Interested in 55 gal drums for water storage?

[lazer128]

Good idea guys and gal. I have had one of these in place behind the house with a well pump in the garage. When I turn off and on certain valves to "activate" it and isolate myself from our normal water supply, it is as if there is no water supply problem. I too keep a little bleach in it to prevent algae growth.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/...g=true&cFlag=1


I have plans to add another 1000-1500 gallon tank on the mountain behind the house to aid in firefighting.

I have always had good luck getting barrels from businesses that deal in used ones. You may not have to wait on a specific beverage company to have them. Just my $0.02.

[Loshali]

Laser, any suggestions on where?

I"ve only dealt with Coke in the past, but candy manufacturers have them too. I just havent checked out any other sources. The contact at Coke said they had a really big recycling program going on right now, so thats why they were short on barrels. The last time we got them, they had a warehouse-full, and couldnt get enough trucks to tote em off as fast as they emptied them so they were happy to be rid of them.

I am thinking of doing an in-ground rainwater cache system when I get the cabin built, but until then I'll probably just use the barrels. Working on a downspout system so that i can contain the barrels in one spot without having to shift them around from corner downspouts. I have some plans and measurements on paper with slant ratios for drainage to one section, or into the rainwater cache. My big question is if the pump will use more power to pump the water into the house than a solar power system can handle. I havent read anything on that yet.

[lazer128]

I've gotten metal and plastic drums from these guys:

http://www.dependabledrum.com/contactinfo.htm

Pharmaceutical manufacturers will have food grade containers also. There is a vitamin manufacturer in Greenville, SC that used to make containers availble to the public. I can check next week if you like.