I went to pull something out of my home kit last night and found that one of my milk jugs of water had essentially exploded. About 3 inches of water in the bottom of my Rubbermaid container. On top of that, I had a lantern battery in the same container that got soaked and added a little "battery juice" to the mix. Upon inspecting the milk jugs (commercially purchased but unoped gallon of water), I could not find any visible holes, but the snap seal on top was no longer air tight because I could squeeze water and air out of it. The whole jug looked like it had been vacuum sealed: it was all shriveled and collapsed. Has this ever happened to anyone else? Temperature change in the basement hasn't been more than 10-15 degrees, and certainly nothing below freezing. I had read that milk jugs were pretty inexpensive containers, but obviously I'll incur some cost replacing this stuff.

On another note, much of my food and other items were stored in smaller, separate containers within the larger one, and seemed to be unaffected. Then I noticed that all the edges and lids on my canned food had started to rust. This may have been from the moisture in the larger container, but wanted to throw it out to see if I'm doing something wrong here. Again, I assumed canned food was ok for emergency kit storage.

Lesson learned:

1. Keep it together, but pack it up separately and redundantly.
2. Don't trust milk jugs
3. Battery juice stinks <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Any thoughts on better storage methods is welcome, as I'm going to research a bit before rushing out to buy replacements. Should I just go with commerical "emergency food" blocks and MRE's for the 72 hour kits, and individual bottles/boxes of water? The 24 pack of water bottles that were in the same kit seemed fine, other than the mildew on the outside.

"The whole jug looked like it had been vacuum sealed: it was all shriveled and collapsed."

This sounds like a leak down low in the jug. I have put full, capped milk jugs near plants to give them a slow-drip watering, & they end up looking that same way.

I suspect this was just a bad jug that someone had dropped or punctured. I've stored water jugs in my garage fruit room (insulated) & never had it happen.

I think it was bad luck rather than poor planning. Before you toss the canned goods, open them & see if the rust has gone to the inside. I understand that if it hasn't, it is okay to eat. But I wouldn't use it for continued storage.

Sue

Generally water in the 1 gal jugs last 1 or 2 years before they develop a small leak somewhere. The jug that I use at work for a x-ray phantom has been replaced 3 times in 3 & a half years. They just don't last. There was another post regarding the same thing, water leaked out into a container and ruined batteries, etc. I went to buying cases of 12 oz. water on sale and replaceing them every 2 years . And we have the 55 Gal. drums.
Dave

If you're looking for inexpensive replacements, try 2 liter soda bottles. They're tougher than
milk jugs, and I'm pretty sure the plastic won't degrade as fast.

A slightly more expensive alternative would be these.
I bought six of these for water during the hurricanes this year. Solid construction, stackable, integrated
spigot, each holds 7 gallons. Nice. $12.50 each, but no worries about rotting out from under you.

(Don't know if you get a break on the shipping, but REI gets them from the manufacturer in boxes of
six. I know, because REI just stuck a shipping label on the factory box when I ordered my six.)

I've had no trouble keeping water in those clear screw-top gallon bottles at home (those bottles are slightly better than milk-type jugs, but only slightly). However I've had similar leakage problems with any type of gallon jugs in my car, including some pretty tough $5 jugs. I gave up on large containers and switched to buying 24-packs of 0.5 or 0.7 liter bottles for the car and have had no problem with those. It turns out to be convenient, I don't reserve them for emergencies, I just drink them when I feel like it and replenish them, so I don't need a rotation plan.

I think it doesn't take much temperature change to make you lose water from large bottles. It's more a matter of hot temperatures than cold. My guess is hot weather pushes water vapor out of the bottle. The bottle them collapses when the weather gets colder.

For long-term storage (more than a year or so) it's supposed to be best to use sealed containers like Aqua Blox. Those supposedly have a 5 year shelf life.

In fact I had a 1 liter Lexan camping bottle full of water in my kitchen for 2+ years (not an intentional experiment, just didn't use it for that long) and I decided to check it and it smelled and tasted just fine. I poured it out anyway and would want to have some kind of purification device around if I were to store water that way.

For home storage of larger volumes, I'd look into this: http://aquaflex.net/
I haven't tried those things though, so don't know what the pitfalls are.

My sympathy on your awfull experience. As you have discovered, the "cheap" way can really cost you. I know... it has happened to me.

Your bottle probably contains a "pinhole" in the bottom somewhere. This happened to me and flooded my pantry. The result was the same. The bottle appeared "sucked flat".

Here is what I've found that really works over a long time. Nalgene bottles are the best for storing water. They come in a HEAVY guage poly or LEXAN and come in a variety of sizes and colors. If you don't have a gear shop close you can go online to REI. They are relatively inexpensive. One note of caution. If you store water long term (6 month - 1 year) make sure it is steam distilled and ozonated. Water grows bacteria if not sterile. Always boil it before use (if you can) after storage.

As for the caned food. A little rust on the outside won't harm a thing. However, check for swelling or seapage. If the can is swollen it may contain botulism (which can be deadly). If it is leaking .... well .... it's bad. Either way toss it. Ordinarilly though, canned is fine. Actually, a mixture of dried nuts, dried fruits and chocholate are ideal for survival food. Get them vacuum packed if possible. Pack a bag of peppermints (hard candy) as well in case of stomatch ailment.

One more thought, (and you probably already now do this) NEVER store batteries in a closed place or with water or flame. It's an expensive lesson when they go bad as you know. TEKRA makes a variety of LED lights with small batteries in them that last hundreds of hours. You can pick them up online with the NALGENE bottles.

My bottles and light cost me less than $50 American. I've had them for many years and they are still like new. Good investment.

I hope this helps. Sorry to give it to you late. Chin up!

Your fellow survivalist.
William E. Hearn
"The Sassafrasshaman"

When using these containers, how often would you drain, clean and refill them?
Is there a common shelf life for water when you fill the containers yourself?

Conventional wisdom is to rotate your stored water every 6 months unless it's in sterilized, sealed containers (Aquablox etc). Adding a drop of chlorine bleach per gallon is supposed to prevent bacteria growth too.

Nalgene bottles are great for camping but awfully expensive for storage, like $8-10 for a 1 liter bottle. For a 72 hour kit you want at least 12 liters per person just to survive, so it adds up fast. I haven't had any leakage problems with the clear-style gallon jugs. I'd stay away from those translucent milk jugs. The 7 gallon Reliance containers are also good.

Aquablox supposedly have a 5 year shelf life. They come in 8 oz and 1 liter sizes. I'd get the 1 liter. Again, though, this stuff is way more expensive than storing tap water or even buying retail bottled water. A case of Arrowhead bottled water (24x0.5 liters) is on sale for $4 at Rite-aid this week. Maybe I'll go pick up a couple of those.

> For a 72 hour kit you want at least 12 liters per person just to survive,

4 liters per person per day? That sounds like a lot. I drink about a liter per day normally. I get some water from food, and use some for cooking, but I doubt it's more than 2 liters a day in total. It'd be nice to have enough for washing but that would be going beyond "just to survive".

[Edit] Incidently, nowadays I buy bottled water from a supermarket. It has a sell-buy date of 12 to 18 months, tastes pretty much like tap water and costs under 20p/l. I tried several different brands and the cheapest stuff tasted most like water. Packs of 4x2l bottles worked out cheapest, and I figured they were more convenient than 1x5l bottle and less likely to go off in the time it takes to drink it when opened.

Water consumption varies with the climate. In the dry soutwestern US desert we use better than one gallon (4L) per person per day, easily. In the humid florida heat, we drink much less.

Exertion and altitude also have an effect as does the type of food. Many variables. Can't have "too much" water.