I found a wonderful site with water containers. It is found at My husband and I have about decided to get the 200 gallon water bags that are made out of food grade vinyl. They are at an incredibly price (I think!) and am wondering if any of you have heard of them, have them, or tried them out. I just want to get a little feedback about pros and cons before I spend $500! They are selling for $89 each and that includes all shipping, handling, and taxes.

I think they are a good idea because they are collapsable and when they are empty, you don't have a big container taking up space. But maybe I'm not seeing the con side. Look forward to any comments!

-- Dawn (Dawn@4Him.com), October 07, 1998

Answers

The 5 gallon bags I have used for camping give the water a bit of a taste after a day or two. 200 gallon - I'd give the possibility of a leak some serious consideration - 200 gallons of water can do a lot of damage in the wrong place. Also, don't forget that water weighs about 7 lbs to the gallon - you are talking about a lot of weight on a small area - don't store several upstairs is what I mean. Finally, you could get by much cheaper by buying several water bed mattresses and getting a good filter.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), October 07, 1998.

Food grade water beds, Greg???

What's the site, Dawn?

It sounds like a good idea to me. I think Greg's right that you have to be careful WHERE you store the water, but if you're thinking basement or crawl space, these work great.

-- rocky (rknolls@hotmail.com), October 08, 1998.

Thanks, guys. I had thought I put on the address, but it didn't show up. Maybe I have to hit a special key or something? I found it at this site: www.watertanks.com If we bought them they would be going in a basement. Hopefully, unfinished. We are renting a house now and the owners are selling it. We decided not to buy for obvious reasons, so are going to have to find another house to rent after the first of the year. We are definitely going to have a basement - which almost every newer house has here - and there are always plenty up for rent because of the military bases.

Good thoughts on leaks and taste. I am going to be sure and ask them about that when I call! I would imagine they would have to be pretty durable! If my site doesn't show up again someone is going to have to tell me how to type it on!! I am definitely not computer literate!! (Although, I'm starting to really understand COBOL!!! ;o) Any other thoughts out there?

-- Dawn (Dawn@4Him.com), October 08, 1998.

I meant I would probably want to filter stored water anyhow, so why not just buy waterbed mattresses and use a filter that removes vinyl chloride taste and smell? If it comes out cheaper, why not? And BTW, just who is Greg?

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), October 08, 1998.

I bought some from them a couple of months ago. After looking around I decided it was the cheapest way to store water. They are good people and answered all my questions. One of the owners lives in a condo(at present) and has one under his bed.

Mike Lang

-- Mike Lang (webflier@erols.com), October 08, 1998.

The concept of a 200-gallon waterbag sounds good, Dawn, and the basement is certainly the best place for one or more. I don't know where you live, but you should probably worry about your basement staying above freezing post-y2k if you're in the Northern Tier of states. Depends on construction, of course, but I've seen many basements here in Maine where the pipes freeze if the power -- and thus the furnace -- go off. A 200-gallon ice cube could be awkward.

-- J.D. Clark (yankeejdc@aol.com), October 08, 1998.

Unless the missing Greg is under the "waterbag"...

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), October 08, 1998.