembered that those stores sell water storage tanks. I found a webpage that lists them all and these range from 125 gallons up to a 3000 gallon tank. I think these would be preferable for water storage instead of those plastic bag type storage units.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs ... perPage=20