We need a 55 gallon drum for our gravity feed water system. Who offers the least expensive, best quaility drums?

-- Kathy (redfernfarm@lisco.com), October 13, 1999

Answers

If you dont mind using used drums, try contacting your closest coke or pepsi bottling plant. They have 55 or 60 gal drums in which the drink syrupy is shipped. These drums are heavy white plastic and are easily cleaned out with water from a garden hose with a spray nozzle. You may have to add some bleach to kill the coke flavor. I used these drums for both water and fuel storage. Try to keep them out of direct sun light. I paid $12.00 / drum about 2 months ago in the south MS area.

-- jeff (sandavid@prodigy.net), October 13, 1999.

Kathy. I have had great luck with United States Plastic Corp. 1 800 810 4857. They ship promptly. http://www.usplastic.com/y2kbatls.htm Ihope this helps.

-- mwerks3 (mwerks3@yahoo.com), October 13, 1999.

I got 2 FREE used metal drums from American Fruit Company (makers of White House brand apple products) in Winchester, Virginia. They also sell plastic drums cheaply. Three dollars each, I think.

-- walt (longyear@shentel.net), October 13, 1999.

Kathy,

I got the following information off the dc-y2k-WRP mailing list a few months ago. I haven't checked it out personally so I don't know if it is true:

I have stockpiled all I need. Went to the local (if you live in a city) dialysis center and bought their barrels (40 at $8.00 each). They have an electrolyte solution that arrives in big blue food-grade 55-gallon barrels, gets used rapidly and leaves behind only some harmless salts. The salts are (surprise!) water-soluble and will clean out easily. If you are too lazy/busy to clean the barrels... well, the solution is not only NOT harmful to the human body if ingested but could actually be thought of as a form of "gator-aid." BTW, I have 40 barrels because I live in a desert.
-Bill

Good luck,

-- Jim Morris (prism@bevcomm.net), October 13, 1999.

Kathy: If you want barrels and can't find them,check out the possible recycling of used water heaters. Clean them out and you have 40-50 gallons of water, you could set them up in series and attach them to your water system, so you fill 5 water tanks at the same time, If you need water just drain some out from the bottom drain... Furie...

-- Furie (furieart@dnet.net), October 13, 1999.

Kathy, I got my drums from Pepsi too. They didn't charge me anything. They have 28 and 55 gallon. You should expect to pay a few bucks. I just got lucky, I guess.

-- (rcarver@inacom.com), October 13, 1999.

Hi, I was finishing a job I have been putting off, and read about the water storage in 55 gallon druns, and the idea hit me. (I was cleaning the freezer out, the Box type.) Nothing in the freezer, it is all clean, why not put water in it. Anyone think that it would be too much weight on the sides to hurt it? Maybe only fill it half full of water, it has a plug in the bottom because it is an older chest type freezer. All that great space. Just a thought

Beth

-- Beth (Craig@icu2.net), October 14, 1999.