Ode to the Sceptre Water Jug.

[snowblind]

Mine are three summers old now. I love, love, love them! This weekend I did a 2-night trip with the lady, 3 boys and two dogs. A family of 4 joined us and upon seeing my 4 x 5 gallon jugs the dad asked if "we brought water for two weeks?"



As we were packing up camp on Sunday morning he thanked me for the plentiful supply of hot water for dishes, face-washing, etc. I let him know that all four water jugs were now empty, leaving me with only the 2.5 gallons container for drinking/emergency water (vehicle overheat, fire, etc.). :ylsmoke:



Matt

 

[Scoutman]

Nice set there. Where'd you order them from? I've been wanting to get a few of the water containers but just haven't pulled the trigger yet. How do you like the little one?

 

[snowblind]

Nice set there. Where'd you order them from? I've been wanting to get a few of the water containers but just haven't pulled the trigger yet. How do you like the little one?

I got mine from Lexington Container http://lexingtoncontainercompanysonlinestore.mybigcommerce.com/military-water-can/ although I think they were more like $29 back then.

The little one is AWESOME. Small enough to use as a "pitcher" but still holds 2.5 gallons. The big ones can be too big/heavy for ladies and kids to lift. I end up transferring water to the little one once or twice a day. The water dispensing spout looks cool to. They didn't have that when I got mine.


Matt

 

[jonnyquest]

Are the little ones stackable?

 

[snowblind]

Are the little ones stackable?

Yes. They have the exact same tops and bottoms as the big ones but with way less middle. Two little ones stacked = one big one.


Matt

 

[jonnyquest]

Thanks Matt. That's good to know.

 

[snowblind]

Thanks Matt. That's good to know.

Actually... They DO stack but 2 smalls is taller than 1 big. The 20 liter is 18.8"x13.7"x6.8". The 10 liter is 11.8"x13.6"x6.6" so it looks like 2 x 10 liter jugs add up to 23.6" The bottom and tops are identical so I put the slight width and depth increases down to the outward bow at the middle of the 20 liter jugs.

A few thoughts...

The small jugs may be small enough to fit in a freezer and/or a large cooler.

The big jugs can can be filled laying horizontal on the skinny side with the opening at the top. This allows filling with short hosed sink dish sprayers, low to the ground spigots, etc, etc.

The Sceptre cans are durable enough that you can purchase/make cap fittings to pressurized the container with air for faucet and shower use.




Matt

 

[jonnyquest]

I have a 95 Nissan Pathfinder. With the back seat up, the cargo area is small. I'm trying to come up with a way to carry 5 gallons in one configuration and 10 gallons in another. Two small ones would be great when going to an established campground with a water supply. Two big ones would work for a few days of boondocking.

 

[snowblind]

I have a 95 Nissan Pathfinder. With the back seat up, the cargo area is small. I'm trying to come up with a way to carry 5 gallons in one configuration and 10 gallons in another. Two small ones would be great when going to an established campground with a water supply. Two big ones would work for a few days of boondocking.

The will work great for your Pathfinder but there are a number of flat/cube/flexi-bag water solutions on the market that might also work for your needs. RotoPax, etc. I like the Sceptre jugs because of their durability and the fact that they work across a wide variety of scenarios. I also like that the shape and the blue color means WATER to every single person who looks at it.

Here is a link to a company with a variety of accessories. http://www.jagmte.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=61

Whatever you choose I would only store the jugs with the cap facing UP. There are many reports of the caps on the MWCs leaking when flat or inverted and I personally have experienced this. The main caps on the MWC tighten to a "locked" setting that is maybe a 1/4-1/2 turn looser than the tightest that it can go. Perhaps the caps can "back off" to this looser locked setting and leak. They SHOULDN'T leak at all after they reach the locked setting but you know how that goes.



Matt

 

[JLee]

I have a 95 Nissan Pathfinder. With the back seat up, the cargo area is small. I'm trying to come up with a way to carry 5 gallons in one configuration and 10 gallons in another. Two small ones would be great when going to an established campground with a water supply. Two big ones would work for a few days of boondocking.

I have ordered Waterbricks for my truck. 10.5 gallons in 3 waterbricks plus 3 more food containers gives me a solid water supply and dry food storage in an 18" cube that I can secure with one strap, as all the bricks interlock with each other.

 

[rayra]

They have milspec 20L MWCs in OD green and khaki at LCI (industries for the blind) for $25.99ea, free shipping on orders over $50.

http://www.buylci.com/CatalogProduc...n&Keyword=water can&sc=BM&fi=1&fr=1&ps=0&av=0

 

[Scoutman]

Actually... They DO stack but 2 smalls is taller than 1 big. The 20 liter is 18.8"x13.7"x6.8". The 10 liter is 11.8"x13.6"x6.6" so it looks like 2 x 10 liter jugs add up to 23.6" The bottom and tops are identical so I put the slight width and depth increases down to the outward bow at the middle of the 20 liter jugs.

A few thoughts...

The small jugs may be small enough to fit in a freezer and/or a large cooler.

The big jugs can can be filled laying horizontal on the skinny side with the opening at the top. This allows filling with short hosed sink dish sprayers, low to the ground spigots, etc, etc.

The Sceptre cans are durable enough that you can purchase/make cap fittings to pressurized the container with air for faucet and shower use.




Matt

How stable are the 10L jugs when sitting on their edge on a table? Is there enough side wall surface area to keep them from toppling over or do they have to be tipped each time to dispense? I'll probably use a spout so sitting them on the table or tailgate would be most convenient.

 

[jonnyquest]

Good question.

 

[snowblind]

How stable are the 10L jugs when sitting on their edge on a table? Is there enough side wall surface area to keep them from toppling over or do they have to be tipped each time to dispense? I'll probably use a spout so sitting them on the table or tailgate would be most convenient.

Not very stable. I wouldn't do it.

I'm a fairly big guy so the 10l is an easy size for me to pour. Not easy for the kids to pour though.

I'm looking into some of the faucets with suction pumps to convert a cap into a drinking water dispenser. This would allow dispensing from a container on the ground or the back of a truck/suv.

One thing that would be good is a reducer for the pouring spout. If it had a small hole you good tip the jug and it would glug-glug-glug at a much slower rate... with the vent cap closed it could be a trickle for washing hands.


Matt

 

[WeLikeCamping]

I am so tired of paying upwards of $18 for those square blue water containers, that seem to fall apart or develop leaks if you look at them sideways. So, I sprung for the 10L and the 20L cans. Hopefully, they will last three times as long, based on the price. Of course for me, that means if they last a year, it was a good buy.