Where to purchase water containers

[Seeker]

My van is nowhere near ready but I have to hit the road to rendezvous with a group in the Virginia mountains by this coming Friday. I am getting together some last minute items.

What is the best free flow water containers and where can I pick some up?

I will do an electric pump system later but do not have time now.
advice please
A SEEKER

 

[freenez2]

I recently purchased a seven gallon container from REI.

 

[Zil]

walmart camping department.

 

[MrNoodly]

I had a 7-gallon Reliance Aqua-Tainer. (The large blue cube.) I discovered it was too bulky and heavy. (Seven gallons of water weights about 58 pounds. Five gallons weighs about 41 pounds.) I gave it away and now I just use five 1-gallon jugs. They're cheap, easy to handle and tuck away in a variety of places.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Yep walmart has 2 kinds..the old style upright and the aquatainer..i think the aquatainer is better tho takes a bit of square space.

 

[freenez2]

Forgot to mention in an earlier post that it was the green Reliance that's shaped like a Jerry can.

 

[LeeRevell]

Publix Grocery now has 2 1/2 gallon water jugs with handles and open/close spouts. Easy to lift, easy to strap down. Made of the same plastic as the one gallon water & milk jugs. I picked up a couple for van camping. They can be refilled too.

 

[SternWake]

I've been using the Reliance 7 gallon Blue Aquatainer since 2001. I kind of designed my Wheel well Storage benches to store this tank, and it determined the height of the bed.

I made a Stem and put a Check valve on the end of it so that the lines do not drain themselves. It rests upright.

I used to use it with a Fynspray quality hand pump, but it wore out, then a cheaper Valterra hand pump which wore out very quickly.

Now I use a direct drive Jabsco 12v water pump that rests on the floor near the tank. I need to prime this pump, it does not get damaged when running dry as will most, but this pump does not have the gusto to prime itself.

These are the simplest electric water pumps available. it draws under 2 amps when running, so overall battery consumption is minute.

I got mine for about 70$ about 6 years ago but prices have risen significantly. I did not shop for the lowest price though for the following link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jabsco-Elec...rg=20140602152332&rk=4&rkt=10&sd=260649968506

I use my 12v air compressor to to briefly pressurize the reliance Aquatainer to prime the pump. The pump instructions say to attach the pump to the bottom of the tank, but this is not feasible in my usage, and as long as I prime the lines and pump, it works fine just resting on the floor next to the pump.

It is not very loud, just a mild buzzing when it is on. Only one rate flow though, and battery charging voltages really increase the rate, and low battery voltage really slows it down.

This is much nicer to use than the hand pumps I had been using, and is cheaper than the Fynnspray/Whale pumps which in my opinion are the only quality hand pumps available, and these cost well over 100$.

I find the square cube makes the best use of space. Sure it is heavy, but it allows me to get RO water from vending machines easily. I only use this water for drinking or sometimes cooking and usually get 10 to 14 days from 7 gallons.

I dislike the store bought water jugs. I get Filtered RO water for 35 cents a gallon, buying a gallon jug or a 2.5 gallon jug comes out to 75 to 1.25 a gallon or possible much more, so you really pay for that disposable convenience.

I've looked into tanks which one can mount to the underside of the vehicle, but then to fill it with filtered water, one needs a transport medium, or a long quality hose and a means to keep it sterile, So I gave up on that and just use the transport medium as the tank.

Every so Often I pour boiling water into it and shake it up to sterilize it, but I've never noticed anything growing in the tank.

The Lines are a different matter, and I need to replace these.

 

[Seeker]

Thanks for all the info. I shop Publix so will check on the 2 1/2 gallon with spouts and use those and gallons for now.

SternWake, I think I will try the setup you have as I like simplicity that works'. I had previously looked at the Jabsco pumps. Also when riding my bike a couple days ago I collected 2 12volt compressors from some ones trash pile and they both work good. The last time I remember seeing my portable compressor was probably 10 years ago. Use to power it with a battery charger to pump up my tires.

 

[Reducto]

Reliance containers are great because they last a good while and you can find them anywhere in the country. Any hint of a taste developing get a new one.

I went with a full RV setup in my minivan. RV water pump, accumulator, with a small faucet and kitchen sprayers at the back and side doors. I have a 7 gallon jug tucked into an otherwise difficult to reach spot. To fill it I use a 1 gallon wide mouth container and a funnel. It cost a couple hundred for the setup but it's one less thing to worry about - I always have full pressure and don't have to manage a bunch of small water jugs. I mostly just use the sprayer outside, letting waste water hit the ground.

I'd start by looking at where you want the water and how often you have to carry it - the 7 gallon containers are great if you're going to put it somewhere and never move it when full. The thin 6 gallon ones are nice for tight spots. If you need to carry it around full you'll probably want something about half that size due to weight.

 

[freenez2]

Reducto, If I understood you correctly, there's no need for a new one at a hint of taste. Sanitizing with bleach every 4 to 6 weeks works for me.

 

[highdesertranger]

sanitizing with bleach every so often is important. if you are getting a plastic taste use a strong vinegar solution, in fact I use it in conjunction with bleach. if this doesn't work and remove the undesirable taste replace the container. highdesertranger

 

[DC Fuse]

If you're looking for a stainless steel water container consider stopping at thrift stores and look for one of those big coffee pots you see at weddings, churches, etc.
State of the art is a Big Berky. Comes w/a filter . $300.00 FRNs

 

[SoulRaven]

I carry 2 Jerry Can style plastic 7 gallon water jugs. I fill them at local parks, and transport them to and from the van using a folding luggage style hand truck.

Most often I tend to use dollar store spray bottles for everything, but if I want pressurized water, I add air to the water jug with a wedge style foot pump. Two or three pumps is good for maybe 5-10 minutes of pressurized water, and you can pump them up enough to run the whole 7 gallons if you desire. I have been using this method for my showers recently.

Previously, I used a siphon hose style of pump, one pump = one squirt of water. That worked well too, and used much less water than my pressurized system, just not quite as handy.

I have purposely chosen not to use an electric pump to conserve power, and have one less thing to break down. These wedge style pumps are cheap and easy to find almost anywhere, and there isn't much that can go wrong with them anyway.

One of the reasons I carry 2 jugs, is that I have one of them painted black, and leave it in the sun for solar heated hot water, and have mixer house/RV style faucets on both my sink and my shower. Just like home sweet home, except no power required.

 

[Zil]

It only takes about a tablespoon of bleach to 5 or 7 gallons of water.
Please don't mix chlorine bleach with vinegar or any thing with ammonia. The fumes can be deadly in an enclosed space.
A good way to sanitize and deodorize a jug is to use baking soda and/or salt.
The following was copied from Clorox site.

Bleaching Water Tanks
Posted by Dr. Laundry on 18 November 2013
Can I put some Clorox into the home water tank?
Here are some potential uses that may apply to your situation:
1. If you have a tank with clear water that you simply want to make sure is safe to drink or use for human contact (hand washing, laundry, etc.), then you can follow the protocol for emergency disinfection of drinking water. In that case, the correct ratio of bleach is ½ teaspoon Clorox® Regular-Bleach per 10 gallons of water (or for a smaller size container, 2 drops per quart). Stir the bleach into the water and let stand 30 minutes. Properly treated water should have a slight chlorine odor—if not, repeat the dosage and let stand an additional 15 minutes.

2. To clean out a water tank, first thoroughly flush the tank using a bleach solution of 1 part Clorox® Regular-Bleach per 150 parts water (a 500ppm bleach solution). I’m not sure of the size of your tank or how much bleach solution you will need, but here’s one example: if you want to make up 10 gallons of bleach solution, then you would start with 9 gallons + 15 cups of water, and then add 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon bleach. After flushing the tank with the 500ppm bleach solution, then rinse with a 10ppm bleach solution (1 teaspoon bleach per 10 gallons of water).

You may also want to get some chlorine test strips to confirm the bleach concentration of the solutions you mix up. These can usually be found at pool supply stores.


- See more at: http://www.clorox.com/dr-laundry/bleaching-water-tanks/#sthash.euIupSG0.dpuf

 

[SoulRaven]

Forgot to mention in an earlier post that it was the green Reliance that's shaped like a Jerry can.

I have two of these for sale in the western Poconos of PA.


http://poconos.craigslist.org/spo/4642872462.html

 

[Reducto]

The pump only runs intermittently while it's being used so the overall impact on my batteries is minimal. It did take some futzing to get right though.