for up to 20 days.
If your residence has space, you might want to
consider storing drinking water in one or more
food-quality 55-gallon (208 liter) barrels. These
barrels measure about 35" (88.9cm) high and 23"
(58.4cm) in diameter. They weigh around 22lbs
(10kg) when empty.
Figure
A
shows a non-food quality 55gal
barrel I plan to use to drip irrigate my garden.
Note the spigot I installed near the bottom. For
drinking water, I recently bought two new food
quality barrels from a friend for $60 each. One
of the least expensive online sources, BayTec,
charges about $70.
If you’d like to store drinking water in a barrel,
be sure you have an appropriate place to store
and access it. A 55gal barrel will hold 460–470lbs
(209–213kg) of water, so select a location that can
support that much weight! Also, be sure a clean
water outlet is accessible for filling the barrel.
You will need to determine how to remove
water from the barrel when it’s needed. Simple
siphon pumps are available, or you can install a
spigot near the bottom of the barrel (see Step 3
below to decide where to install it).
Drinking water barrels have sealed lids with
two 3" (7.6cm) access ports (bung holes). Two
kinds of spigots are available for these barrels.
One has a nut that must be installed inside
the barrel. The other is installed by dropping
a bulkhead fitting into the barrel through an
open bung hole; the rest is installed outside.
The second kind seemed more leak proof, so I
selected a Rainpal RBS022 rain barrel spigot.
HOW TO INSTALL A SPIGOT
1. Use a bung wrench (about $10) to open one of
the bung holes. Or twist it open with the open
ends of a pair of water pump pliers.
2. While it may not be necessary, you may want
to sanitize your new barrel. Pour a gallon or
so (3 or 4 liters) of water with a few ounces
(around 0.06 liter) of chlorine bleach into the
barrel through one of the bung holes. Swirl
the water around in the barrel and then pour it
out through the open bung hole.
3. Decide where the water barrel will be placed
when full. If the barrel will be stored on a floor,
the spigot hole should be drilled high enough
to allow easy access to the spigot using a
pitcher. If the barrel will be installed on a
raised surface, the spigot hole can be closer to
the bottom of the barrel.
Drill a 1¼" (64mm) access hole for the
spigot near the bottom of the barrel, in line
with one of the bung holes; I selected the hole
closest to the gallon markings on the side of
the barrel.
The boring bit I initially tried did not work
FORREST M. MIMS III is an
amateur scientist and Rolex
Award winner, was named by
Discover magazine as one of the
“50 Best Brains in Science.” He
has measured sunlight and the
atmosphere since 1988. forrestmims.org
95
make.co
TIME REQUIRED:
1–2 Hours
DIFFICULTY:
Easy
COST:
$90–$150
MATERIALS
» Drinking water storage barrel, 55gal
I used BayTec Containers WB55NEW,
bayteccontainers.com
» Rain barrel spigot, lead-free brass Rainpal
RBS022 or similar, Amazon B00NX697C0
» Raised platform may be required; see text
TOOLS
» Drill
» Hole saw bit, 1¼"
» Safety glasses
» Tongue-and-groove pliers aka water
pump pliers, Channellocks, etc.
» Bung wrench (optional)
B
M82_094-97_AmSci_F1.indd 95M82_094-97_AmSci_F1.indd 95 7/12/22 11:12 AM7/12/22 11:12 AM
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