Customer Reviews

Reliance Products Aqua-Tainer 7 Gallon Rigid Water Container

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Excellent product. Sturdy and virtually leak proof. We use four of them for "dry" camping. One we painted flat black to use as a solar shower. Although heavy when filled, they take can take a good beating. The big advantage for us is the wide mouth. We can drop a DC shower pump directly into the container without having to lift it all of the time.

These are about the upper practical limit for one-person-portable water containers, weighing in at almost 60 lbs. when filled. Aqua-tainers are deservedly popular, being stoutly-made and having a very practical spout design with a nozzle that can be stowed inside the container, which is great for protecting it from incidental knocks when you're hefting it around your campsite, house, or vehicle. Everybody should have a few of these (or smaller equivalents) stashed away somewhere; you never know when you're going to need it.

I was very glad to find this product available on the web. I purchased 3 of them about 8 years ago. I use the containers to mix salt-water so I can perform water changes on my marine aquarium. I wanted a couple of more. I found them!! The new ones have not changed much from the ones I bought 8 years ago. This is good because the old ones have been very good and durable. I would recommend them to anyone wanting a good water carrier.

We use these extensively while we are out doing field research. We love them because they hold a lot of water (7 gal), are stackable with each other (we carry about 10 or so out in the field) and are pretty sturdy. However, we have found that the spigot is poorly designed. The design is such that when the container is on its side you can just turn the lever on and off for water. Great idea. But the spigot has to be facing down for that to work. In some cases, when you twist the spigot on, you either have to over-tighten the spigot for it to face down or not tighten it enough. Over-tightening eventually produces a crack in the threading and there is no longer a tight seal and you end up with a leaky container. Not screwing it on enough obviously will also cause it to leak. If you are only using one jug occasionally, this is not a big deal. If you use them for high volume activities, just beware of the issue.

We recently used this on a 3 day camping trip to hold water from home to wash our dishes with. I'm glad that when we packed it, I was adamant about storing it upright in the Jeep. When I finally took it out and put it on its side where it would be staying the rest of the trip, it started to leak. And not just a little drip-drip-drip, a small little flowing leak. The spigot was still inside and everything was tight. So I turned back up, put the spigot out screwed it back on, opened up the little air flow a little up top, but it still leaked. What's even more, is that no matter what I did or what anyone else did, the spigot would NOT go straight down, it was at an angle making it very hard to wash dishes.

We did not buy this from Amazon. We bought it from a "Super Center" and it was half the price.

Unfortunately I would not recommend this after reading other reviews. While we didn't have any splitting, the leaking made this thing useless for us. Having to always prop it back up so it wouldn't leak really wasn't worth the time and energy, and it would be very hard for a petite woman I'm sure. I'm a 6ft tall woman, and I'm fairly strong and it was just to cumbersome to make me want to do it over and over again.

I would recommend this one instead. It doesn't hold as much, but the construction is much better, and it's at least a name you can trust. Coleman Water Carrier (5-Gallon, Blue)

Four of the Blue Reliance 7 gallon Aqua-Tainer water containers ride around with my farm crew. Within a month each developed at least one corner leak. It's been a year now and all have several duct tape patches.

On the plus side, they are easy to move around and fill with a garden hose. Also, the original caps are good quality and only leak when we want them to leak.

Sturdy enough to last in outside storage but not sturdy enough to be stackable. We had two stacked and the one underneath ended up collapsing in the corners causing the top container to fall and lose all of its water when it fell on the spigot. I bought them specifically because of the claim they were stackable, as we don't have a lot of space in our apartment, only to be disappointed. We have them lined up outside by the front door and they seem to hold up without being stacked. The containers seem very sturdy and rigid but once filled with water, the sides of the containers bend when you push against them. In short, I found the price pretty reasonable but the claim it was stackable not true.

You might think that any two plastic containers would be the same. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For storage of large amounts of water, the Reliance Aqua-Tainer is a great product. They are made of a very strong, BPA-free food grade plastic that stores 7 gallons of water. Their movability is also good with a handle on top to lug it around. Keep it mind that it is about 58+ pounds so it's no joke. One thing that I found very thoughtful in the design is that it has a very large valve opening for filling up the container. It's sealed with a rugged cap. The same cap, when you turn it around and screw it in, also serves as a nice dispenser faucet. The last key feature that I would mention is the stackability of these containers -- they are designed to sit perfectly on top of one another. This makes them perfect for large applications like family camping trips, emergency water storage, games, etc... I highly recommend this product.

This is a great item for water storage. I have 18 of them in my basement. Just get some plumbing tape and wrap it around the spigot grooves and you will be fine.

I buy a lot at Amazon, mostly because I know I am getting a great price. Not with these. The containers are great - but if you shop Walmart, you will find exactly the same thing for around $10 cheaper.