Water tips

[MikeVDS]

I've found the best thing for me to use is those 7 gallon blue cube tanks they sell at Walmart* for $7. They are light enough (about 50 lbs full) to move around a little, two of them cover a persons water supply for a week, they stack nicely and you can use them over and over. Some people also like the more rectangular ones that are 6 gallon because you can compress them when not in use so they take up less space.

After going through the trash to recycle that we brought home from our village we realized that 2/3 of it was water containers. Bottles and mostly those 1 gallon containers that you pay over a dollar for. So you can save a lot of trashbag space, some money, and bring empty containers and fill them up closer to the playa so you don't have to carry that weight or worry about buying water.

If anyone else has had good or bad experiences with ways of transporting and storing water let us all know.

*I usually won't recommend Walmart but every other place I've seen sells the exact same thing for $13.

[Dork]

I've had bad experiences reusing containers later. They develop tastes and things can potentially grow inside them. The lids don't always seal up, either. I have a couple of those 7 gallon containers where the nozzle broke off.

Ecologically, I'm not convinced the single use containers are bad. They're very thin, so figure 1/5 of the plastic went into making them as the hard shell ones. I doubt the average reusable container gets reused 5 times, and it may not be recyclable in all places.

There's also the issue of having to store them the rest of the year.

The 2.5 gallon suitcases can be found in Reno or Fernley pretty easily for about $1/gallon.

[MikeVDS]

Ecologically, I'm not convinced the single use containers are bad.

I don't think so either. We recycle them so they somewhat get reused anyway. They just take up a lot of room and are not real convenient for me. The 7 gallon ones do take up space, but if you have space they are nice for normal camping too. If you'll use them for other events they should quickly prove their worth. If you just take them to BM once a year, then maybe not so much.

The nozzles do seem a bit on the fragile side. I could see eventually breaking those if not careful.

[Zane5100]

I've had good luck with many, many years of re-using water containers--however, you MUST properly clean and sterilize the container before using again.

Cleaning and sterializing is no big deal, and if you get a big bottle brush (like the kind hombrewers use for their fermenters), it goes quick. Sterialization is accomplished with a mild diluted bleach bath, and then rinsing with clean water.

No biggie.

[phil]

I posted this link in another thread that I can't remember:
http://www.acwd.org/faq.php5?category_id=57

It is from the Alameda County Water District and tells about storing water long term for emergency use. It covers how to clean the containers and treat the water so that it doesn't get those things growing in it. This is long term earthquake storage, so do keep enough water all year to last through repairs when we have the Big One here in the Bay Area.

[Rocket75377]

I was just going to bring a water buffalo.
Or do I need more?

[unjonharley]

Being alone here, I do not need a full size refg.. So I store three three gal jugs inside to cut down the cooling space.. Just pull them and go camping.. Aso have two, two gallon jugs in the frezzer.. Same reason.. With that and cooler water is pleny for BM week..

[gyre]

...

[gyre]

The really good hard plastic containers, like the good coolers are easy to clean.
But they are not so cheap.
I use one to pour the big ones into.
Then use the spout.
Mine has a spring loaded one.
Can't mistakenly leave it on, but one that you can leave open can be handy.


Smart practice, Unjon.
Especially works for the freezer.
I reuse 2 litre bottles.

[robotland]

I like the 2.5 gallon suitcases, and use one for wet camp trash and, if necessary, a temporary urinal. The trick is to NOT nick the little nubbin that creates an airhole, so you can maintain a seal. I remove the whole valve assembly and supplement with a modified funnel to reduce spillage.
Even though they need to be "burped" if you don't open that airhole, it also enables you to squash them flat and then close the valve to keep them from "reinflating".
DO NOT trust those folding plastic "water cubes". Often they're already compromised from being folded in the box at the store, or tear soon after initial use or the handle rips out, nozzle threads jam, etc.. I remember having some decent ones back in the sixties and seventies, when they were made of thicker and more durable plastic, but now many corners have been cut on manufacture.

[The CO]

I like the one gallons in milk crates. Water take the same amount of space no matter how you pack it, & if you get a puncture somewhere you only lose one gallon, rather than 2.5 or 5. Plus the crates stack easy in the trailer & you can put about 12 empties in each crate, leaving some room for trash & whatnot in the others.

[Zhust]

Beginning in my second year, I went around to recycle-bins in the neighborhood and collected half-gallon juice jugs (I became picky and went exclusively for Ocean Spray ones because they were rectangular and the labels came off easily.)

I brought them home and washed them with hot, soapy water then rinsed them hot -- I use a "Jet Carboy Washer" which is a device that fits on a basin sink to clean carboys (jugs) for wine and beer making. So far none have failed, although one of the lids was not correct and I didn't notice before it leaked in the car. Fortunately I only lost a half-gallon.

I store them dry -- my understanding is that dry=dead. As an added bonus, if any one fails or becomes too unpleasant, I can just recycle it. An unfortunate aspect of the store-bought containers is they are often not recyclable; the collapsible kind is worse because it's made form poly-vinyl-chloride (PVC).

[gyre]

Real Goods has polycarbonate and stainless steel.
The poly looks like the good one I have.
I think I paid about half in reno for it.

[diane o'thirst]

Real Goods is overpriced.
I picked up five, 7-gallon jugs at GI Joe's and tanked them up at Eagle's Nest RV. I made sure to pack them first, directly behind the driver's seat so the car wouldn't sway with a ton of weight in the waaback.
This year, I have a trailer with its own water tank, pump and hose bib.
High Country Plastics makes a water caddy that pulls multi-duty as a seating bench, water tank, small-gear storage box and stepstool.

[phil]

The National Park Service has requirements for water quality for guides in the park:
http://www.nps.gov/ncro/Public_Health/% ... _water.pdf
triggers immediate download of a 2.3MB .pdf file which has some helpful information on filtration, purification, and such. It may be helpful for people who are providing water for an entire camp to know what the NPS suggests for not getting tour groups sick.

[BAS]

I keep getting a "Forbidden" when I try to use that URL....

B.

[helitack]

Dont make this harder than it is. Put some city tap water into water jugs purchased from the sporting goods dept. I would be more worried about food prep since that has the potential to knock a whole camp into the shitters really quickly. Bleach is your friend. Jeebus

[gyre]

http://www.nps.gov/ncro/Public_Health// ... _water.pdf

[phil]

I keep getting a "Forbidden" when I try to use that URL.... :(

B.

yeah, the URL wrapped, and it's inserting a space where the line break is. Try this:
http://tinyurl.com/2f5lgh

My apologies. I thought wrapping it in url things would prevent that.

[phil]

> Dont make this harder than it is.

It wouldn't be Burning Man if we didn't make it harder than it is.

[BAS]

I keep getting a "Forbidden" when I try to use that URL....

B.

yeah, the URL wrapped, and it's inserting a space where the line break is. Try this:
http://tinyurl.com/2f5lgh

My apologies. I thought wrapping it in url things would prevent that.

Thanks! (Hmm-- it starts off with the question "Why purify water?" My first thought was "Because there might be a bear pissing into the water up river from me!" )


B.

[Nick Collide]

[quote="BAS"](Hmm-- it starts off with the question "Why purify water?" My first thought was "Because there might be a bear pissing into the water up river from me!" [/quote]

Many years ago I bought a couple of t-shirts in Idaho, that advertised a pseudo-product called "Bear Piss Beer". They were hilarious.

Or maybe it was a real product of a local micro-brewery that made more money off the shirts than the beer (I never did see a bottle of Bear Piss Beer)

I wonder if I still have either of those somewhere...?

[PurpleKoosh]

(Hmm-- it starts off with the question "Why purify water?" My first thought was "Because there might be a bear pissing into the water up river from me!"

Many years ago I bought a couple of t-shirts in Idaho, that advertised a pseudo-product called "Bear Piss Beer". They were hilarious.

Or maybe it was a real product of a local micro-brewery that made more money off the shirts than the beer (I never did see a bottle of Bear Piss Beer)

I wonder if I still have either of those somewhere...?

The Really, Absolutely True, Story of Bear Whiz Beer

BTW, Nick, I ♥ your handle. Which network?

[capjbadger]

For the last couple years I've been using those one gallon gatorade jugs after I empty them. Square so they pack nice, good solid handle, easy to pour or drink out of, easy to fill, and makes a great piss can in a pinch.
(Just lable the damn thing so no one trys to take a swig of the "lemon" gatorade... )

Badger

[Nick Collide]

BTW, Nick, I ♥ your handle. Which network?

Thanks. I guess only a relatively small sllice of the general population would get it but after all these years I still find it amusing. To answer your question: Dalnet for a long time - now once in a while on bondage.com, just to touch bases with old friends.