This week I procured some of the larger pieces for my housebus: the water holding tanks! I’ve had it in mind to use 55 gallon plastic drums for this since pretty early on in the project for a number of reasons. Years ago, I’d used one of these ubiquitous blue barrels for rainwater collection in our garden, and I found it surprisingly easy to work with. The plastic cuts easily with a simple jigsaw and drill, and metal fittings can be threaded directly into the thick walls of the drum with no additional fittings or sealants. The drums are fairly easy to source and are often food-safe.

Now, I know that food-grade and food-safe aren’t the same thing, and for potable water it must be food-safe. The plastic these barrels are made of is considered food-grade, which only means it is suitable for use with food products – it won’t by itself contaminate the food. However, if the barrel has at any point been used for anything other than a food product, it is no longer food-safe. So, something to keep an eye on.

Normally, a new RV water tank would run between $300 and $650 for 100 gallons of water storage. I knew this wouldn’t work with my budget, but I knew the barrels could be had for much less, even if they’d require more plumbing to daisy-chain a couple together.

For the last year or so as I’ve been gathering pieces for the housebus I’ve kept an eye out for these barrels, though lately it had slipped off my radar as I shifted focus to more immediate needs. On a whim, though, I happened to take another look over the weekend, and was surprised to notice that one of the ads I’d been keeping an eye on offering food-safe barrels for only $10 each had temporarily dropped the price to a paltry $7 each! This dropped my total price from $40 to an easily-managed $28, and would provide me both 110 gallons of fresh water storage AND 110 gallons of grey-water storage! Thankfully, these barrels held canola oil (the same seller was also still offering soy sauce and rice vinegar barrels at the regular $10 price), so I knew they’d be fine for drinking water. All I have to do is wash them out with a little dish soap and give them a good rinse.

So yeah, I made the call, borrowed a truck, and went and picked up my new/used barrels.

Cost: $28

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I ALSO managed this week to receive some free RV dump hose, drain connector, and a reverse flush valve! Now I need to research the best way to connect this dump valve to my grey tank, figure out what kind of fitting I’ll need, and whether I can use the existing plug holes or if I’ll need to drill out a new hole for this. But hey, I’m pretty sure this deal saved me about $80!

Cost: $0