Water Storage in the Car in Winter??? What to do?

[610Alpha]

Hi all,

I have been running over this issue in my mind and I am not coming up with a solution so I thought I would ask all of you.

How do you store your water in your vehicle BoB during winter without it freezing and causing a mess and without taking your vehicle BoB inside every night or into work with you?


Thanks,
elittle

[altermoor]

Dang, I was so pleased with myself when I assembled two pretty awesome car emergency kits for my wife and me...and now something as basic and obvious as this comes up. I don't know that there's a way around this, really. (I suppose, as long as the containers aren't too full up and have some room for expansion, it might not be a complete deal-breaker.)

[Gordon]

We don't get a lot of cold weather here in SE GA, but we do have some nights that get below freezing. I have my water in one of the 2 quart GI bladder canteens. I fill it up and then sqeeze a few cups out. While still holding the canteen, I screw on the cap. This leaves room for expansion if the canteen freezes up. Never had any problems and it has been in the trunk for several years. (I do change the water regularly.)

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I have found that bottled water does not seem to explode from freezing as much. I actually carry it in the truckbed. It will freeze however as soon as it is opened. I carry a bottle into work with me and back to the truck as my starter. Extreme weather on both ends is a hard fix.

[610Alpha]

Thanks everyone. I'll try the bottled water. I had thought of pouring water out of the containers but was unsure of how much and/or if it would even matter.

I'll reply back this winter on what my experiment reveals.

[eeyore]

Might be worth putting the bottle in a gallon ziploc (besides the Ziploc being handy and useful) that way if the bottle split or exploded, the bag should contain the water.

In WV i have had bottled water in my shed over the winter and while other items have frozen and broken the water bottles have not.
WV does not have the extremely cold winters you have but they are close.

[FM18]

I have had pretty good luck with Camelbak 2 and 3 liter bladders holding up well with weather extremes. I have only had one on/off valve leak once from the freezing and thawing here in northern VA were we see temps down in the teens in the winter and this summer easily over 100. I also keep a 2.5 gallon specter plastic water container in both my personal truck and work truck filled 3/4 full in the winter and no issues with those at all. Yes, they do freeze solid but they do not break or explode. I have also had good luck with the bottle water in the 16 oz bottles holding up just fine too. I have also had no issues with the little 4 oz Datrex emergency drinking water packets. They hold up just fine too.

[610Alpha]

This is great news!! Thanks to all of you for posting, this community is very helpful!!

[crossbow]

forget the water in the winter, store a couple qts of JD.

[EX121]

Living in the PNW I have just got in the habit of taking water with me in the winter everyday, so I have it available for immediate use. Even if it doesn't burst upon freezing, you would need some method of thawing. I have practiced leaving a small amount of my water in a metal water bottle then heating it over my Esbit stove. I have also left a small amount of water in the container and then packed it with snow and used my body heat to melt it, by placing it between layers of my clothing.

[Klayton]

You will need to use plastic, NOT a metal water container. Fill it only 3/4 full, and let it freeze. No biggy. In a survival situation, you will need to melt the ice. But be careful where you store it. As an 8 pound jug of ice tends to rip through the back seat of a car and smash everything in its path, including human skulls, if the car goes instantly from 30mph to zero. Make sure you secure that frozen water supply.

(edited: forgot an important part)

I do NOT recommend letting the water freeze and unfreeze in multiple cycles (bringing it inside at night). The repeated pressue will eventually damage your water bottle, and with Murphy around, it will happen on the freeze cycle without you noticing it. Then BAM you need your emergency stock, set it up for thawing and all of a sudden you see your water dripping out the hairline fracture. And if Murphy hits you as hard as he hits me, you notice this when the last drop of water trickles out... LOL

[skunkwerx]

A small igloo cooler will help keep stored water from freezing in your car.
In places like Minnesota it's going to freeze no matter what. Here in the Mid-Atlantic a small cooler takes the edge off, in both winter and heat of summer.
We found that during the summer, a space blanket to reflect the sun off of a cooler kept it colder, longer. In the winter a blanket over the cooler helps.

For just bottles of water you can use the stuff-sacks that have the foam inserts. Check hiking supplies for these.
Basically any thermal barrier will help keep it cooler in the summer, or warmer in the winter.

[manu663]

Just roll your bottle of water in a good layer of newspaper cheap and efficient