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If I cant afford a waterbob, would this work?

9K views 33 replies 27 participants last post by  joes 
#1 ·
Water is a huge hole in our preps.
The other day, I tried filling our tub, and within 20 minutes, the tub had drained itself even with teh stopper down.

I priced the waterbobs, (and other versions), but that is expensive!

I was wondering, what do you think of just using some heavy plastic and lining the tub before filling instead?

This would be for flushing toilets, laundry, cleaning, etc... (not drinking)

I believe I can get a whole huge roll of heavy duty sheeting for cheap. Definatley enough to do both bathrooms for under $10.

I might even be able to find thick plastic shower curtains at the dollar store for this purpose. (not sure if one is big enough to line the whole tub though) For a buck, might be worth trying though.
 
#5 ·
Whatever your income ....I believe Waterbob is priceless when it comes to fresh drinkable water supply in post SHTF...However if you can not afford it...the Plastic should be sufficient ...I would practice a few scenarios of making 1 or 2 to ensure it will work b4 yu may need them. So be sure t factor that in against the waterbob.
 
#7 ·
A water bob is like 25 dollars and the water will be drinkable.

try sealing up the drain hole with duct tape. I am sure that would work.

Your idea about plastic sheeting is a good one as well the only problem is trusting the water to drink since the plastic is probably not food grade. Maybe duct tape off the hole and then line the tub with plastic sheeting.

If I was in a situation where I thought I needed to fill my two tubs with water I would not stop there. I would fill every pot, bucket and garbage can I had.


I have 275 gallons of flushing/cleaning water ready to go at all times.(hot tube) along with 50 gallons of drinking water.

McLOVIN
 
#13 ·
Emergency Ecentials in there catalog(I didnt see it online ) had a big water cotainer that filled in your tub and I think it was like 19.99 or 25.00. Looked good for using the tub. But remember the tub is just a last resort. Make youself some rain barrels there nice to have and save water all the time.
 
#14 ·
You should have both around, the water bob and the roll of plastic. Buy a roll a thicker black and you can cover windows ,line the tub .garbage cans, wood boxes. Many uses for the stuff and if you have a maker of the stuff they sometimes allow direct purchases from factory store for a nice discount. If you can disassemble the drain you can go the the hardware store and get the old fasioned stopper with chain for a couple bucks like already stated but sometimes removing some types of drain parts can be a pain for even some plumbers:) so it could be a problem.Sometimes you can find used blue 55gal drums for 5-10 dollars but you would have to use a disinfected liner with them.
 
#15 ·
It'd work fine if you make double sure there's no pinhole sized leaks in it. But I have to agree with Danger. This is water we're talking about here. It's far more important than food. You may end up needing to drink it rather than flush with it. Probably best to drop a few extra bucks and get something that you know will work, and is food grade.
 
#16 ·
I just bought an extra roll of 100ft. heavy plastic sheeting for $30.00 at Lowes. To make sure I could completely cover the depth and sides of a bathtub I'd use probably 20 ft. off the length of the roll. That would be about $7.00. That is cheaper than the $20.00 waterbob. However, it's uncovered, it's not food grade and I'm not sure how long that plastic would hold up before it would start leaking. Having all of those things answered is worth $13.00 for me. If I didn't have the $20.00 (and I've been there before) I'd use plastic sheeting or whatever else I could work in the meantime but I'd put $2.00 back every month until I saved enough for a waterbob.

Now, the waterbob ain't all that. It is not portable. It is not re-usable. I'd have some of those blue plastic 55 gallon drums - make sure they had only food items in them. I buy mine used for $10 - 15. Place these drums where you want them because when full they weigh close to 400 lbs.. Once the drum is thoroughly cleaned, put 1/2 cup bleach in the drum and fill with water. Cap tightly when full. I also have some 13 gallon ($7 - 10) drums which I use for water that I need to move around. Even those are heavy when full but are easily moved with a hand truck. My waterbobs are for one last thing to fill up when I know a hurricane is coming or something that will probably disrupt my fresh water supply. Since it is disposable I would not use it as my only means to stock water. It is a back up. You, imo need water stocked all the time in case of a broken water main. In my case, with a well we used our water stocks a few months ago when a worker was doing excavation on our property and accidentally cut the power line to the well. You do not always get a warning that your water is going out.

The Berkey's are nice. I have the Katadyln. My problem with them is they are expensive. The filters for them are expensive and you get 2 1/2 gallons of water. We have the hand held Katadyln also which can be used for filtering pond/lake/stream water. All have their place and work great. However, I'd first worry about getting 50 - 100 gallons of long term stored water in place at my home.

There's a lot to being prepared and a lot of it cost money. That is hard for young families or those just starting. You know, we try to put a few dollars back each month into savings and that is a wonderful idea. But, if you can also put back a little for preps it adds up also. Even $20.00 a month would allow you to buy several plastic drums, a whole lot of beans and rice or some salt or sugar. Even a .79 can of corn is adding to your stocks. Don't be discouraged. This is how I started. Every week when I needed 2 cans of corn, I'd buy 3 and put 1 back. You aren't going to feed an army of people like that (unless you have 100 years to stock) but it gives you something to fall back on and before you know it your cabinet is full. Just because you can't go out and buy the most expensive or fancy product doesn't mean you can't put something in your rainy day closet.
 
#17 ·
Last summer I had occasion to turn on the hose and fill some containers/watering cans to haul over to the garden [hauling is one of the things on the list to eliminate - the puppies like to chew hoses]. I found that full on, I could fill a container that holds one gallon in very little time; I didn't time them, but I reckon that I was able to fill at the rate of 3 or 4 per minute.

A local soda bottler has five gallon containers for free, so my plan [given that my tub has no plug] is to get some of those and fill them with the hose. Five gallons is only about 40 pounds, and I can haul that....one a minute, give me 15 minutes and I have 75 gallons, very rough estimate. If I'm correct in thinking that it's even less per minute, I might have up to 100 gallons in 15 minutes.
 
#18 ·
You can't beat free! Good find, Browser Cat. I find having the larger containers are great because I'm prepping for a large amount of people. However, the smaller containers allow you to move them around and they are much more portable. So, I am stocking with large containers but also working with smaller ones. I reckon I'll use siphon hoses to move the water out of the larger containers as needed. I sure won't be picking one of them up and carrying it!

I'm very happy for you to find free items. I don't find much free around here.
 
#21 ·
Yeah, I agree- it's ONLY $25.

BUT-- I have two tubs, AND I have 90+ year old neighbors with two tubs that have no family or surviving friends to take care of them. So, if there is a disaster, I hope to be able to help them also. I could not handle seeing them suffer.

4 tubs, $100 AND THAT is out of my budget...

I have been storing 2 liter bottles with water, and have an additional 24 gallons of bottled water stored under the kids' beds, but it's not enough.

I Have asked the elderly couple behind me to store some food and water, but last time I went over there, they had MAYBE 3 days of food in all their pantry/fridge. They just don't understand. What am I' going to do? I cant change them, they're over 90 years old!
 
#29 ·
Yeah, I agree- it's ONLY $25.

BUT-- I have two tubs, AND I have 90+ year old neighbors with two tubs that have no family or surviving friends to take care of them. So, if there is a disaster, I hope to be able to help them also. I could not handle seeing them suffer.

4 tubs, $100 AND THAT is out of my budget...
True it does add up. But I say get one to start with. You can use this for drinking. Then plan on using tarps or sheeting for the other 3 for washing etc. Then next year, buy another. Then you will have 2. Year after that get another etc.
The Water Bob is not reusable because it needs to be cut open to empty it when it is no longer needed. If you could get enough water out of it by siphoning that it could be lifted and tipped, perhaps you could try to re-use it but I am not sure I would anyway because of bacteria, etc. that might take up residence during storage (when it has already been used).
I have already used mine 2x already... Still looks like it is in perfect working order. I just used fat hose to siphon the water out fast. Works great. No odors and perfectly dry now. And yes I did use a blowdrier on "cool" setting right into the fill hole to dry it out completely. The circulating air will enter though the fill valve and exit through the siphon valve. Eventually it dries out. Took a while though and it is a pain LOL But certainly re-useable with a little work.
 
#25 ·
Just be sure you shut off the water valve during an emergency as heavy demand can cause a negative pressure situtation that will drain the water heater back into the system. And try to flush out your water heater at least once a year to get rid ot the accumlated rust and chunks that settle at the bottom.
 
#26 ·
The Water Bob is not reusable because it needs to be cut open to empty it when it is no longer needed. If you could get enough water out of it by siphoning that it could be lifted and tipped, perhaps you could try to re-use it but I am not sure I would anyway because of bacteria, etc. that might take up residence during storage (when it has already been used).

I found out why it is apparently not re-useable by visiting the Water Bob site someone else already linked in this thread. As I recall, there is a video there that will show you how to use it and how it needs to be cut to empty later.
 
#28 ·
Maybe you should consult the people who make/market Water Bobs to find out what they think of whether it can re-used (and why it can't be - maybe the plastic they use, while good for short term use, isn't good enough for re-use in their opinion .. no idea), and go from there if you still want to try it.

When I looked at the site, they also had a 'special' that meant that if you ordered 4, you got 1 free ... so I figured, if I ordered that many I would actually get 5 for $100. For those who think these are too expensive, that might be a better deal. I would hope never to actually have to use them at all .. but then, I prepare for the worst and hope for the best! And, if you can only afford 1, 1 is still better than none. If the SHTF, invite your neighbours over for a 'drink'. :)
 
#30 ·
I'm sitting here with a waterbob. First, it's very light weight so I'm assuming it's not heavy duty plastic. It is not portable because imo the plastic would not hold up to trying to pick it up with 100 gallons of water inside. I dare say not even 30 gallons. It is made to lay down and be supported by a tub and therefore it doesn't need much strength. I wouldn't think it would be reusable because it has to many nooks and cranny's for some germ to hide in. This is not something you unzip and an entire side of it is open. I don't see this things as being good to air dry. Could be the company says don't reuse it so they are not legally responsible if you do and get bad bacteria or something.

Seems to me the waterbob is great for what it is intended to be used for: short term, one use storage of clean drinking water.

Ok. I couldn't resist. I opened the package. This is no flimsy piece of plastic. It's probably 10mm thick or better. I believe unless there are safety concerns such as it shouldn't be used more than once because of chemicals in it or something, well, I believe I'd try to dry it out and re-use it. The pictures looks like the plastic is very thin but the feel of the plastic is not thin. In fact, upon opening the package I think it's a better product than I bargained for. I still don't think you could carry it around or transport water in it but it is better material than I thought.
 
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