Thread: Slab water tanks

Originally Posted by trout1105

It says 95l on the label on the tank in the OP's image

The one to the right was a little larger.

Originally Posted by 101RRS

It had a hole in it.

A quick search on eBay last night found these guys,

bladders-r-us on eBay

Aussie made, quite a decent range and pumps and filters available.

Originally Posted by travelrover

A quick search on eBay last night found these guys,

bladders-r-us on eBay

Aussie made, quite a decent range and pumps and filters available.

I've been using bladders for about 20 years now and in that time have only had one very small leak due to poor quality material, so don't write them off as an option.

My current bladder is from the mob in your link and has been in the Defender for about a year now. So far very happy with it, mine sits between the back seat and the cargo barrier and I can get 70 litres into it. The key is making sure it doesn't rub on anything.

I tried a Boab water tank once. It was solid and well made, but it had no baffles, so was annoyingly noisy. I tried filling it foam cubes which got rid of the noise. Unfortunately the foam started wearing on the sharp edges inside the tank so I ended up with little bits foam in my drinking water.

The advantage with a bladder is you can fill it to the top and eliminate the air space so it doesn't slosh around.

If you go with a tank make sure its well baffled otherwise with it sitting right behind the front seats I think the noise will drive you nuts.

If you go with a bladder, make sure it has a second vent on the top so that you can easily get the air out of it when filling. I have a hose on mine that is long enough to run outside the car. I can then just attach a hose to the inlet, open the vent and not worry about overfilling or flooding the car.

Cheers,
Jon

Originally Posted by jon3950

I've been using bladders for about 20 years now and in that time have only had one very small leak due to poor quality material, so don't write them off as an option.

My current bladder is from the mob in your link and has been in the Defender for about a year now. So far very happy with it, mine sits between the back seat and the cargo barrier and I can get 70 litres into it. The key is making sure it doesn't rub on anything.

I tried a Boab water tank once. It was solid and well made, but it had no baffles, so was annoyingly noisy. I tried filling it foam cubes which got rid of the noise. Unfortunately the foam started wearing on the sharp edges inside the tank so I ended up with little bits foam in my drinking water.

The advantage with a bladder is you can fill it to the top and eliminate the air space so it doesn't slosh around.

If you go with a tank make sure its well baffled otherwise with it sitting right behind the front seats I think the noise will drive you nuts.

If you go with a bladder, make sure it has a second vent on the top so that you can easily get the air out of it when filling. I have a hose on mine that is long enough to run outside the car. I can then just attach a hose to the inlet, open the vent and not worry about overfilling or flooding the car.

Cheers,
Jon

Thanks Jon

Am leaning toward bladders for the reasons you have sighted.

Was weight the main factor in selecting 70l bladder? I have as looking @ 80…

70 litres was just what fitted in the space. I actually thought the bag was bigger than that but I’ve just checked the website and it looks like the one I have is actually 70litres Cargo Barrier Hanging water bladder tank(70 Ltrs) DW70CBH - Temporary Water Storage Bladders & Tanks in Australia so I must be getting it pretty full. It just expands into the available space behind the seat. I also carry an extra 40 litres in two Blu Bags on longer trips. Partly for the extra capacity but also to spread it out into more than one container.

I would just get as big a tank/bladder as you can fit - you don’t have fill it to the top. If I were putting it on the floor I would try to get two smaller ones instead of one big one. Something like this: Box type water bladder 60L - DW60B - Temporary Water Storage Bladders & Tanks in Australia. This would give you much more flexibility. For short trips you can just take one. For longer trips if one does leak you still have the other one and you can also split it into drinkable and non-drinkable water if you need to.

Its also worth noting that any small leaks are easily patched. I’m pretty sure the bladder came with a repair kit.

Cheers,
Jon

Originally Posted by jon3950

70 litres was just what fitted in the space. I actually thought the bag was bigger than that but I’ve just checked the website and it looks like the one I have is actually 70litres Cargo Barrier Hanging water bladder tank(70 Ltrs) DW70CBH - Temporary Water Storage Bladders & Tanks in Australia so I must be getting it pretty full. It just expands into the available space behind the seat. I also carry an extra 40 litres in two Blu Bags on longer trips. Partly for the extra capacity but also to spread it out into more than one container.

I would just get as big a tank/bladder as you can fit - you don’t have fill it to the top. If I were putting it on the floor I would try to get two smaller ones instead of one big one. Something like this: Box type water bladder 60L - DW60B - Temporary Water Storage Bladders & Tanks in Australia. This would give you much more flexibility. For short trips you can just take one. For longer trips if one does leak you still have the other one and you can also split it into drinkable and non-drinkable water if you need to.

Its also worth noting that any small leaks are easily patched. I’m pretty sure the bladder came with a repair kit.

Cheers,
Jon

Thanks John

That’s a smart idea, two smaller ones. Though they only seem to have one fill/vent point. I guess you would be more conscious of your usage too.

Originally Posted by trout1105

I haven't used them myself but they have been discussed on this forum before and the consensus was that they are a good option when space is at a premium
Personally I carry 6x 30l plastic containers of water with me on remote trips, The beuty with these is that you can remove the plug at the bottom of the container and fit an ordinary garden tap on it to make dispensing the water conveniant and easy.

I use one of these.

SUV & 4x4/ 4WD Water Bladders Archives - Temporary Water Storage Bladders & Tanks in Australia

best part of bladders is you roll it up and put it away when it isn’t being used.

I had one custom made that sits between chassis rails under the drivers seat

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