Absolutely you can include your hot water heater. It’s a great backup source that is completely potable. Just be sure you can easily access the drain outlet.

cheers!

Thank you for your comments and report from on the ground! I really appreciate the details on how much water you guys were using and the needs vs. wants contrast. Is everything now back online for you guys (in the sense of utilities etc)?

Also, any other lessons learned that you would like to share?

Now I have 30L of water stored and we use this for our drinking and cooking. We go into the countryside every weekend and I replenish the empty bottles so we are using up this non-chlorinated water in a short time. I’m not keen on chlorinated water which is why we have given up using our tap water. Because for the first time in our city’s history, the water is chlorinated. Fortunately our workplace water is from 2 separate deep artesian wells that get tested every week or every month respectively.

I estimate that we’re using probably 15L a week for the 2 of us for cooking and drinks. That would equate to 3 1/2 gallons a week for the 2 of us. The first few days we didn’t wash our plates – we just wiped them dry with tissues. I used methylated spirit based body wipes at work as well.

First off, thanks for visiting!

If i’m thinking of the same stackable cooler bottles that you’re thinking about then yes I think they would be better than the “milk jug” style of water bottles and last longer to boot. Without seeing them in person though I can only assume.

As far as other storage options, you may want to look into these 275 gallon storage totes: http://www.dawginc.com/spill-containment/ibc-tanks/intermediate-bulk-containers-ibc/schutz-container-totes-ibc-system.html. They hold a lot of water for a small area.

Also, I wouldn’t worry about the weight on your basement. A 55-gallon tank has an area of around 452 square inches at the bottom, which when divided by 470lbs of water weight only comes out to around 1 pound per square inch. Unless your basement is made out of paper you should be fine.

Hope that helps!

We currently have water in 3 packs of gallon jugs, those kind that always end up leaking which is why we keep them in a never-used basement shower basin. Like another poster, we also have many multi-packs of 16 oz. bottles.

Because we don’t drink soda and rarely buy juice, storing water in those kinds of containers is a moot point. And I fear that our 85+ year old concrete basement floor couldn’t take the 400+ concentrated pounds of a filled 55 gallon water barrel. (Oh, but I wish it could as it would store 1/2 our needed supply.)

Thanks muchly for any advice

~CoffeeHeidi