Prepping Setbacks: Water Storage

I bought the container below at Walmart. I am quickly reinforcing my belief that not everything should be bought from walmart. I was very proud of myself for getting 6 whole gallons of water storage achieved in a matter of minutes.



But then, after cleaning it, treating the water with bleach, and happily filling away... (to the tune of "what's that for Mama" and "Is that for watering plants") I discovered, to my dismay.... water leakage.

First, I noticed it coming from the little air vent thing:


Then, I saw another flaw, a small pinprick size hole:


SO. Now I am thoroughly frustrated. Could I preserve the quality of the water by trying to seal these weakness in the container (maybe with wax or something?).

Or should I just grit my teeth and return the stupid thing to Walmart and get my money back?

I was intending to rotate every three months, but even still, I don't know what kind of nasties could grow in there in that amount of time with it not being airtight...?

What kind of setbacks have you experienced?

(I've never posted pics before, so hopefully this worked properly)

"return the stupid thing to Walmart" -- Walmart needs to see the unsatisfactory quality of their cheap stuff.

*sigh*

I guess I will think about even being kind enough to remove the water first...

If you're otherwise happy with the container, I would try to exchange it. Now that you know what a potential pin prick hole looks like, hopefully you could inspect the replacement for one before walking out of the store.

Water does not need to be kept in an airtight container during storage. Clean water, stored in a clean container, kept out of sunlight, should not grow anything, regardless of whether the water is sealed or not. Unless you're getting a strong plastic taste (which probably would go away with a number of water changes...or not), I think rotating every three months is unnecessarily short. You could easily go six months or even a year between changes.

By the way, I wouldn't call the vent hole a defect. If water is coming out out of the vent, my opinion is that you overfilled the container beyond what the manufacturer intended.

But good for you for making the effort towards preparedness!

Arney, you are right about the vent hole, I guess I was filling it up a little too enthusiastically! And once I took out some water, it wasn't coming out of the pinprick anymore either. Maybe I should just dump out a little more of the water. I have to admit, I was nervous about the bleach, and wanted to make sure I had the measurements as exact as I could. I figured since the container said six gallons, that meant up to the top. lol. Survival's a learning process!

I keep reading varying opinions on rotations. Like you said, FEMA agrees that 6 months is good. But I came across a couple of other sites that said if you use tap water to do every 3. My logic was that if I make every three months water rotate day, I could also use that time to check my food storage expiration dates too. Make sense? Or could I push that out to every 6 months as well?

I change out my drinking water at the beginning of hurricane season...using a couple of the blue 6/7 gallon containers with spigots as they are convenient... I do add clorox at the old rate of 8drops per gallon...

I've had water leak from cheap containers before. Not worth the risk in my opinion. That container may have just done you a favor by revealing how cheap it is before you needed the water.

HJ

My preference is for airtight storage; this prevents insects from getting at the water. It's pretty yucky to open your stored water and find a bunch of dead bugs in it.

For myself, I would return it.

Make sure that you have the means to disinfect water; this makes for a good backup to stored water if nothing else.

Bummer--I hate it when something like that happens.

As for returning it, I'd calculate the dollar cost of gas for making the trip. I live about 30 miles from the nearest Walmart, so just gas alone can add up if I only go there for one thing. It may cost more to drive to return it than it cost in the first place.

This (distance) and the number of times I've gotten something not worth their low, low, price is why I've given up on them and switched to other sources, e.g. on-line.

An occasional pinhole is a problem when blow molding. The cost of manually inspecting and/or filling and draining each container would be cost prohibitive.

I would just exchange it for another one that you have visually inspected for pinholes.

If you add bleach to the tap water and store it away from direct light, 6 months should be good. You are going to get some plastic taste from just about any plastic container except for a few plastics which are too rigid for making large containers. What I do is post filter any stored water I wish to use for drinking through a Britta filter. These filters contain carbon which will absorb a lot of the plastic taste and most of the residual chlorine taste too. Don't try to filter it all through the Britta, just the water you want to drink or cook with.

Always make sure you use fresh bleach as it has a shelf life of only a few months. And don't use bleach with any additives like perfumes, etc.

several friends uses the water cooler carboys like Izzy commented... one uses the cooler stand/dispenser, and one has his just for emergency water, and uses a hand pump to dispense water from sitting carboy

I would return it, and among other considerations look for a design that won't stress handles or joints or seams when you move the container. I did have an issue with 2 blue jugs leaking several years ago, although I have no idea if its related to your experience. But consider - 6 gallons of water weighs 48 pounds. Ever time you pick up a full container, you're putting 48 lbs of pressure on the handle, seams etc. My blue jugs failed along seams running down and under. I like this 5 gallon design better than the blue jugs, and have had no water storage issues. I think I own 6 of them right now. Solid construction for the plastic age. http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_WS%20J100_A_name_E_5%20Gallon%20Water%20Jug.

That said, I also have (plastic) barrels full of water, 15 30 and 55 gallons. I move those on a hand truck and dump them in the yard and refill every year or two. The 5 gallon jugs I rotate on the same schedule. Between them I have water intended to stay in place, and other water I might take and go. Even a 15 gallon barrel I might move, if there's time to load it in my car.

Return it.

I just filled up 2 5-gal jerry cans (8 ml of bleach in the 5 gallons, and boy does it smell strong!) about 2 weeks ago. My wife is telling me I'm insane.

For about $18 you could buy some of the LCI 5-gallon USGI-type watercans. Much more robust.

I've read (and I don't know where) that tap water from a public utility requires no additional treatment, as it is already treated with chlorine-dioxide by the utility. I've also read that unopened, commercially-bottled water should be capable of being stored at least two years.

I've stored my own water before from the utility for more than 6 months with no ill effects. But the containers are expensive, rotation is a chore that needs to be remembered, and I don't really like the chlorine taste of our tap water.

These days I just buy 2.5 gallon pre-filled containers of spring water. We use the stuff anyway, going through as much as 10 gallons a week, so its no problem rotating even a large supply every 12 months. I don't think you could buy twenty 5-gallon empty containers for the $100 I pay for them full. The size and weight is more convenient to carry and store than 5-gallon or larger containers.

I've also left some at a camping lodge for weeks in the winter so they experienced freeze-thaw cycles, and they held up without leaking.

Clean tap water or bottled water should keep indefinitely if you keep it away from light. Bottled water might taste a bit plasticky after a few years, and the bottles themselves might start to break down after a few more years.

Virtually all the water containers of this ilk that I have purchased have failed in one way or another, typically in rather light service. I have had much better luck with recycled beverage containers, and at minimal cost.

Hi Krista, I've used Reliance brand aquatainers with great success for a long time. Hopefully yours is a rare QC problem. I'd return/exchange them for sure.

If it's economical to do so, I'd return it. Check out all the other one of the model and see if they have the same problems before going for a straight exchange.

Thanks for heads up. I need to get a new big water jug for an upcoming event with my Beaver Scouts. I'll look at containers with a closer eye now. Bringing one home with a with a hole in it is exactly my kind of luck!

I have one Coleman and one Reliance Aquatainer, both are the square blue jobs, both are pre 04 hurricane season...still in good shape, but they don't get moved much

I would not use these Walmart cans.

I purchased TWO last year. The purpose was for extra water storage in the trunk of a sedan.

I noticed BOTH leaked badly at the cap. There is no easy way to tighten the cap to prevent leakage. There is space in my SUV to allow storage in an upright position but for the sedan, it does require that the container be placed sideways. This allowed SIGNIFICANT leakage.

Again this is a problem with molding plastic items. Where the mold comes apart there is often a slight "flashing" of the plastic. This is caused by molten plastic seeping between the mold halves. Paying for a worker to trim all this flashing would be cost prohibitive. However, it is usually a simple matter to trim it yourself using a razor blade or a very sharp knife.

What do you expect...WalMart is an example of the "Race to the Bottom".

By competing on price (Walmart's reason for existence) they are forced to increasingly cut corners on the quality of raw materials, labor, and workmanship. Or else someone else will make the same product for less cost.

A Race to the Bottom.

The results: yes indeed - less expensive items on the shelves. Just what the common herd clamors for. But the real price you pay is often shoddy stuff that can let you down at the most inopportune times.

Imagine needing your water in a survival situation, only to find that great container you bought so cheaply has leaked it all away. Sounds like you paid a little for something that did not work when you could have paid a medium amount for something that isn't likely to let you down.

I know for a fact that many manufacturers make two sets of the same items - the first set of of less quality they make for WalMart stores and another, seemingly identical but better quality set they sell to other stores that are not so price conscious.