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.