All about water barrels

A properly organized summer cottage can be a great place to take a break from the bustle of the city in your free time, engage in semi-amateur agriculture, or even spend the whole summer there. Moving away from civilization is a widespread and rather popular type of recreation, but you need to understand that by deciding on such a step, you at the same time refuse many benefits - for example, regular water supply. If in your summer cottage village life-giving moisture is supplied only at certain hours or simply "like" to be turned off according to an unpredictable schedule, you will not do without a special barrel for storing liquid for all occasions.

Barrels for water should not be perceived as something of the same type - they all differ in a wide variety, allowing them to adapt to the needs and requirements of each potential buyer. Below we will briefly go through the impressive assortment, giving the reader at least a general idea of ​​the classification, but let's say right away that usually consumers are not interested in all of the options listed below. Most of the local manufacturers, whose containers are predictably cheaper, are guided only by the most common types of goods, from which, however, you also need to be able to choose.

First of all, there is no standard regarding the material from which such vessels are made. The choice of containers for the raw materials from which they are made depends greatly on what qualities are fundamental to you.

Common to all metal barrels are such advantages as durability and significant strength, but more detailed characteristics already depend on what kind of metal was used in the manufacturing process.

If galvanized steel was used, then the properties of the dish will be almost the same, but at a more affordable price it is more susceptible to corrosion and has a shorter service life. Barrels made of carbon steel are both stronger and cheaper than their competitors, but they rust very easily and require painting with powder dye, although even it does not particularly save.

Usually these are polyethylene or PVC barrels. Valued for the widest range of volume production - there are even handheld models that are easy to carry thanks to the attached handles. Such a container has a relatively soft bottom, therefore it is very stable, moreover, it is strong enough, lightweight and does not rust at all, just as it is not afraid of the effects of atmospheric phenomena.

Such products are also relatively inexpensive, but plastic containers have a fat minus: theoretically, plastic microparticles can enter the human body together with water, leading to unpredictable health consequences. In view of this feature, it is better to store the tank anywhere, just not in the sun, because heating only accelerates undesirable processes.

Today, barrels of this type are practically out of use - most manufacturers do not produce them. The reasons are obvious: a wooden barrel will not last long under the open sky, and even more so it should not be buried in the ground.

The material rots under the influence of moisture and is interesting to numerous pests, while it is not really possible to impregnate it with protective compounds, otherwise the water inside will no longer be considered drinking. In fact, the only clear advantage of such a container is perhaps its 100% environmental friendliness.

Rubber tanks are also called "pillow" in another way, in most cases they are characterized by an open top like an untied bag. It is clear that this method of storing moisture does not allow us to talk about any sanitary standards, because this is a container purely for household needs - primarily for watering the garden. The main advantage of such a mini-reservoir is its impressive capacity (up to several tens of tons) at a relatively low cost.

Already from the above, it could be concluded that containers for storing water in large volumes are quite different. However, it can be classified according to an even larger number of different parameters, which we will now consider in more detail.

The concept of a summer cottage for water is very extensible - too much depends on how many people will use the tank, how exactly, for how long. For example, the smallest plastic specimens are even equipped with carrying handles, which means they can be lifted by one person. Sometimes no more than one bucket of liquid is placed in such a vessel, which makes the container more likely to be a canister than a barrel. It is clear that such a container is a supply only for drinking and cooking, and literally for one or two people and only in an "emergency" format, when the water disappeared for a short time and for a completely unforeseen reason.

Most summer residents prefer to focus on large volumes - within 500 or 1000 liters. Only at first glance, this is a lot - keep in mind that with completely typical rural interruptions in the supply of water, your beds can completely burn out in the sun, and you will lose the harvest, over which you have been working for a whole year. Outside the city, water may be absent even for more than a day in a row, and after all, such a volume allows, without thinking about supplies, to drink, wash, wash and water.

Huge rubber "cushions" can hold 50 thousand liters of water, but this is, of course, an industrial scale. Such containers are needed not so much by the ordinary homeowner as by the farmer, whose garden is far from being limited to a backyard plot. Please note that with huge reserves of water, due to the specifics of its storage, it will be technical - for drinking and other needs, where the moisture must be clean, you will have to start a separate container.

First you need to decide on the shape - it can be round, elliptical, square and more complex. Wherein most barrels are produced in frame, that is, they retain their own shape even when empty, which cannot be said about rubber - they are quite soft, and without water pressure expanding from the inside, they will simply settle.

Nevertheless, it would be difficult to transport a large-volume structure over considerable distances, therefore, collapsible containers are produced, which during the delivery process can take up much less space. If for some reason the owner foresees that the container will have to be transported by himself in his own car, you should look for a model that, despite the already not too large volume, could still be disassembled.

By the way, some of the barrels were initially produced on wheels, thanks to which they turn into trailers, similar to those from which they still sell cold kvass in the summer. Although the presence of wheels will undoubtedly affect the cost for the worse, this is an additional bonus for the owner, because he can replenish water supplies "on the side", having driven in the direction where the water supply did not stop. Again, if only industrial water is required, you can even draw it from an open reservoir.

It is not very convenient to draw water from some vessels - for this you have to dip a bucket inside, on the surface of which there may be dirt or infection. Realizing this problem, some manufacturers produce barrels immediately with a tap - through it you can conveniently draw moisture into dishes of any volume, it can also be connected to a pump. Such a device has practically no effect on the cost of equipment, but it greatly simplifies operation.

Even such a parameter as the color of the container is of no small importance for the correct choice. For example, it's no secret that many garden plants should not be watered with cold water - the moisture should be slightly warm, otherwise the culture may get sick. From this point of view, a metal black barrel that attracts the sun's rays and heats up faster will be more practical. It is also appropriate for storing water intended for bathing in the shower, especially if there is nothing like a boiler in a country house.

In general, black barrels are not made of plastic - simply because heating is undesirable for this material in principle. Theoretically, of course, such a container can be found, but then it will have to be hidden under the ground without fail, otherwise the liquid inside may acquire a certain amount of toxicity. At the same time, manufacturers produce plastic containers that are blue on the outside and white on the inside - such a container seems to indicate that it is environmentally friendly, made of reliable plastic that will not mix with water.

Despite the fact that only water will be stored in all considered barrels, one of the most important parameters of choice will be what we collect moisture for. Storage containers can affect the quality of the liquid that has settled during storage, therefore, we will consider how to choose such a product for our own needs.

• For fresh drinking water. The main criterion for choosing a vessel in this case is the ultimate purity of the liquid, the absence of any impurities and foreign tastes in it. Accordingly, containers made of stainless steel or plastic seem to be the best solutions. The first option is more environmentally friendly, the second has less weight, which allows you to rearrange the vessel if necessary.

• For shower. In this case, the taste of water is no longer so fundamental - if only it does not smell. The same plastic, stainless steel or galvanized steel are well suited as a material of manufacture. Please note that metal containers, especially black ones, on a summer day will allow the liquid inside to heat up without any water heaters, and you do not have to wash in cold water. Another thing is that barrels with built-in heating elements have already appeared on the market - in fact, this is a kind of boiler that allows you to swim comfortably even on a cloudy or cool day. If we consider other criteria, besides the temperature of the liquid, the plastic container will be more practical - due to its low weight, it is easier to lift it to a great height, creating a pressure, and it will put less pressure on the supports for its installation.

• For watering. Here the requirements for the quality of the liquid are even lower - in principle, a barrel made of any of the materials described above is suitable for collecting moisture. You will not be limited in your choice by anything at all, if you decide in advance on a stable and unchanging place for such a container, without planning to move it anywhere. In such a situation, the container can also be used for drainage - let precipitation from the entire site flow to it.However, even in this situation, plastic may be preferable due to its low cost.

• For a bath. A huge problem of containers used in bath rooms is that they are exposed not only from the inside, but also from the outside, to high humidity and high temperature. Under the influence of such factors, even the best metal barrel could not serve for a long time, therefore the option from high-quality plastic looks uncontested. Among other things, metal also has a higher thermal conductivity than plastic, which means that it would be very easy to burn yourself against steel in a hot atmosphere.

Most types of containers for storing moisture are durable, but it largely depends on how correct the operation will be. For example, many owners are wondering what to do if holes appear - how to close them up so that the barrel is as good as new. The answer is no, because the patch, even the best and highest quality one, is already a seam, which will forever become the weak point of the reservoir and will flow first. Craftsmen sometimes offer ways to repair a product from a particular material, but if you need the highest reliability, then it is better to replace the container with a new one.

Naturally, the smartest way to avoid problems is to take preventive measures. In plastic and most steel barrels, holes on their own will not appear very soon, unless you beat the vessel, and only cheap carbon steel containers are prone to rust, which significantly accelerates its wear. If you want to extend the life of the property, you need to monitor the layer of powder paint, since it is its integrity that protects the base material. Do not be lazy to regularly inspect the barrel and restore the protective layer at the first signs of destruction - the faster you react, the higher the chances that irreversible changes will not happen to the metal.

It also happens that mud appears in the water of the container. The reason is obvious: the moisture from the container is used infrequently, which is why it stagnates, and if the tank is also heated in warm sunlight, an ideal atmosphere is created for the reproduction of algae. The problem is solved in a complex way, by eliminating all the above reasons: the rate of liquid renewal increases, the container is transferred to a cooler place, and if it was also open, a lid is bought for it, although you can just cover it with a sheet of metal. If the container is already green inside, it should be thoroughly washed, otherwise the problem will not be solved. At the same time, blooming water is suitable for irrigation, and algae even serve as fertilizer for the garden, but they can also contaminate pump filters.