Hello guys, im not a homesteader yet, but working/saving my way to become one before my 50’s, but being enthusiastic about this, I see people using these containers above ground (picture from google), and I was always wondering, they’re made of plastic -food approved- and are exposed to extreme heat, which puts a lot of stress on the plastic and will push it to start releasing microplastics (maybe).
What are your thoughts about this ? Also isn’t the « warm water » bad for the gardens?
by Which-Hamster-2388
14 Comments
Definitely
Probably no more toxic then the water that’s put in them. And no gardens don’t care if the water is warm or cold.
Plastic = micro plastic, so yes.
Keep them out of the sun, as sun = plastic damage and bacteria growth.
All of your waterlines are plastic yes? This is essentially no different. If you have the money you could get a metal tank.
Depends on the type of plastic its made from and how much sun it gets, alot of purified water is contained in in plastic vessels. The thing is what is your other option, getting a giant glass bottle delivered, a stainless steel tank?
As with most things, it comes down to what we can afford.
I would much rather have a 2,000 gallon stone and mortar cistern underground.
The question is, can you afford it in the face of competing priorities.
Very few things in life are risk free. None of us gets out of this alive. And you won’t live very long without water.
There are also metal tank options (although I have read that galvanized metal isn’t the greatest) as well as tank liner options that might be less apt to shed microplastics.
Even if your tank is not plastic, your pipes most likely are these days unless you can somehow afford copper.
Try to avoid analysis paralysis. Research what you can about UV stable plastics and which are best for safely storing potable water, as well as the other options, then look at your checkbook and make an informed risk-based decision.
You can look up the material safety data sheet for the specific plastics used. If you know
the brand you intend to get I can find it for you. Using plastic for anything involving food means you’ll ingest some minuscule amount. It’s the type of polymers, additives, and coatings that matter.
My system uses a filtration system, which includes a sediment filter rated to 10 microns, a charcoal filter, and a UV filter. It’s been in place 7 years now, and I’m still not seeing UV damage or shedding like you’d see in normal plastics. Also, you’d start to see it on the outside first where the UV is getting to and where the highest exposure is. Inside still looks brand new. Is it possible it’s shedding? Yes, I’m not testing it for micro plastics. Is it likely doing much? Not with the controls in place. And like others said, it can depend on the plastic used. You can possibly get data from the manufacturer and see if there’s studies or data on how it performs. Also, like others said, it is a cheaper solution for what you want. But I am happy with mine.
There are many kinds of plastics and it depends which exact one. Saying they are food safe they should be HDPE which is the same as milk jugs and one of the better plastics.
Over a long enough period, the sun can deteriorate all plastics, but you can minimize this by painting them and/or putting a tarp or sheet of metal as a cover to minimize it.
These would be good to get you going while you do the laborous process for concrete cistern, then repurposesd later as a secondary tank for the garden or cleaning.
“Fun” fact, most microplastics are from car tires and tiny threads from the shedding of plastic clothing
A fually fun fact for homesteading, plastic drink bottles are usually made of PETG, ehich is one of the better plastics and can be cut into a long thin ribbon with special tools. it makes a very effective lashing, see this video.
https://youtu.be/GSBh77bjz_Q
Nobody gets out alive mate.
Also you literally can’t avoid micro plastics.
You can always use something else…
Spend a bit extra for a used stainless steel tank. You can find them suitable for potable water pretty easily.
If you keep it full of water and in the shade, it will never be exposed to extreme heat. They don’t even burn in forest fires. It takes a lot of energy to heat up water.
Put a solid three stage filter (sediment + GAC + carbon block) inline with any drinking or cooking water and your be good to go.
They say it’s safe like pex plumbing but it’s not exactly