How much is ‘enough’?

[mcprepper]

Firstly, apologies if this has been discussed before but there are just so many posts on this forum to read through …
Secondly, I realise that there probably isn’t a definitive answer to this question but I’m just trying to gauge if I’m heading in the right direction with this one …
So, here goes … water - how much should I store etc?
I have currently got 4 x 25l and 20 x 5l drinkable water stored - so 200 litres.
I have 500 litres in various water butts with rain harvested water. I’ve got water purification tablets or could boil water.
There is Mr mcprepper and I in the house and we have two young adult children who come but mostly go so it would be hard to know how many people might be here in any given emergency situation.
Any thoughts / advice / additions I could consider? I’ve been considering buying a portable water filter (sawyer mini type thing) as an additional layer of prep?

[Yorkshire Andy]

Think it goes as much as you can (safely water is heavy to store on a timber floor)

3 mins without air

3 hours without shelter

3 days without water

3 weeks without food.......



Look at the sawyer squeeze it's got more flow


Also think how you'll transport water the standard 25l ibc type drums are not exactly easy to move

For the 25 litres get a drum tap makes using it easier....
Eg

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trade-Chemical ... d_source=1




Look at the facestalk classifieds for a aquaroll / water porter style caravanner wheelable drum type containers

I've a 40l one with a handle you can drag it's 40kg+ heft across a grass and stone tracked field one handed eg

https://www.jacksonsleisure.com/caravan ... r-carrier/



I got mine second hand for £20 ISH ...

We lost water last year for nearly 2 weeks and the water crews were regularly outside one door up testing the mains with a standpipe and happily filled my barrels in exchange for a tea and chocolate biscuit

[jennyjj01]

So, here goes … water - how much should I store etc?
I have currently got 4 x 25l and 20 x 5l drinkable water stored - so 200 litres.
I have 500 litres in various water butts with rain harvested water. I’ve got water purification tablets or could boil water.

The problem with domestic water is that it's so darned reliable. Shops may close, Petrol stations may close, but for 99% of us the domestic tap has delivered undisrupted water for a lifetime so far.
Even during the blitz, water was pretty much always available. During droughts and major outages, bowser or standpipes were made available. It would be a MAJOR event to take water off-line.
But as someone says, it's critical for survival. So I guess if we plan for an outage, how long do we want to survive, till we get resolution?
I guess, put it alongside our food resilience. If you store 6 months of survival food, store the means to get 6 months worth of water. But how? That's many tonnes.

I can only give my approach........

1) Hold enough bottled water for 7-14 days, JUST for drinking. Plus some paper plates.
2) Hold 1 sawyer straw filter per person
3) Hold enough purification tabs for thousands of litres. Cheap and small. Store some dioralyte and imodium, too.
4) Know how to distill.
5) Hold one of those camping water wheels for getting stream water the few hundred yards to home.
6) Hold a few tarps with which to implement water capture.

IF TSHTF, at the very first realisation, drag the three wheelie bins into the garage. Tip them out and fill with water. Only as time and water permit, give them a wash out. The jars and bottles in the grey bin get filled too.

This should see you survive long enough to dine on the carcasses of your starved neighbours and drain their central heating.

There are scenarios where that's not enough and we die, but (1) has covered 99% of events (2,3,4,5) have covered if you need to drink stream water or what's in those wheelie bins and (6) is your dogs chance.

The OP seems well set up.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Just remember Jenny most modernish central heating systems are filled with fernox or an equivalent corrosion inhibitors. which you dont want to be drinking not overly toxic but not good either

[jennyjj01]

Just remember Jenny most modernish central heating systems are filled with fernox or an equivalent corrosion inhibitors. which you dont want to be drinking not overly toxic but not good either

So, I can't just run it through my tights?

I saw the horrid gunk that came from our leaking radiator. Wouldnt be my first choice.

Seriously, stream water is a mystery to me. the kind of streams and ditches near me are pretty stinky and could contain anything.

[mcprepper]

Thanks both, there is a lot to think about there. Sounds like I’ve made a good start but more to consider:
• I’ll look at the sawyer squeeze as an alternative.
•Paper plates - great idea - will definitely get some of those (I obviously don’t have enough parties ).
• I also hadn’t given a lot of thought to transporting water so that can be next on the list.
• I’ve got loads of water purification tablets but the first lot I bought (before Brexit) are now about to go out of date so probably best not used after that (that’s probably a whole other thread on here … ).
As for the central heating system and tights …

[pseudonym]

Camelback squadpak - 25 litres with attached sawyer filter:



Carry, store and filter all in one.

[Nurseandy]

Camelback squadpak - 25 litres with attached sawyer filter:



Carry, store and filter all in one.

Nice. Liking that a lot. Is it an the shelf item or custom made? I have all the individual items so may assemble one myself.

[Nurseandy]

Whoa! Just been onto the camelback website, eye-watering price. I'll assemble one myself but excellent idea, thanks for posting and so obvious now it's been pointed out.

[pseudonym]

Whoa! Just been onto the camelback website, eye-watering price. I'll assemble one myself but excellent idea, thanks for posting and so obvious now it's been pointed out.

One on ebay for £70 ish. I got mine for £30.

I used a piece from a Source Convertube kit:

https://www.snowleader.co.uk/en/convert ... JWEALw_wcB

Scaled down to 1.5 litres:





HTH