What about food grade 5 gallon buckets with a lid? Usually a lid with a pour spout is available.

I can tell you that typical 5 gallon buckets won't burst when water freezes in them. We've used one of the orange HD ones as a water hydrant "catch bucket" in our horse barn for many years. It spends most of the winter with frozen water in it. We dump it out on warm days when we can. Freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw ... and it keeps going strong. When it gets bad we'll haul it inside to thaw out a bit so we can dump it. Tough as nails.

Not sure how easy it would be to pour with the lid on, since they usually don't have a vent hole. It seems that they'd "glug" when pouring.

When I need to haul water I'll use the Reliance blue jugs. I find a 5 gallon jug is really tough for even a fairly strong adult to carry very far - really tough for a young Scout to carry. Its surprising how far we'll have to go for water at many campgrounds. I much prefer the 2.5 gallon versions. They're also less apt to get slammed down hard on the ground or on picnic tables ... due to their lighter weight. I assume that would help them last longer.

I don't have experience with them freezing up though. When winter camping we don't leave water jugs for very long since a frozen jug of water will really mess things up. Another reason I prefer the smaller jugs - one meal's worth if you are careful.

Ken K.

Plastic pop bottles worked well. The lids on milk jugs leaked on me.

I keep several store-bought bottles of water, often refilled, in my car all the time. Usually the kids or I will use them and I'll replace or refill them, so none are much more than a month or so old. But they do freeze/thaw several times before being discarded, and I've never had one burst or leak (unless the cap was loose). Even the new/thin Poland Spring bottles have survived multiple freeze/thaw cycles.

I also have 8 foil (Mylar?) packets of "emergency water" in my car emergency kit with a 5-year shelf life (along with a 2400-calorie food bar). They have withstood 2 winters so far without any evidence of weakening.

For just a gallon or two, I'd go with Nalgene water bottles and would keep them corralled and contained in a soft-sided cooler (I have a square soft Igloo that holds several 32 ouncers).

I camp a lot and keep several mostly full Nalgenes in my freezer for use in the camp cooler. It's efficient, tidy and has saved a bundle on bag ice during 2 and 3-day trips.

None of my Nalgene bottles has ever leaked. Some of mine are a decade old.

Either the 64 oz rectangular "Space Saver" BPA-free (this would be my choice for car storage - just 4 equals two gallons):

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___80924

32 oz cylindrical

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___80880

or 48 oz cylindrical

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___80883


Leave a couple inches from the top of the bottle for expansion.

I live in an area where four months a year you can expect it to freeze at night and thaw (partially if not entirely) during the day. Use empty sanitized 2-3 liter soda bottles. All plastic will streatch and possibly split depending on how full you fill them and how tight (two separate issues). Leave about 3 inches empty at the top (cap) of the bottle. Then squeeze it in an inch on both sides and cap the bottle tight. The water should still have room to expand a little at the top. But most of the expansion will occur with the space you squeeze out of the bottle. I've stored water for years this way in my trunk. They freeze all of the time and thaw all of the time. Never a split bottle with this method. I have nearly split the heavy duty 5 gallon jugs. Same method applies.

How long will it stay fresh? Opinions vary greatly. Officially replace it every 6-months to a year. Unofficially, if you start with a clean container and clean water, add a few drops of (new, unscented) bleach for unseen circumstances, it will last forever. I follow that process and exchange it out every 3-5 years when I think about it. Water tastes fine. Just have to oxygenate it a bit (poor back and fourth between containers to get more air in it).

I have used 2-litre soda bottles for years. Fill to 80% and lay them on their side. Never had one burst from freezing. I'm careful to pack them where they won't contact anything sharp. I try to remember to have one under the heater vent in the winter.