Water Storage System

A while back I built a three barrel rack for water storage. It had to be compact so as not to take up too much space in my garage.
Here is what I did:

 

Not bad! now, all those turnouts have right hand threads, so the hoses must have been installed after the plugs. How did you attach them, and what prevents leakage, as the pressure rises with each barrel in height? What type of fittings did you use?

 

0.43 psi per foot of elevation difference.

 

Just did the spring check of my 1100 gal water storage tank.. The tank is located up the mountain from the cabin and is berried next to the well.. Need to check it every so often for dead critters that may have found their way in.. Found out that they do not sweetan the water so much... Nothing was in there so bleach...

 

Good points ghrit, I fill it from the bottom up so there is no need to remove any caps. The valve at the top is a vent I open when filling.
The stand is exactly high enough to place a 5 gallon jug or bucket under the tap.
I have two other barrels, and I'm getting a third so I can make a second rack.

 

"Will you manifold the two racks at the bottom?"
Ah! I hadn't thought of it, but I like it.

 

Hmmm.... these two videos show methods that are ok but certainly not what I'd do. If prepping for disasters and SHTF it would seem wise to include events that could affect your stored water and prepare for those situations as well.

So, consider the 6 year old playing in the basement and opens the valve on the bottom barrel while mom is upstairs for an hour. You just lost all your water from all three barrels and soaked the floor. Consider an earth quake that hits and the rack falls over and while the barrels themselves may survive the impact on the floor, the inertia of the falling and rolling barrels would likely rip the hoses loose. All three will probably loose much of their water, half or likely even more. Or a family member who just doesn't appreciate how much water they are using/wasting drains all three barrels with no check or interruption in their consumption.

I think you generally want the ability to close or valve-off any vents and both bung holes. If I used vents, I would never put the vents on the bottom of the barrels as in the video; you compromise the ability to stand them back up vertically to transport the water elsewhere, fix things, move the racks, etc.

So, what might be other ways to handle this?
1. Consider just standing or racking them vertically and put the bung caps back in sealing the water (now you don't even need worry about the bung cap leaking). When needed, insert a special bung cap with a small vent and siphon tube that reaches the bottom of the barrel both inside and outside and install a valve on the end of the outside tube. Get the siphon going and then you just open and close a valve to consume water the same as if the barrel was horizontal with a bung valve and hoses. You could rack or stack multiple barrels up so that bung holes were still available on the lower barrels as needed.
2. If you like horizontal barrels, put a valve in each lower bung and either a. don't fill the barrel igher that the top bung hole and skip the vent (vent with the upper bung) or b. put a small vent like in the video but with a small valve or plug and put it on the end with the bungs and not the opposite bottom end.

If going to the trouble to store this much water, it seems prudent that one needs to protect it better than these two videos suggest. But maybe that is just me, YMMV.

Have fun.
AT

 

These type of barrels will NOT survive impact, of that I am quite sure. I use these to transport water to my hunting property a couple times a year. (_to clean out and refresh the man made watering holes).
ANY sideways movement while they are full, and the bottoms start leaking.
As to falling over, the video DID stress the racking could be secured to a wall to prevent that.
I used three such barrels for rainwater collection in California. By adding a "U" shaped 3/4" copper tube from one barrel to the next, I was able to fill three, then self syphon to water my plants when the barrels got full. It was passive, and run through hoses, so I didn't have to lift a hand, once it was set up.

 

@Brokor, I could build a motorized potter's wheel, make the bowl , make the kiln to fire, and automate all of it to start and stop by my body heat. I just don't have a reason good enough to do it. (or the money) salvaged parts would work fine, but you would be waiting a while for that cereal.......

 

That's the least COMPLEX answer I've seen from you in years!