I'm using a similar (230 litre greeen rain storage barrel) container for
water storage for the last 2 to 3 months and have had no problems. The
barrel was well cleaned before water was added and I also made sure that I
could no longer smell the plastic before use. I found many containers with
the warning "Not suitable for drinking water" and made sure that the barrel
purchased had no such warning. You could always ask the supplier if the
product is suitable for storing drinking water, this could be sufficient
guidance of its suitability for your needs.

I keep RO water in the barrel and mix the salt externally for storage in
camping water containers; obviously suitable for human consumption and a
reasonable indicator of its suitability for my aquarium.

We wouldn't previously drink the local tap water without filtration and now
prefer the stored RO water for drinking. The barrel comes in handy for this,
even if occasional trips to the almost freezing garage are required.
Following on from earlier advice we intend to clean the barrel occasionally
with a dose of bleach and a thorough rinsing. Roll on Spring!!

Regards


Chris


"TW" wrote in message
...
I was given a 50gal plastic rain barrel made by Lee Valley Tools as a
christmas gift. I am hoping to use it to set up a float valve to store
R/O or mix up SW for water changes. Are there any types of plastics
that are not safe to use for this purpose? This dark green plastic
barrel is brand new and never been used. Has anyone ever had a problem
using a plastic container? Anyone have any ideas? I was planning to
thoroughly rinse it out and then fill it, let it soak for a few days and
then dump the water. If anything were going to leach out of it would
this help to avoid any problems?

Thanks,

Todd