When I wrote yesterday about the water-storage cube we hauled back from Marshall, I guess I didn’t explain exactly what the thing is. It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t know myself. My apologies.
The acronym “IBC” stands for “Intermediate Bulk Container.” An “IBC tote” is, in simple terms, a large poly tank surrounded by a protective steel cage and sitting on an integrated pallet. It can be handled with forklifts, pallet jacks and similar equipment.
IBCs are used commercially to move large volumes of liquids (and sometimes powdered or granulated material). Some of those products may be caustic or toxic, or they may be food ingredients.
Configuration is pretty much standard — a capped six-inch port on top (for filling), and a valve at the base of one side (for emptying). The latter may have either coarse or fine threads.
The most common IBC holds 275 gallons. Some prefer the taller 330-gallon totes, and there’s also a 135-gallon size.
When us regular folk go looking for an IBC (whether new or used) to hold our fresh water, the tank has to be “food grade” polyethylene (HDPE). Because chemicals can leach into the plastic, it can’t ever have contained anything toxic.
Often there’s no way to know for sure. That said, it’s pretty easy to tell, and it helps to find an experienced seller who moves a lot of them.
That’s what we did.
The 275-gallon IBC tote we bought is food-grade and, according to my sniffer, it likely held some sort of cooking oil. There were spots of residue on the inside of the tank. The whole thing needed serious cleaning.
This morning, I opened the drain valve and pressure-washed the tote with plain water, beginning with the exterior surfaces. I then sprayed the interior with Simple Green — effective but toxic, requiring thorough rinsing. I let the Simple Green solution sit for an hour, rinsed it with the pressure washer, applied it again, then rinsed the hell out of it.
Now I’ll let it sit (open) in the Ozarkansas sun for a couple of days to dry completely.
I put two hours’ work into it today. I’d have to say that eliminated 75% of the odor, 90% of the spots (what remains is probably permanent staining) and 100% of residue and grime.
Once it’s dry, I’ll hit it with the pressure washer (plain water) one more time, then sanitize it a time or two with a chlorine-bleach solution (just like we’ve done with our RVs’ fresh-water tanks).
Making this IBC tote ready for service will require three more items.
The first is a vented top cap, to prevent the tank from collapsing on itself when it drains. Second, we’ll add an adapter to the drain valve, allowing us to connect a standard garden hose.
And third, we’ll drape a form-fitting cover over the entire affair to prevent UV rays from reaching the tank. Without that, algae will form in our fresh water. (Some folks simply paint the whole tote, which accomplishes the same thing and would be cheaper.)
So where does all that put us cost-wise?
The price of the IBC tote itself was $95, and we spent about $12 in gas to pick it up and bring it Home. The vented cap cost $15, the hose adapter $18, and the cover $27.
Figure about $10 worth of Simple Green and bleach.
That comes to $177.
Worth it? I’ll get to that later.
Other expenditures to consider would include a pressure washer (absolutely essential to DIY, and the cheap $80 unit from Harbor Freight works just fine); a hose made for potable water (though we don’t expect to be drinking straight from the tank, we’ll use our 25-foot RV hose, $30); and an in-line RV-type filter ($12). Those items can serve multiple tanks, of course.
I also mentioned yesterday that we intend to pick up a second 275-gallon IBC tote. That’d allow us to fetch fresh water elsewhere (like Gray Spring), then bring it back to The Mountain and transfer it into an IBC sited permanently on the homestead.
That doesn’t, however, mean that we’d be able to have 550 gallons of imported fresh water. (The reason should be obvious.) Thing is, we couldn’t even fetch 275 gallons at a time. Here’s why.
“A pint’s a pound the world around,” goes the old saying. So if a gallon of water weighs about eight pounds, a full 275-gallon tank (plus the weight of the IBC) would tip the scales at 2,335 pounds.
The rated payload capacity of my Silver Silverado 1500 is roughly 1,800 pounds. Subtracting 200 pounds for a full in-bed tool box and another 135 for the weight (empty) of the IBC leaves room for 1,465 pounds of liquid payload.
That’s 183 gallons of water, not 275.
Now could the truck carry a full 275 gallons? Probably. I’d do it if I had to — but only if I had to.
I’d rather make two 180-gallon trips, if I could. Those 360 gallons would fill our stationary IBC tote to the brim, plus one 55-gallon drum. The remaining 30 gallons would go into the other drum.
We’re not there yet, but these are the things I think about.
Okay, now I’ll come back to the value proposition — is having the ability to store 275 gallons of fresh water worth the $177 we paid?
It is to us. You have to answer that question for yourself.
While you’re at it, ask yourself this — what value do you place on preparedness?
What’s the price of independence?
Now, what about the small blue barrels we picked up along with the IBC?
They’re blow-molded from heavy-duty HDPE, really stout, with a removable lid that incorporates a thick rubber seal. That lid is held in place by a lever-lock steel band.
Each barrel features a pair of opposing handles. Capacity is 16 gallons, and they can be stacked.
They’re meant for dry solids, not liquids. And for what it’s worth, they carry a UN hazmat rating.
I washed them out today, with plain water, not that they really needed it. According to the materials labels (which I removed), they’d previously contained a chlorine-based water-purification compound. There was no residue left behind and virtually no odor.
Essentially, they’re brand-new, having been used only once. We paid $25 apiece.
Today I looked up what they go for new and unused — $82 to $125 each, plus shipping (which is expensive, as you can imagine).
The old fella who sold ’em to us said that some of the locals use these sturdy barrels to bury caches of arms and supplies. I can definitely see that.
I haven’t yet decided what we’ll do with ours. (I have some ideas.) They’re simply the kind of rugged container that’s good to have around.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB