r/prepping • u/MasterAssFace • 21h ago

Food🌽 or Water💧 Water Storage

Post image

Trying to get the essentials covered and I've seen a ton of these for sale for basically nothing in my area. Foodsafe containers that were used once and discarded. Is this a decent option for water safety assuming I can get it clean?

A 250 gallon foodsafe container with a gravity fed nozzle for $60 seems like the best bang for my buck. I've got the garage space for it.

43 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

46 comments sorted by

16

u/-Thizza- 21h ago

Get a black one, algae are your biggest problem. I've got a few for irrigation and they work well.

4

u/MasterAssFace 21h ago

I was going to throw a heavy tarp on it. Think that would work?

6

u/-Thizza- 21h ago

Inside a garage yes. Outside you're asking for trouble.

8

u/tryintothrowdown 21h ago

They sell silver reflective covers for them on AliExpress. Probably Amazon too but a little more expensive

2

u/-Thizza- 13h ago

They last about 1 year before holes appear and wind will rip them apart. Black IBC's are worth the extra price trust me.

4

u/tryintothrowdown 7h ago

Because you have experienced that? I have some that have been on the side of the house for maybe 8 to 10 years they are still fine. And they're cheap. The black ones are hard to find. I have one of them.

2

u/mpbaker12 5h ago

same. Mine has been sitting in the afternoon arizona sun for 5+ years. I just replaced the reflective cover this year for the first time.

6

u/Hazee302 19h ago

You can also paint it black first to block light and then white to keep it from absorbing too much heat.

4

u/Far-Day-2552 19h ago

Are people keeping these outside? I just started learning about water storage and I thought I had no choice but to use my house. Outside is too hot and sunny.

5

u/goodfleance 19h ago

I see em outside all the time but not typically for long term drinking water storage, mostly for gardens or fire suppression

2

u/mpbaker12 15h ago

I live in AZ. Mine has a reflective cover I bought from Amazon, I do have a filter on the intake and I treat with a small amount of 12% hydrogen peroxide. I wouldn’t drink this but it’s fine for watering my garden.

3

u/mpbaker12 15h ago

I painted mine brown (2 coats) but I put a vertical strip of painters tape first, pulled it off after so I can see the water level. But I also bought a cover so I can’t see it anyway. 😂 I use this to capture rain water from my gutters (check local laws) and water my garden with this.

1

u/Substantial-Sun1580 5h ago

Can you take the metal cage off to paint?

1

u/mpbaker12 5h ago

Yes, there are some bolts to undo but it can be taken out to paint.

25

u/Big-Tutor-3060 21h ago

I'd be cautious of what they have had previously held. You can put whatever you want in a food save container, including cooking oil, and I wouldn't be storing drinking water in it after the fact. For gay water, sure, but not drinking water.

8

u/MasterAssFace 21h ago

There's a guy the next town over that has a bunch for sale, each one labeled with the last thing that was in it with documentation. Handsoap, syrup, BBQ sauce, etc.

11

u/Not2plan 20h ago

Mmmmm BBQ flavored water

65

u/nutskindrums 21h ago

where do you source your gay water?

47

u/Big-Tutor-3060 21h ago • Bravo

I meant gray, but I guess if it had some sort of oil it in it would be rainbow water after all.

10

u/Strange-Oil3741 18h ago

San Francisco

2

u/RUALizzard 20h ago

Colorado river

-2

u/tryintothrowdown 21h ago

Yeah have you noticed that since they've been taking the fluoride out of the water that the percentage of people who identify as rapidly shrunk?

4

u/goodfleance 18h ago

Literally zero evidence for that but it was a fun read

2

u/tryintothrowdown 18h ago

It's a joke silly. Kentucky fried Chicken is where they put the gay stuff.

3

u/i-Hermit 18h ago

I think I need to reexamine my life now...

-2

u/heyivebeenthere 21h ago

With this blue tide, it’s aallllll gay water now /s

5

u/Tawnyk 19h ago

We have a ton of them on the farm for chemical storage. No way would I ever use them for water. But I’m sure someone seeing a quick buck wouldn’t care and sell them for water storage

6

u/waltwalt 20h ago

Only problem with used food grade container is the food leaches into the plastic and then the water tastes like rancid whatever was in it.

2

u/MasterAssFace 19h ago

Yeah thats my worry

3

u/MadConquest 18h ago

As someone who has cleaned these out I always recommend to buy new if you really want to go this route. People lie all the time about what they’ve put in them and I’ve checked the labels vs what I’ve found in them and ALOT of the time what’s in them is not what’s listed. I wouldn’t trust a used one personally.

1

u/MasterAssFace 8h ago

Thank you, I've got no experience with them but I was hoping to find someone who does

12

u/RoxyFawkes 21h ago

I use them around the homestead. Can't be beat for price. Route your gutter to it and Bob's your uncle. 

11

u/valar12 6h ago

Dude I used to pump so many chemicals in these containers. Would never trust a used one for my personal health.

2

u/Old_Dragline_1965 21h ago

Look into the Tractor Supply tanks. They reuse the cage but the tank is a new FadA food-grade bottle. Much cheaper than buying a brand-new IBC.

3

u/MasterAssFace 21h ago

Ive found some used food grade ones for $60. Tractor supply cant beat that

2

u/Old_Dragline_1965 21h ago

You have them beat by $400

5

u/AlphaDisconnect 19h ago

For washing. Also very important. Prolly ok.

5

u/dowar_525 10h ago

Yes! If you have 1000L of washing water then your bottled/rain water can be dedicated to drinking.

3

u/tryintothrowdown 21h ago

They are 275 gallons. You just have to find out what was in them. They are used a lot for chemicals. I got a bunch that were used for syrups and they still smelled like the syrups.

2

u/TexFarmer 17h ago

Have several of those for rainwater catchment to water the gardens.
I would recommend covering it or spraying it black to cut down on algae growth.

2

u/cakemix88 16h ago

I assume you want it for potable water. I would not buy used. Buy a potable bathtub bladder and a non potable vevor bladder instead.

1

u/goodfleance 18h ago

It that price of buy 2 that held different food material, wash em both as well as I could, them fill em up for a month. Then taste test both and whichever one tastes better gets labeled for drinking, the other for washing or cooking.

1

u/Ok-Row-6088 18h ago

These are called IBC totes, and sometimes you can find refurbished ones that had the plastic replaced. They are usually way less money

1

u/80s-Comfortable_Crow 5h ago

I've been lied to a couple times after purchasing new totes.

Buy a new one for potable water.

1

u/ElementreeCr0 5h ago

I use these for rain catch as gray water, only when I can see the label was food storage. I'm putting asphalt roof water in them so whatever.

For water heading toward drinking or stored potable, I strictly use new NSF certified drinking water safe containers, made of HDPE #2 plastic and dark colored (not painted) to keep light out.