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burying 55 gallon drums???????????????

22K views 27 replies 16 participants last post by  IamZeke 
#1 ·
Hi Yall

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to bury a 55 gal drum to store water. I am concerned that the weight of the soil ( maybe 4 inches) might collapse the drum along with some one walking over it?? If someone has an idea that is better I would really appreciate the help and advice
 
#2 ·
I was wondering if it would be a good idea to bury a 55 gal drum to store water. I am concerned that the weight of the soil ( maybe 4 inches) might collapse the drum along with some one walking over it?? If someone has an idea that is better I would really appreciate the help and advice
Jodier, I'd be more worried about the drum rusting through from the outside.

You can stand on the top of a 55 gallon drum. Putting dirt on top would just spread the weight. Four inches of dirt is nothing, however someone walking over it might feel the difference under their feet.

Fifty-five gallons = 55 days worth of water for ONE person. Drinking and cooking only.

You can extend that a bit by eating lots of canned food during those 55 days and drinking all of the fluids from the can or using them to cook with.

You can achieve near waterless sanitization by dinning off of paper plates with plastic spoons.
 
#6 ·
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#11 ·
Honestly, for all the effort you will have to put into burying 55 gallon drums throughout your yard (not to mention how awful your lawn would look), I think you would be much better off building a storage rack or something. I mean, if you have so many of them that you can't come up with space for them without burying them, it's going to destroy your yard and work you half to death burying them and keeping track of where they are and if you don't have all that many then a storage rack is still going to be a better option. Just my .02.
 
#10 ·
are you going to dig them back up before draining? they will surely collapse if not full & sealed.. what about freezing? need to be deeper than that in most places.. what about water table? is it going to float out of the ground durring rainy season?

Still better much off getting a cistern if your determined to bury it... Dont be pound foolish.
 
#15 ·
Totally late to the game, but you can daisy chain two or more barrels together with a bung adaptor using one bung for water flow and one bung for air flow using braided hose. On the air flow side, install CPVC to touch the bottom of the barrel and create another chain. Drop the Barrels in the ground bung down. Keep the depth of the barrel as level as possible as water will find it's own level and the lowest barrel will fill more than the highest barrel

Basement: On the water chain, run a hose to your basement to gravity flow and on the other run to a ground level access area where you can fill the barrels. On the air bung chain, run another hose to the basement to allow you to open to break the vacuum and will allow air escape while filling.

No Basement: On the water chain, run the hose to your basement to gravity flow and on the other run to a ground level access area where you can fill the barrels and receive water from when pumping out. On the air bung chain, run another hose to the ground level and when you need water, use an air pump to pressurize the tanks and water will flow.

No power needed. No space taken from storage. No one will know you have a water store.
 
#16 ·
Too complicated, too much digging running lines all over the place. Bury them bung up. I think a 2" pipe fits the bung hole. Let the pipe end just below ground surface with a cap.

When you need H2O pull the cap and drop in a cistern pump or some similar pump. In two minutes you've have your gallon of water for the day.

I've been in the situation of doing the best I can with what I had as well.

$20 for 55 gal food grade drums is a great price I would buy as many as I could afford, most cisterns run $1.00 a gallon.
 
#17 ·
Definitely find out the source of these drums. If new then phone the maker to determine if they are food safe. If used you want to see the label on it that shows the prior contents.

Filling them with water should give the drums stability in the ground. Just do not fill them 100% because freezing water expands about 9%. Put only 50 gallons in them.

East Texas ground subsides so if you bury them shallow you might notice some mounding over the years where they are buried.

After putting them empty in the ground and filling them, be sure to use the right amount of bleach in them, then wrap the threads of the bungs with a bit of teflon tape. That will help getting the bungs tight and later help you ease them open.

Make sure they are buried in open ground and not near any trees or bushes. Plants will detect the water and will send roots to the drums and try to find a way in. It takes a long time but I've seen pine and oak trees snap open buried concrete and pvc drain pipes.

Expect a workout. Digging holes that big are no fun. Do not do this alone because the hole can collapse and trap you hard. You need someone with you who is capable of digging you out.
 
#22 ·
My drums work great. they were buried under my deck while I had an excavator on site. I bought 10 blue food drums for $100 about 8 years ago and sanitized them per recommended process. They are installed 2 rows of 5. If I remember right, the fittings and 1/2" tubing was around $75. About once a year I hook the water line and air line to a small water pump and agitate just to keep the water from being stale, but have not had a problem when tasting it prior to agitation. I sent a water sample off last spring just to see if there was any toxic leaking, and all was good.

Side note, when I filled the barrels originally, I used a double filter and tap water and then added those drops, I can't remember what they are called.
 
#26 ·
The metal frame will corrode eventually.

The internal tote isn't really all that rigid either, thus the frame. But there is no frame on top.


I suppose it could be done by first sanding and coating the frame with a quality coating (lots of detail work there), and then bolting some rigid plastic or fiberglass (melamine maybe) sides (top and bottom too) to it. Sounds like a lot of work compared to buying plastic drums or tanks.
 
#28 ·
I don't think the plastic itself, even with water in it, will support the weight of earth on it without a lot of deformation.
 
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