Since Spring is supposedly here (although it's sleeting this morning), I'm considering my long term storage of water in my truck to be complete, with great results.

Last summer, I bought a case of .5 liter bottles of water to put in my truck. I left them there, taking one out every couple of weeks through the winter to see how they fared. Of course they had frozen solid, but when thawed, showed no signs of weakened plastic or leaking. Now the remainder are all thawed, and no leaking occurred.

A couple of observations.
When they froze, the water expanded of course, but there is just enough air space in the bottle to allow for this expansion without rupturing. However, you can't stand the bottle up, because the bottom becomes rounded. Also, when you open it up, it tends to spray a bit of moisture out.
Now that they are thawed, the ones that fell over on their sides have contracted, I guess due to the freeze/thaw, but not the ones that stayed upright through the process.

So, no problem carrying emergency water through the winter.

I've noticed the same results with the bottles of water in the back of the fridge. It seems as though they have allowed for freezing in the bottle design.

Hot weather is the problem I have to deal with in Lousy-anna. Water has to be swapped out often, if you want it to taste best. It will stay good for consumption but will taste flat.

I keep my vehicle water and food in a soft-sided cooler. That seems to help with the daily temp swings we get here as well as the seasonal ones (-10 to 110 F), plus it provides some padding for the relatively fragile water bottles. I also crack the windows in the shell of my pickup. If your security situation allows you might try that. It really helps hold down the temps.

Sounds like a good idea to me (the soft sided cooler). I've got some and rarely use them. I almost feel as though I'm wasting them. Thanks!

Speaking of cracking the windows in your vehicle to let heat out, has anyone ever tried those solar-operated vents for cars that are supposed to do that? It sounds like a great idea, but....

Sue

I read somewhere once, that you can make water *taste* better by aerating it. Basically you pour the water from one container to another, thus allowing air into the water and making it taste better.

They work OK if you have two. Take on apart and rewire it so it turns into an intake fan. You won't be cooler than the outside, but you won't be making an oven either.

That being said, I've only used them around here- I won't speculate on thier performance other places.

The Alameda County (California) Water District has a page on storing water for emergencies:
http://www.acwd.org/faq.php5?category_id=57#22

They say bottled water bought from a store should be safe for several years, but should be stored in the usual cool, dark place protected from direct sunlight and fumes from petroleum products and pesticides. The bottles should be checked periodically for cracks and water loss due to evaporation.

I emailed them to ask about the storage. The answer was that heat and sun will likely cause chemicals in the plastic to leach into the water, and they don't know the effects of drinking water with those leachates in it. On a practical level, that's a conservative answer; they _don't_ know, and among the issues are how much of the chemicals it would take to cause any human damage and how much water you'd have to consume to get an amount sufficient to cause harm.

As an aside, I fill empty 2-liter soda bottles with tap water, freeze them, and use them instead of ice in my cooler for some camping trips. Saves me from having a sodden mess in the cooler, and gives us something cool to drink in the heat of the day. I haven't had any break in the maybe 10 years I've been doing it, although I leave room for expansion. I note, though, that the expansion is not entirely into the empty space - ice expands outward in all directions, so do have some care about the containers if your water freezes. You may have a cracked bottle even though there is air in the top.

Here's a review of the auto cooler thing.

some of them are pretty good but most are fragile trash

i wouldn't be too worried about that. the FDA is involved when it comes to food-contact applications:

http://www.plasticsinfo.org/s_plasticsinfo/sec_level2_faq.asp?CID=705&DID=2839

i wouldn't be too worried about that. the FDA is involved when it comes to food-contact applications:

That statement chills me to the bone just like when the govt man tells you that "I'm from the gov't and I'm here to help you".

I bought two insulated 1 gallon Igloo water containers from WalMart for about $9.00 each and use those to hold water in my vehicle. I put 3ml of bleach in each gallon and will swap it out every 6 months.

I live in the mountains and it gets quite cold and I didn't have any problems with this setup.

Justin

Thanks for the info on the Auto Cool, guys. I guess I won't run out and buy one.

Re: heat + water in plastic bottles.

I drove from SoCal to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in AZ, near the Mexican border. In August. The temp was 112F six feet off the ground. I had two gallons of drinking water (partly frozen) in an ice chest, and six more (soft cloudy plastic like milk bottles) just sitting in the trunk of the car. By 7p.m., the dog and I had drunk all the cold water. I opened one of the other ones, and it was almost too hot to hold onto. I took a sip...

BLEEEECK! It tasted like liquid plastic. Even the dog wouldn't drink it. So, I had to drive to the visitor center and fill up at their machine.

But I have remembered that when I think of storing water in hot weather, esp when traveling (it doesn't get that hot here in WA).
Difficult choice: drink plastic water or die of dehydration?

Sue

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that water should be stored in the harder clearer plastic (like that of a sopa pop 2 liter) rather than the soft opaque plastic (like that of a gallon milk jug).

I keep about 2 gals of water in the back of my vehicle. I use nalgene bottles to store it in. During the winter they have frozen but never cracked (I don't fill them completely so there is room for expansion). I keep them in a milk crate wo they don't fall over and roll around.
During warmer/summer months I refill them every month using the "old" water for my plants.

Coastie, this was in the late '70s. I think that's all their was. I wouldn't even consider using them today.

Sue

In the UK bottled water comes with a "use-by" date which presumably allows for plastic leaching into the water. It's typically 12-18 months from date of purchase. The bottles can sit around in storage for 6 months or more before reaching the shelves, so water bought at different times can have the same use-by date.

It's a relatively expensive way to buy water and the use-by date is what makes it worth it to me.

All plastics leach into liquids stored in them...the cheapest all the way up to lexan. Heat and cold synergize this effect. Even the clear plastic soda bottles are permeable. That's why soda in plastic will go flat long before that in cans and bottles.

My experience regarding the POTABILITY of water in plastic exposed to temperature extremes (as you'd get in a car) is similar to Susan's experience outlined above. So, while I do not carry liquids in the car (except what I carry daily), her statement:



does have a certain amount of truth in it. It is an acute vs. chronic choice. If I have no other way of getting liquids in me, and I'm in a likely survival situation, the choice is obvious.

However, in most cases when I reach for emergency preps, I am not really in dire circumstance...I'm more acting out of readiness and immediate need. Thus, band-aids, tools, etc get used from my packouts. I carry 1 liter Nalgene lexan bottles with liquid (usually water or tea) almost every waking moment...sometimes several. But I use them, refill, move on...pretty much like many packout materials.

Ah...the old days when you could get 5 gallon glass water bottles...sigh. Not that it would help in a car situation...

Asking a California .gov agency if something is safe? I could have told you the answer they would give you LOL.


Considering what 99.999% of the world's population has used for potable water throughout history, I am not too worried about bottled water in my trunk.

I keep several cases of bottled water in my chest freezer. When a storm hits and the power dies they will help keep food cold until needed. I have tried several brands of water and have had no problem with the bottles spliting open.

Just my $1/50 worth.
We've had water bottles, both new and refilled in our van for about 2 1/2 years now. This is not so much by design as forgetfullness.

We keep a few in the "footlocker" BOB, some just loose for daily use.

What you have to understand is that we'll see 3 months at a time where the ambient temp never gets above 15-20 degrees.

Of course some of the bottles thaw due to the heater running, others not because they're packed to deep.

I cannot detect ANY differency in taste. Now Mrs. Bear, who has an EXTREEMLY sensitive taster ocassionally notes a different taste, but nothing that could not be tolerated.

BTW, all the refills come straight from our well with no "treatment" of any kind.

-gb