Water Storage

[Shami-Amourae]

I've been looking to find a decent long term solution for water storage, so I can have a 6 month supply of water. Based on my research the most popular thing to do is get 55-gallon blue water drums, like this:

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/baytec_2152_18297112

So is this the right thing to do? Where would you guys recommend getting this sort of thing?

If the whole 55-gallon blue water drum is the best way to go, the best price I've found so far is here (http://www.bayteccontainers.com/waterbarrels.html). Is there anything better you guys know of? Thank you.

[BrewTech]

I got mine from an Army Navy surplus store locally... virgin UN rated (no return policy...) I think I paid about 65 bucks each. I looked at Baytec when I was shopping around, but that hurricane rolled through down in TX and they were having a hard time processing orders.

55 gals are the way to go if you have the room

[Book]

http://www.ckpplumbing.com/plumbing_tips/images/water_heaters.jpg

Don't forget that your hot water heater already has a faucet at the bottom of the tank.

:)

[solid]

If the whole 55-gallon blue water drum is the best way to go, the best price I've found so far is here (http://www.bayteccontainers.com/waterbarrels.html). Is there anything better you guys know of? Thank you.


Those look pretty good to me. They are made out of polyethylene, strong stuff that shouldn't leech any taste into the water. The tanks I have are made out of the same material, and are close to 40 years old. Water tastes fine stored in them.

[uncletonoose]

Don't forget about this, 12,000 gallons. Perfect with a Berkey. ;D

[Shami-Amourae]

I got my Berkey just before they were banned in CA. I need to get out of CA quick since my current filters won't last much longer.

:'(

[solid]

Don't forget about this, 12,000 gallons. Perfect with a Berkey. ;D


And perfect to catch rainwater too! Lot's of good advise in this thread!

[Shami-Amourae]

Saw this, think if I get those drums I should get this too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oag42LhgMoE

[Shami-Amourae]

You know I totalled up the price/accessories/shipping, and now this thing from Costco seems cheaper?! Will let you guys know how I like up when I receive it.

http://content.costco.com/Images/Content/Product/557901.jpg (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11610210&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|3605|75277&N=4047923&Mo=22&No=12&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=90741&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&SessionID=44dc3319-c3d2-4cbe-9dae-8e68d8e67ba4)

[sirgonzo420]

I got my Berkey just before they were banned in CA. I need to get out of CA quick since my current filters won't last much longer.

:'(


Why is it banned there?

Because it removes fluoride?

[Shami-Amourae]

Yes, exactly.

They even cracked down on all E-bay sellers. It's pretty much impossible to get now.

[ximmy]

I think water is the most essential thing to be prepared with & I'm constantly thinking of ways to hold it.

I wanted a Berkey... hopefully soon.. ???

I have two 55 gal drums catching rainwater (using for plants), could be filtered for bathing, would like at least 4 more. Book has the right idea, some people have a 100 gal. or two 75 gal. or more water heaters (keeps the water circulating)

For drinking, so far, I have five 5 gal. water bottles (rotating) on a cooler. I'd like up to fifteen more but they take up a lot of floor space.

[Gaillo]

Since this isn't really a "review", I'm moving it to the preparedness section.
-Gaillo

[chad]

Yes, exactly.

They even cracked down on all E-bay sellers. It's pretty much impossible to get now.


it's against the law to drink natural, unfucked with water in ca?

[Shami-Amourae]

it's against the law to drink natural, unfucked with water in ca?


You probably could get RO or distilled, but yeah, pretty much. The Berkey is the best (that I know of) since it doesn't require electricity, and it's all gravity fed, (perfect for SHTF.) Once I finish college this semester I'm gonna start looking at leaving the state for good. It's completely statist here.

[Shami-Amourae]

This past November 2009, California signed into law AB 1953 / SB 1334 & 1395 / HSC Section 116875 and as a result directly affected the sales of all water filter and purification systems to the state. This revised “no lead law” as it’s commonly known, went into effect on January 1, 2010. Currently this law prevents any Berkey water filter from being sold to the state of California, and canvasses all Berkey products that comes in contact with water intended for drinking. This would include upper/lower chambers, all filters, and sport bottles.
The law stipulates that any “end-use device intended to convey or dispense water for human consumption through drinking or cooking,” as well as each of their individual components, materials and “pipe, pipe or plumbing fittings, or fixtures,” or flux, must be “lead free” as defined by California law. Under SB 1334, certification MUST be performed by an “independent ANSI-approved third party testing organization.” It appears that even if a product and each component of that product has no metal alloys and if a purification system actually reduces lead, under Section 116875, it must be be certified. An example of this would be the Berkey sport water purification bottle.

The Berkey sport bottle body utilizes LDPE, which must be certified, even though it is common knowledge that LDPE contains no lead, is very commonly used by food and water companies, and is monitored under federal regulations. Further, manufacturers are expected to reveal proprietary information regarding their systems, suppliers and manufacturers, without an absolute guarantee that such proprietary information will be kept confidential. This is of utmost concern due to the fact that if such proprietary information is conveyed to competitors, we would have no recourse. It also worth noting that if Berkey water filters desires to change any of their suppliers after certification, it appears that permission must be obtained by the certifying organization and that re-certification is mandatory, all at the expense of the company. Change of suppliers is a common occurrence as improvement of the Berkey product line is continually occurring.
Research indicates that there are at least two different certification standards available, but there seems to be disagreement as to which standards are acceptable to the state of California’s review Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), the agency in charge of reviewing products and their certification. There is further confusion regarding testing protocols. While DTSC has issued an outline, it appears that the final protocols have yet to be settled upon. Throughout Berkey water filters ongoing research on this issue, they were unable to get clarification on the above requirements, instead it was suggested that “lawyers review the wording of the law to determine” how “they interpret the scope of the mandatory certification…”. Unfortunately, many questions were not answered by the January 1st deadline and as such, “strict compliance with the law” was recommended and is now being adhered to.

Here’s an example of one of the requirements:
…Listee shall promptly furnish to CC, in writing, the street address, hours of operation, anticipated dates when plants will be temporarily closed or shut down, anticipated dates when plants will temporarily cease production and all local or state holidays of each plant where the listed product is being manufactured or to be manufactured by or on behalf of Listee, and each location where the listed product is warehoused or stored by or on behalf of Listee. Listee shall also provide the name and telephone number of a contact person for each such plant or storage location, both at the time of application for evaluation and in the event of any changes in this information. Listee shall provide such information for all plants and storage locations, whether foreign or domestic. If the product is imported or to be imported, Listee shall also provide the name, street address, telephone number and contact person of the importer and the consignee…

Note: Berkey Water Filters does not have manufacturing plants or warehouses in the state of CA
This revised law has put the burden of proof on the manufacturer and is understandable, however the great additional expense will be difficult for Berkey water filters to absorb into the cost structure. To be clear, Berkey products do not contain lead and testing results from NSF/ANSI certified labs show that these systems reduce lead in water. If every state were to establish their own specific overarching certification criteria such as CA, small companies like Berkey would not be able to meet these requirements and would be put out of business.
Big Berkey Water Filters will continue to monitor the situation and hopefully gain clarification on the issues for which there are currently no definite answers. While many water purification and water filter companies are ignoring the law due to it’s vagueness, there is no interest on Berkey’s behalf to go this route. Berkey water filters considers it a high priority to support the tens of thousands of current CA customers in addition to potential future customer who have interest in the product and hope to come to a resolution soon.

http://berkeywaterstore.org/water-information/berkey-not-able-to-ship-to-california/

Further discussion:
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?p=6104179

[Shami-Amourae]

So the package was delivered last night and it included the following:



http://www.disasterstuff.com/store/pc/catalog/CD55G200.jpg
55-gallon barrel:
Normally $65 (http://www.disasterstuff.com/store/pc/Water-Storage-c69.htm) + $??? Shipping

+

http://www.disasterstuff.com/store/pc/catalog/bung-wrench-barrel-buddies-200.jpg
Bung Wrench:
Normally $8.33 (http://www.disasterstuff.com/store/pc/Water-Storage-c69.htm) + $??? Shipping

+

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/baytec_2155_53908014
Economy Plastic Drum Siphon Pump:
Normally $24.95 (http://www.bayteccontainers.com/siphonpump.html) + $??? Shipping

+

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41P-6Ed6FiL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
55 Gallon Water Preserver:
Normally $12.48 (http://www.amazon.com/Preserver-Concentrate-Emergency-Preparedness-Earthquake/dp/B0010OI5WK/ref=pd_sbs_hg_1) + $??? Shipping


Just the flat price WITHOUT shipping = $110.76, basically the same price as the Costco deal (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11610210&search=water+barrel&Mo=1&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=water+barrel&Ntt=water+barrel&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1) WITH shipping. The Costco deal definitely is the best deal in town if you're new to this stuff, but maybe only buy one, and buy normal 55-gallon barrels elsewhere. Very happy with it.


_____________

Also I read that the water preserver stuff is a ripoff. Apparently you only need to do 1/2 cup bleach with 55-gallons of water according the the comments I read on the Amazon.com product. Could someone confirm this, just to make sure?

[muffin]

We keep some cases of bottled water, a few 2 and 3 gallon jugs and two 15 gallon drums in the basement. US Plastics has decent prices on these as well as food buckets and other goodies.

The two 15 gallon tanks we put a little bleach in when we fill them to keep the bugs out (our water is from a well, if you put in tap water there is probably enough chlorine already). The tanks have bungs up top and all you need is a length of hose to siphon from. We keep the tanks elevated about a foot on stands so there is not a problem with getting all the water out. There is also the hot water tank.

We have three 275 gallon totes hooked up to the gutters for a rainwater catch system and it works great. Only problem is that you would have to filter that water or boil it. That and we didn't contemplate radiation into our water preps plan.

The 275 gallon totes can be had from 30-100 bucks each and are very high quality - we ran them throughout the winter and they have enough give that freezing doesn't damage them. The ones we use had syrup in them that is used to manufacture dog food. You just rinse them out and they are good to go. Obviously don't use any that were used to hold chemicals, etc. Food grade stuffs only. These we made adaptors for garden hoses and use the water in the garden to save on electricity for the well. If the power goes out we have washing and toilet water to last a good while, as well as ability to keep watering the garden for awhile. If the grid goes down and there is a drought at the same time, then it's going to have to come out of the pond which will be much more of a challenge, but still doable. If that dries up I figure we are all pretty much toast anyways. Then it would be onto whoever has a well and a genset to run it.

[beefsteak]

it's against the law to drink natural, unfucked with water in ca?


You probably could get RO or distilled, but yeah, pretty much. The Berkey is the best (that I know of) since it doesn't require electricity, and it's all gravity fed, (perfect for SHTF.) Once I finish college this semester I'm gonna start looking at leaving the state for good. It's completely statist here.


It's been reported that it is against the law to sell Brita filters in California. Unbelievable!!!