That sounds like a good storage system to me. You covered all the bases.

You don't need to rotate the water, but it's wise to check it now and then to make sure it's still chlorinated. When you can't smell chlorine anymore, retreat it. If your water tastes of too much chlorine, let it set out opened for a while. The chlorine will offgas out of the water. And don't use so much the next time. I used to rotate mine because it was convenient to do so. I now live in a different house where it's no longer convenient, so mine just gets retreated when necessary. Rotated water tastes better. But you can help the taste of flat water that has sat too long by pouring it back and forth between 2 containers to allow O2 to dissolve in it.

Bleach is ok for use when times are good. But it has a short shelf life. Calcium hypochlorite (pool shock) is a better option for long term use. It stores for years and is dirt cheap. With it you can make your own bleach as you need it. Do a search on this site and you'll come up with some really good threads about it.

As for freezing, I'd try to protect it from that if at all possible. First off, if it's frozen when you need it, you're in a world of hurt. Secondly, water doesn't just expand upward when frozen. It expands outwards also. So emptying the tank a bit is not going to stop the expansion from stressing the tank outwards. I don't know if the tanks are designed to handle that or not. I'd assume they probably are, since they're really tough units, designed for travel in all weather. But I wouldn't want to take the chance.

 

1. How long should I store the water before changing it out?

2. Does the water get stale or unhealthy from sitting too long?

3. Will the water taste nasty with the added bleach?

4. Is a bit too much bleach in the water bad for you?

5. Does it help the taste if you let freshly bleached water sit (cure?) a while before drinking?

First of all, congrats on getting 330 gallons of water stored! As for your questions:

1. You'll likely get answers here that range from six months to six years or indefinitely. If you sterilized everything, including the water before filling the tank and it's air tight, then it seems like it should last indefinitely. I've tested a 55 gallon barrel after 13 months and the water looked crystal clear and tasted great.

2. Like any water that sits around too long, it will go flat, but pouring it from container to container a few times before drinking should do the trick.

3. It sort of depends on how long it is before you start drinking it. If it smells/tastes too much like chlorine, let it sit for a while and the chlorine will evaporate. Or you could filter it through something like a Berkey filter.

4. A bit too much bleach won't be bad for you, but a lot of extra bleach could be. If you're worried about it, you can always filter it.

5. Help the taste as it taste less like chlorine? If you simple leave it out for a while, stirring it up a bit, then yes, the chlorine will evaporate and it will taste less bleachy.

I'm jealous that your tote has a new badder in it. The ones I got had soy lecithin and was a bear to clean out. I had to make a couple of special long handled brushes to get the ooze off the bottom and that was after it had soaked in water for a few days. There's still a little odor in them, so I'll just keep filling them and using the water in my garden, until the odor is gone.

 

I'm jealous that your tote has a new badder in it. The ones I got had soy lecithin and was a bear to clean out. I had to make a couple of special long handled brushes to get the ooze off the bottom and that was after it had soaked in water for a few days. There's still a little odor in them, so I'll just keep filling them and using the water in my garden, until the odor is gone.

I know what you mean. Mine had soy oil in them and took a bit of work to clean too. I set them upside down on sawhorses and used a pressure washer with warm water and Dawn dish soap. Took a while, but they turned out squeaky clean.

 

"I'm jealous that your tote has a new bladder in it."

It was pretty expensive but my wife would have it no other way!

Thanks for the replies...

Question:

Okay, so I didn't know bleach would lose it's shelf life....

I have about a case and a half!
How long is the shelf life of bleach & at what point should a person double or even triple dosage amounts in their water to keep the original strength in tact???

Any idea how much calcium hypochlorite to use per gallon?

Boy, survival is tough work!

 

Bleach has a half life of about 6 months, depending on temperature. Warmer temperatures speed up the decomposition. This means that after 6 months or so, the 6% bleach is now 3%. After a year, it's pretty worthless. The only way to accurately tell how much chlorine is in the water is either use new bleach, or use a chlorine test kit which you can get at most pool supply places.

 

Great work! To keep your tote from freezing, does it get that cold, a 100 watt light bulb will do th trick. Just place under the tote not touching it though. Since you have it wrapped all the better.

 

Great advice on the light bulb!
I just wondered what to do once the electricity gives up the ghost- If I should empty some out....

Yeah, it gets that cold.

 

Perhaps wrapping the tank with an insulated blanket or two would prevent it from freezing, but I guess it depends on how cold it gets and how long it stays cold.

Bleach looses half it's potency in 6 months and half again as much in another six months. Here is a helpful URL for making your own bleach from calcium hypochlorite:

http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-homemade-chlorine-bleach.htm

 

You went wrong when you filled it with water, you should have went with whiskey and skiped all those steps of treating. I am kidding, good job, but now I am imagining how much whiskey you could store. It makes me a little thirsty.

 

330 gallons of whiskey? That'd make the first few years of SHTF pretty danged pleasant, wouldn't it? :

 

He is another link for you http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/better-than-bleach-use-calcium-hypochlorite-to-disinfect-water/

Bry

 

I'll tell you this ... for me, it's been like pulling teeth to get any of these companies to even answer the phone, when shopping for an IBC tote.

Only one company responded quickly to my inquiry. I either can't get them to respond (email or voicemail), or they just skirt the issue when I request a price quote. How in the world do some of these folks stay in business? Suggestions or leads are appreciated!

Updated: Well, I was able to reach and speak to a few distributors that sell reconditioned 1 use IBC totes w/ a new bottle. I should have pricing/ shipping quotes tomorrow. The local vendor I checked is outrageously high. They want $165 for a used 275g IBC. So much for supporting the local businesses. I tried.

 

After EXTENSIVE searching I gave up the ghost and paid 260.00 (tax included) for my 330 gallon tote. :

Like I said - It has a new bladder.

That's the best price I could find....
I found used ones for 75.00 but didn't trust what was in them previously.

I figure if the water saves our lives - the cost will be worth it.

 

That's the best price I could find....
I found used ones for 75.00 but didn't trust what was in them previously.

.

Smart move if you don't know for sure what the previous contents were. They use those things for all sorts of liquids, from food grade to chemicals.

 

Anybody have any experience with Augason Farms™ Emergency Water Storage Kit
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1842032

Thinking of picking up a couple of these for the house.

Thanks

Bry

 

It's aweful pricey when you consider cost per gallon. That's always been my sticking point with water storage. It seems like no matter what option you look at, it costs at least a dollar a gallon. Which is ridiculous for something that comes out of the tap for almost free. That's what lead me to use IBC totes to start with.

 

why dont you run it thru a cheap filter with a carbon element. if its city/treated water I would not add anything to it, but I would try to find a way to rotate it out, water the garden or lawn.

they make a water heater for animal troughs too that will keep it about 35-40 degrees. how big is the opening ?

 

Agree, but I am paying for convenience. I can order, have delivered, and set it up rather quickly.
Plus to be honest, every time my wife buys bottled water, we are paying a major premium for just water.

Cheers

Bry

 

Just another suggestion for water storage:

2 Liter Soda Bottles! They are generally close to sterile inside (the acids from cola kill the bad stuff), so generally all it takes is to clean them out with hot bleach water, let them dry, and they are good to go. You keep your own bottles obviously, but in my neighborhood people put the bottles out in front of their house and no one gives a **** if you take them. Pretty much, you can get as much 2 liter bottles as you want 100% free (just the cheap cost of bleach water to wash them).

Then, you just fill them up, and date them. You can have hundreds of bottles of water in no time at all, all for just about free. The added benefit, is that you can store water in multiple locations, you could share/trade it. They are small, so easy to load up in a car/truck.

 

Water hose connection

I have a 330 gallon tote and want to add a water hose connection. Can anyone help with the parts?

 

I have stored 500 gallons of water for 5 years. I used a UV sterilizer and carbon filter and silver filter. I used bleach rarely because of the salt build up. Rule of thumb is that bacteria doubles every hour at 90 degrees. Food for bacteria is carbon. So if you can put a nitrogen blanket on top of the tank that helps. If I was do do again, I would buy a small ozone generator as this can be used for lots of purification uses. Put it on a timer and bubble in the water. I used a pump on my tank. The problem with a pump is that it adds heat. If you are worried about freezing, a pump works great. I was in a freezing zone and the tank was in the garage. The pump kept the water warm. Don't run it all the time, but maybe an hour or two a day. You can put it on a timer as I did. Check the temperature and you might even hook the temperature control to the pump. This all takes electricity. However, you will be using the water when the electric goes out. So having a bottom valve for pulling off water as you need it is even better. Another way to work is to have your tank pressurized and in-line with your domestic and don't worry about it, sort of like a hot water heater. The chlorine in the domestic supply handles the bacteria. It is constantly refreshed. I liked my pump on the recirculation system as I could run everything with my generator for an hour or two and then I could run the water off the pump via a hose for many things if the power went out. So when you run your generator for lights etc, run the pump also so you are efficiently using your power and not burning up the fuel mostly for idle. Hope this helps.

 

LDS Prepper on YouTube says he runs his water through a Berkey or Dolton filter if using for drinking/cooking.

Also, if you sit chlorinated water out on the counter for 24 hours the chlorine will dissipate. I would then run through the Dolton.

 

I'm lucky that I have a stream running through the property, but I am seriously considering some tanks as well, in respect of freezing what I have considered is using something like these in tanks

http://www.edulab.com/prod/heater-immersion-12v-50w

Since they can run off a battery charged by solar no available grid electricity would be a non-issue

 

Good information in this thread. Water reserves can never be over discussed. Thankfully I recently purchased a 1000 gallon vertical tank from a business that I personally know stored only water in for $275. Thing is like new. Even came with industrial valves. Anyway I shall have it hooked to my rain catchment/first flush system over labor day and I will breathe a huge sigh of relief when it is complete and operational.

 

I bought a new 330 for$85 and two used 275 gal. for $15. I washed them with baking soda. I then went to the hardware store and picked up plumbing to fit a standard hose bib to the outlet. I used them alot to both store and transport water during the drought. The seams of the 275 started splitting. So now I have but two that hold water. I'm considering pulling the bladder and repurposing it to either a hydroponic system or fish tank for raising?

 

I have a friend that is a dealer of used Totes. He has more plastic tanks than pallet cages. The cages get damaged before the tank gets damaged.
You may be able to buy a tank for your pallet cage. Offer $30 for a tank only.
Or you may be able to trade in your cage on a whole one.