Does anyone know where I can obtain 55 gallon drums for long term water storage besides mail order? Is there a hardware chain or company that would be in different cities
that one could obtain these without having to pay shipping from mail order companies?

Amen! I wish I could find some that didn't cost a fortune... it seems that anyone who even MIGHT have surpus barrels has discovered that lots fo people are wanting them... so they sell them to resellers! The cheapest I have found online is at Walton Feed ... with shipping depending on where you are, it would cost me about $60 a barrel. As for finding new around here (Portland, OR area) they are asking more than that!

If anyone finds a chain store that carries them cheaper, let us know!

Have you tried any local soda pop bottlers?

TR

Disclaimer: I bought mine directly from the manufacturer in 1998

Shipping per barrel was pretty minor when we ordered 8 brand new ones. The customary alternative, as noted elsewhere, is to purchase used ones from a local carbonated beverage dealer and wash out the syrup residue.

If you can do a group purchase of enough to justify the truck space (say, folks within a one hour drive of each other), I suspect the shipping cost per barrel will go down significantly.

I believe I bought ours from US Plastic in 1998. Looking at the site today, I see that they run about $65 each, with a 15% discount for an order of 12 or more. You'll have to call them to find out what that does for you shipping-wise. IIRC, I paid around $30 - $35 each, not including shipping.

There are other (industrial) non-food liquids shipped in these that can be safely washed out and usually those drums go for nothing if you ask - they are glad to get rid of them. Figuring out what is safe to wash/rinse out and what is best left alone is beyond the scope of any discussion here. Personally, I don't bother - they get used for other non-potable uses.

HTH

Tom

No go in Portland. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Tried quite a few distributers and such also. I can get all kinds of drums for non-potable.... $5 each.... but nothing that would work for water.

My brother in law has about 20 left. He picked up a bunch from a soda pop retailer (minimum purchse type thing.) He's parted with some of them at $15 each. If you want to drive up to 30-35 min nw of seattle I can check and see if he wants to sell some more (I"m sure his wife wants fewer around.

Unfortunately, I would have to buy a couple dozen to break even on the gas for my truck <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> And then they wouldn't all fit <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

there is that. If you make it up to seattle some time and still need one buzz me if he's still got some i"ll hook you up.

Try your local recycling center. Ours has them for $8 a barrel, they intend for you to use them to divide your bottles and plastics. They are used but clean well. The label states they are food grade and once contained a marinade. I use three to collect rainwater for the garden and one to haul water for animals. Neither the plants nor the animals seem to have had any problems.

One of my tenants gives them away for free when he has too many to store. He makes sauces and gets the ingrediants in large blue plastic barrels, they usually stink very badly though. Even though they are food safe unless you clean them out very well it would leave a bad taste in the water if stored for a while.