How to store emergency water in vehicle?

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myself248@reddit

Eh, I just throw a box of Capri Sun under the passenger seat. It's in pouches so it doesn't burst when it freezes, and it's available off the shelf at every grocery so you don't have to order special lifeboat water pouches. It tastes plasticy after a while so I replace any unused portion after a season, but it's super cheap so who cares?

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scootunit@reddit

Way Too much sugar.

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ryanmercer@reddit

Happy cake-day!

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scootunit@reddit

Thx!

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myself248@reddit

I'm not putting it in my radiator.

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Boredmama-5840@reddit

Cans of water. Try Liquid Death.

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RustyPuma@reddit

This seems like it would work really well. Any reason it's not an ideal solution?

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ryanmercer@reddit

Could freeze and pop the top, could always bag them in a quality zip bag to catch any leakage.

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nanneryeeter@reddit

Could be a good case for lifeboat ration style water pouches if they are only for an emergency.

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ryanmercer@reddit

That's exactly what I intend to use when we move to the high desert next month, then double bag it in quality zip bags and throw in one of the smaller Harbor Freight Apache cases in the back of both vehicles.

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scantron3000@reddit

That's what I have in my car. I'm in Southern California and never use covered parking and the bags are totally fine. They're inside a backpack and haven't expanded, exploded, or ripped.

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

I use Glass, Stainless Steel or Titanium bottles. This way, I dont have to worry about plastics getting into my water.

But I dont have to worry much about freezing temps.

Ive read, on this sub, about people putting Stainless bottles in styrofoam boxes against freezing. But i have not tested that, myself.

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custhulard@reddit

leave some (25%?) of the container empty. I have a stainless steel water bottle that no longer rests on the bottom. It wobbles and then falls down.

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MericanCheese@reddit

So... NOT a Weeble then. ?

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CyberDonSystems@reddit

A Feeble

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

That's good advice !

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Adepta_Sororitas_KT@reddit (OP)

Super helpful! Thanks!

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snertwith2ls@reddit

a couple of steel growler thermoses?

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

Anytime !

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No_Character_5315@reddit

Just use nalgenes they are time proven durable and safe just remember to leave room for expansion if storing in freezing climates. I've had a stainless bottle burst when frozen before never a nalgene tho.

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Adorable_Dust3799@reddit

I keep a gallon jug in the car and use it to water my dog often while out, so it gets rotated pretty quickly

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Greywolfuu@reddit

Always consider its accessibility

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beached89@reddit

I would recommend stainless steel or titanium bottles. Fill them up 80% to allow for freezing expansion, and presumably you have a way to create fire for snow melting and water boiling in emergencies. Plastic or glass wouldnt be idea for the boiling part.

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This-Satisfaction-71@reddit

Exactly. This is why i chose NON insulated stainless steel growlers.

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Zpoc9@reddit

What kind of temperature swings do you get?

For me, I use Blue Can Water for a baseline store of water, and duffel bags of extra (but less durable) supplies staged in the mudroom by the garage. Whenever we have a longer trip than just errands around town, I toss in a bag before heading out.

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Adepta_Sororitas_KT@reddit (OP)

Normally -5c in Winter, and then up to 30c in the Summer

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internet93@reddit

If that’s all, then I used to just keep a small cooler in it filled with half a case of bottles. Never got crazy hot and only froze when it stayed sub zero for awhile.

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Zpoc9@reddit

Oh, that's not too bad, anything but cheap plastic bottles will generally be okay. I'm at -15C to 40C temperature swings, and Blue Can works just fine.

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Adept_Cauliflower692@reddit

I’m seeing canned liquid death for considerably less. Is there any major difference in packaging or something that warrants a 3x price increase?

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Zpoc9@reddit

That depends on how long you anticipate storing/using/rotating it. If you are using it on a regular basis, any canned water should be fine. They are not designed for more than a few years of storage at most.

There a few companies that make canned water for storage. For these, they use nitrogen flushing to displace air (a source of bacteria), and most are marketed to 30 years guaranteed fresh. Blue Can is the most popular, advertising 50 year safe storage (but I'm only banking on 30).

For me, my baseline store of water in the car is to set it and forget it, so it'll always be there. While I might be okay with constant rotation, my spouse and kids will not be as diligent in their vehicles, so I'm okay with paying extra for peace of mind and quality products. We usually have on us our own vacuum-insulated water bottle that we drink from daily, so that's the primary source of water, and the cans remain untouched until last resort.

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Adept_Cauliflower692@reddit

I’m thinking after each summer, rotating it out and watering plants or keeping it for sanitation use. 3 months of the worst possible heatwave conditions and then replacing it with bottled water the other 9 months

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Zpoc9@reddit

If you can remain diligent in rotating it, then by all means.

However, I wonder if in your situation you might be better served by just keeping the water with you. 50C can be very deadly, and you probably want to have a lot more water than generally suggested in order to survive it. Would you be better served by just having a bag of water products that you bring to the car every time you go out in the heatwave, and then bring it back home when you're done, to keep it from being destroyed in the heat? If you do that, you don't have to worry about canned vs plastic bottles as you maintain control of its environment.

Also, at that heat, maybe also carry electrolyte powder.

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HuskerYT@reddit

How do you drink frozen water?

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Zpoc9@reddit

The time I would need to drink it is if im driving around town in the frigid winter, and suddenly my car breaks down for away from home or other resources. As it takes time to get so remote, and since I drive with my car's heater set on a comfortable temperature, the cans of water also get to warm up just before I use it.

If you drive daily, this constant warming also can prevent the water from being completely frozen by morning.

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AlphaDisconnect@reddit

You sleep with it. Pocket it. Or keep it under an armpit. Or iwatani Epr-a your kleen canteen.

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a_stack_of_ice_bears@reddit

My local Walmart had Ozark Trail gallon size insulated water jugs on clearance for $13 back in March so I just got one for each of my family’s vehicles. Even at full price they’re only $30. They have met our needs so far.

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Alamohermit@reddit

I keep two 2.5 gallon, restaurant grade HDPE jugs in the back of my Jeep

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expostulation@reddit

I buy canned water. Like the size of monster energy cans. They sell them in the grocery store here.

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Street_Captain4731@reddit

I keep a six packed of wrapped gallon plastic jugs (something like this) in my trunk and I rotate them out every 6 months.

Microplastics and chemicals are a concern, but for emergency use and being rotated regularly I think it's an acceptable risk. I've switched to metal or glass containers for most everything else

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Ok-Half6395@reddit

I wouldn't recommend storing water in plastic in the summer, chemical leaching can occur very quickly, even in a day in a hot car apparently.

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Helassaid@reddit

The threat of leached microplastics in a few gallons, or even a couple of 16oz bottles, is so impossibly minuscule that it’s not worth even debunking.

You’re exposed to orders of magnitude more microplastics every day just from driving. The largest environmental contributor to microplastic exposure is car tires.

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SetNo8186@reddit

The trick is to use Tritan containers you have previously stored hot and let whatever is in them leach out already.

If its a backup emergency supply then a few gallons of extremely diluted chems are a cheap price to pay over dehydration and death - weigh the issues. The biggest one is using a container that can withstand freezing - glass will burst, stainless deform, but the appropriate containers with some room left in them for expansion will survive the abuse and be there when needed.

I'd worry more about local tap water.

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rainyfort1@reddit

For those of you storing it in stainless steel bottles, how do you maintain water sanity?

Just rotate/clean it out and refill it every few months?

I'm in Georgia, where the temps get to 110 in the car for reference

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WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit

Buy case water
Drink it
Replace

Deep Pantry applies everywhere

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Onehundredyearsold@reddit

I have a couple of these gallon steel insulated bottles. Sturdy, easy to clean, last practically forever. For commercially canned water try Proud Source available at Walmart. It’s still water not carbonated.

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Fun-Recording@reddit

Thanks for the link to the steel insulated bottles! They are exactly what I was looking for. I'm getting two of them.

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Onehundredyearsold@reddit

Glad it helped. 🙂

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DwarvenRedshirt@reddit

Light boat water packs. Otherwise I don't.

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matchstick64@reddit

I bought some in bags. They’re small, but I keep two in my FAK.

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ImaginationAnxious29@reddit

A case of Liquid Death in aluminum cans, tall boys

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roberttheiii@reddit

I use a 2.5 gallon PLASTIC mwc. If I'm drinking that I've got bigger issues than a little more plastic in the body.

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michael_1215@reddit

I have a camelbak in my get home bag, and I have a phone reminder to change the water every month, as well as a couple water bottles under the spare tire that I change out probably not often enough.

But I like the stainless steel bottle idea people are suggesting

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TacoHell402@reddit

Is your get home bag in your car? How has the camelbak handled the cold?

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michael_1215@reddit

Quite well, done it for 3 or 4 freezing winters, no bursting

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TacoHell402@reddit

Good to know. I want to do the same thing but was worried about it bursting

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iwannaddr2afi@reddit

Just throwing my answer into the mix. I only and always bring a giant steel water bottle of fresh water. I used to keep water in the car but I'm too absent minded to remember to change it out, plus I don't want to deal with freezing temps vs hot temps. It's good to have anyway. I like to hike in parks that I have to drive to, and if I get through the mug of water I am actively drinking, I have a backup. 👍🏻 plus we always want to have emergency water for the dog. There's no one right way to do this, and my way probably isn't right for most, but it works for me.

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PrepperBoi@reddit

I put plastic bottles inside of a small empty cooler and put the cooler behind my seat with a shemagh over it to block some sun. Truck is also tinted

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Po-Tay-Toz@reddit

I think it would be better to keep a life straw in your glove box or something similar.

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Paranormal_Lemon@reddit

I use 1 liter plastic water bottles, filled 90% for winter. I add a few drops of bleach, and clean and refill every 3 months or so.

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heybucket459@reddit

The best way honestly is to figure out and schedule a rotation of what you have in vehicle. I work in utilities and unless you’re investing in a bazillion of those water pouches that come in “capri sun” packages. Overall just safer to rotate bottle water or replenish tap water in a schedule

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scootunit@reddit

I am in the habit of bringing lots of freshwater every trip. It will be the time I don't that I get trapped of course.

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flortny@reddit

I have a one gallon one, but this is better, insulated stainless, well worth the cost.

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/stanley-2-gallon-adventure-fast-flow-water-jug-23staustnly2gfstfrec/23staustnly2gfstfrec

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Worldly-Ad-7156@reddit

We found some survival water bags, they are sealed and have a 10 year life. Only about two cups each, but they are small and flexible so they are stored next to spare tire.

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TheRealBunkerJohn@reddit

Lifeboat rations (pouched water) are made for this purpose- and can be frozen/thawed repeatedly.

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Thoth-long-bill@reddit

RTIC gallon jugs

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Venetian_chachi@reddit

If you live anywhere that has temps that go below freezing, plastic bottles or tetra boxes are your only options.

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JRHLowdown3@reddit

Usually keep a couple of gallons of distilled in the truck, they get rotated weekly when I'm doing combatives.

Outside of that, a couple of 1 qt military canteens with NBC tops for a really bad BO.

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oldtimehawkey@reddit

If you’re storing in winter, use plastic.

Summer, use steel or titanium.

You should be rotating supplies, so in spring, take the water bottles into the house and start drinking them. Put the steel/titanium containers in the car. Fall, take in the steel/titanium and put new plastic water bottles in your car.

If you’re storing things in your vehicle, figure out a way to tie the stuff down. Put it in a plastic tote and ratchet strap it down in the trunk. If you get into an accident, the stuff will fly all over and you won’t be able to find it. If it’s in the cab of your vehicle, it will become a projectile intent on killing you.

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Adepta_Sororitas_KT@reddit (OP)

Really helpful! 🙏🏻 Thank you

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Reduntu@reddit

Double walled insulated stainless steel thermos. The insulation helps protect it from temperature fluctuations.

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ParallelPlayArts@reddit

I use emergency water rations to keep in my car. They store longer than plastic. I don't know how they hold up in freezing weather because I don't get that in my location.

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ominouslights427@reddit

I used a stainless steel bottle to hold some water, summer temps, and went to go drink it one day and some nasty water was in it. Had to throw up. Make sure you look inside it before you drink and make sure it's super clean when you store it.

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Eredani@reddit

Deer Park Spring Water in aluminum bottles.

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reincarnateme@reddit

I use a small cooler.

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Ok-Half6395@reddit

I would avoid anything plastic in the summer, I've read that even a day in the heat of a car can cause chemical leaching. So yes, stainless steel but disinfect the bottles first. You can also get cans of water but they're expensive where I am.

My bug out water prep instead involves big water bottles in a closet by the front door with the rest of our bug out gear. Depending on the situation, I have the bag as a priority, then the water and then the bag of food. I also have collapsible sports water bottles in the car and a funnel to decant from the larger bottles to the smaller ones. I also have water purification tabs in my car.

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maimauw867@reddit

Glass/steel, both good, rotation is the solution and not difficult with storage in a car.

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77grOTM@reddit

klean kanteens

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AlphaDisconnect@reddit

Watch this. Choose any bottle. Make a solution of concentrated iodine crystals and water. Let it sit for an hour. Bout 20 drops per liter. More if it is cold or more cloudy water. I reccomend an erlenmeyer flask, a Pelican case, a stopper, drop of food safe silicone grease, and a tie down for the stopper (preferably metal). Now you can make water that won't go bad. And you can purify water from any reasonable source.

Don't know who needs to hear this. Don't drink from the bottle. Pour it in a cup.

Don't use for more than 3 months. Don't use if pregnant.

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UpstairsSufficient82@reddit

A few cases of bottled water would work fine. Nowadays the water bottles can expand when water freezes. I tested last winter, the bottle was almost the same when water melted.