Lightweight/small water containers

Janet Hughes - January 23, 2021

Advice

I’m a beginner and researching water containers for my home. I have a compromised back and can not lift more than 20 lbs, which seems to be approx 2.5 gallons of water. Most like the Rhino seem to start at 5 gallons. 

12  

There are not many long term water storage solutions on the market under that 5 gallon mark. The ones that I have that are closest to what you are looking for are the WaterBricks. They are 3.5 gallons, but that would make it 29 pounds, which is too much. They do make a Half WaterBrick though which is 1.6 gallons / 13 pounds, and I think that would be perfect for you.

Another solution if the Half WaterBrick didn’t exist, would be to get a large 55 gallon drum/s for and place it in your basement/garage. You then could use a 1 or 2 gallon container and fill that up and carry that around the house as that is all you are able to carry. This igoo sports cooler is 2 gallons, you can fill it up, bring it to your kitchen, and use the included spigot to drink out of. You can also get 1 gallon stainless steel canteens.

There are the cheap $1 gallon purified bottled water containers from your grocery store. If you do go that route, I would recommend one like this over the flimsier ones that are in the milk jug type plastic. This will be more durable, but still not recommended for long term storage. Make sure you keep this out of the light as it is clear plastic if you do go with it. 

I love water storage, and really have enjoyed the WaterBricks for their Lego block stackability. They don’t take up much room, not too heavy, and are durable. I learned about them in The Prepared’s water course, and highly recommend that to everyone. I learned so much and feel more comfortable storing water, which is one of the most important resources to have.

 

Smashing! Thanks Olly. I ordered the half water bricks.

 

I’m glad you liked that suggestion! How many did you end up getting? 

I’d love to see a picture of your bricks when you get them, i’ve never seen a half brick before besides on their website.

 

Janet, Oily;

Still can’t find what I’m looking for. It indirectly relates to question.

Some time ago I saw some Peace Corps volunteers working with the locals. They had what I believe was called a “water wheel”. Think of a wheel barrel with wheel being a large motorcycle size tire. The “water wheel”, made of some poly-plastic composite with filling valve on side of wheel,  had a rigid harness assembly to attach a rope or leash for pulling the rolling wheel.  I don’t know quantity / capacity of wheel but it looked like ~ 5 gals.

I’m scribbling all this for 2 reasons. This wheel is ideal for preppers with disabilities and for preppers needing equipment for evacuation efforts.

My FOIAs were not answered perhaps because I was writing from overseas. 

If I ever run into these “water wheels” here in Virginia, they are placed on the top of my “to get” list.

FN: “Wheels” I saw were not color-coded so must be careful not to use one that was previously used for a hydrocarbon fuel.

 

I keep some water bricks in storage and I think they are great.  They obviously stack great and securely, and the handles make carrying so easy.  I personally wouldn’t give up on getting the full sized ones, even with a bad back.  First of all they are very rigid empty, which means you don’t have to store them full.  I don’t keep mine full because my prepper closet is in a barn & it can get below freezing.  Put as much water in as you can comfortably carry.  Along that same line, if you get the spigot, then you can simply drain down a full sized one without moving it around.  I have a couple.  I personally would rather have 2/3 full regular sized units than half bricks.  I’d feel safer with the added potential for water storage.  Looking at my stack below, imagine you brought all those full sized bricks into storage half full.  Then once there, topped them off.  They are now too heavy to lift, but if you have a spigot on the top ones, you just drain out what you initially need.  Then the bricks are now light enough for you to carry, so you then put the spigots on the next level… and repeat.

Here are my water bricks in storage.

 

I need to buy some of those spigots myself. I wish that they came with them.

Pretty sweet WaterBrick tower Redneck! I’ve only got three so far, but hope to have a nice tower soon.

 

Walmart & Overstock.com have packs of 8 for $141.49… under $18 each with free freight.  Yes, the spigots come in real handy but didn’t need them this past year.  Our electric was out for almost a day & used these to keep the toilets working.  But for drinking, I suggest using spigots.

When your power is off short term, you may not really need these for drinking water, but keeping toilets operational is certainly a concern that these handle great.

Here is a spigot for $12.39 with no tax or freight.

WaterBrick Spigot

 

Thanks for the links! I’ll have to buy one this week.

 

Another nice thing about waterbricks is that they can be frozen, to be used to keep food cool.  You just don’t fill them all the way up.  When used in a large ice chest, say if you are camping, it will keep your food cool for a long time and when done, you have pure water for drinking.

Here is their instructions:

https://www.waterbrick.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/WaterBrick-Use-Brochure-Block-of-Ice-Final2.pdf

 

I didn’t know that you could freeze these. It makes sense that you could if you just didn’t fill them up all the way, but I never thought about doing it. 

 

I did a bit of additional research and prefer the AquaBrick. It holds 3 gallons of water (26.4lbs when full) and has 2 integrated handles which makes it easier to carry. This you tube comparison is more recent than my research and details the differences nicely. The two handles are the real game changer for handling the weight of a water container. I can pretty much put it against my chest and carry it more easily that way. I also mentioned this in the other thread where water storage is discussed: best-emergency-water-storage-containers-for-your-home

 

I didn’t know about those AquaBricks before. That is cool that they are stackable too, but have much much better handles.

The AquaBrick handles look like they would be nicer to carry, but also presents the issue of cleaning the inside of the handle area might be a bit harder.