Author Topic: Water Storage (Read 3540 times)

s2srea · « **on:** January 29, 2012, 09:28:56 AM »

I'm thinking of getting one of these:

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/for/2807610217.html

275 GALLON TOTE tank water storage container - $80 (fontana)

I don't think you can beat $80..

What do you think?

jlamos · « **Reply #1 on:** January 29, 2012, 11:48:20 AM »

Quote from: the Craigslist listing

These totes here are clean inside and out but have no label to their previous contents.

I would only use tanks made for potable water. I would also avoid plastics as they leach petrochemicals.

SeanJohnson · « **Reply #2 on:** January 29, 2012, 05:27:07 PM »

Look like they would be hard to move, so you would either need a flatbed truck, or, pre-place them at your retreat.

SeanJohnson · « **Reply #3 on:** January 29, 2012, 05:35:12 PM »

Survival water supply options:

1) Water purifier (e.g., Katadyn Gravidyn; Big Berkey; etc);
2) Chemical Purification Tablets
3) Pool Shock (Disclaimer; study carefully if you go this route);
4) Boiling;
5) Bottled water;
6) Cistern;
7) Rain trap;
8) Barrell/Drum Storage;
9) etc.

The point is that there are lots of options, and if possible, you should try to load up on 3 or more sources/options in case circuмstances leave you without your primary/preferred method of obtaining potable water.

I consider #1 indispensable.

Catholic Samurai · « **Reply #4 on:** January 30, 2012, 10:02:19 AM »

Containers like this one most often are food-grade. It's the kind you want for water catchment and storage. They're actually not that heavy, and are pretty easy to move. A pickup will do just fine (though you'll need to make multiple trips for more than one or two.

They make great aquaponics units too for raising fish and growing vegetables together in a closed loop system when you cut them in half.

Iuvenalis · « **Reply #5 on:** January 31, 2012, 05:35:01 AM »

It would depend on how much space you have and your layout.

I looked at these, but when full they are so heavy. To move one around once there is water in it, if need be, seems impossible.

I went with 55 gallon drum and it is heavy enough once full, and if one barrel spoils or gets growth, it is hopefully only that barrel.

Using these means you have your eggs in one basket unless you have a lot of land and intend to have several.

Elizabeth · « **Reply #6 on:** January 31, 2012, 09:19:42 PM »

Quote from: s2srea

I'm thinking of getting one of these:

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/for/2807610217.html

275 GALLON TOTE tank water storage container - $80 (fontana)

I don't think you can beat $80..

What do you think?

I think you'd need a pack of attack dogs and a protective case so nobody could get at it-animals or humans. Otherwise, very cool.

Maizar · « **Reply #7 on:** February 01, 2012, 11:43:46 PM »

They look very practical - you could store them under the house or in a shed. Plastic is a problem if you are going to use them long term (in which case concrete in-ground tanks are great).

Also in addition to Seraphim's list you could consider a sand trough filter as an added step if you are going to be drinking water from creeks and rivers in an inhabited area (say for example you're planning on urban survival, but are running out of consumables like charcoal and tablets). There is a book floating around called the Urban Survival Manual which gives some designs for this, but it is basically a wooden trough filled with sand around 10ft long and a couple of feet wide, 2 feet deep, you pour water in one end and it removes most of the chemicals and bacteria. Also it is worth stocking up on ammonia as this is a cheap alternative to commericial methods of water sterilisation.

Elizabeth · « **Reply #8 on:** February 01, 2012, 11:59:01 PM »

Ammonia?!? !

Maizar · « **Reply #9 on:** February 02, 2012, 01:41:37 AM »

Yes Ammonia (bleach).

http://stason.org/TULARC/sports/survival-water-treatment/index.html

http://mistralni.co.uk/articles/?p=98

The Ammonia can be used in conjunction with Chlorine as pH adjustment to make the chlorinated water softer, or it can be used on its own. The water doesn't taste great and it becomes unpalatable if you put too much in, but if the matter is one of survival then taste is not important.

SJB · « **Reply #10 on:** February 02, 2012, 10:51:38 AM »

Quote from: Cupertino

Anyone hear of putting a silver coin, or a silver spoon or fork, in a water barrel? I heard it is pretty good for helping keep the water potable.

Investigation of Silver Electrochemistry Water Disinfection Applications

s2srea · « **Reply #11 on:** February 02, 2012, 07:47:24 PM »

Anyone have any thoughts on these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LIHVH0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001LIHVH0&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwchanco-20

I was considering the berkey's, but these are about 1/2 the price, and seem to do the same job... thoughts?

Maizar · « **Reply #12 on:** February 03, 2012, 04:13:32 AM »

s2srea: they look like a good thing to have in storage for if and when needed. Nice and low-tech except they have proprietary filters - I wonder if they can be cleaned or serviced a few times? But definitely worth having one and well priced - that device alone will buy you a couple of weeks survival until you can source some reliable food.

Cheapest home made method is activated charcoal (crushed charcoal) filtration, maybe in addition to sand and canvas, which would be worthwhile knowing how to do in case the above fails or you run out of filters?

I wonder what is the best way to remove iodine and cesium from water? I know activated charcoal works partially but I read here that triple treatment is the go with ion exchange and reverse osmosis. Sounds expensive, but would beat getting leukaemia.

s2srea · « **Reply #13 on:** February 03, 2012, 11:32:45 AM »

Thanks maizar- according to the description, the filters can be cleaned up to 100 times. I will look into activated charcoal filtration, thanks!

Maizar · « **Reply #14 on:** February 03, 2012, 07:27:07 PM »

Quote

Thanks maizar- according to the description, the filters can be cleaned up to 100 times. I will look into activated charcoal filtration, thanks!

Remember gravity is your friend. As long as you have some space and a slope, you can put several filtration methods in series and get pristine water from the most disgusting sludge if it came to it.

I saw one idea of making a garden creek (basically an elongated half-pipe made from cement pond base along the side of a sloping block), with a bed of builder's sand (riverbed sand which has no salt in it) and water grasses growing through it. The grasses are picked occasionally and used as mulch or for compost (or discarded if you are worried about radioactive fallout at the time), the sand can be removed, washed and returned periodically. The thing is 10 or 20 meters long, or longer if you make it into a winding pattern, and water is continually cycled through it with a solar powered pump. It will maintain a body of water in a drinkable state by biodynamic filtration plus aeration, but not very good in a drought. The acidity/alkalinity will be perfect and it will be very sweet to drink. It's more for a farm situation where for example you are taking water from a creek or pond or river or some place that experiences run off from farms.

Nice idea if you have a good back and most people will have no idea what it does. When you want to take a drink of that, put it through your charcoal filter plus whatever else you have, but essentially those filters won't be overwhelmed and will last longer.

In one survivalism book I read there were accounts of people in recent wars surviving in beseiged cities (such as in Bosnia) using the above methods plus locally available chemical sanitization (household ammonia in this case). They were sneaking around at night and bringing back buckets of water from the river (which was heavily contaminated with cholera and untreated human waste). Fascinating reading actually and some very good points made, such as randomly using different routes, preparing hide-outs along the way and so forth.