5 Gallon Water Jugs – A Brief Overview

When holding a large group event, hauling water for your camping trip, or storing up water for emergency situations a 5 gallon water jug might be the right choice.

There are a variety of 5 gallon water jugs on the market.

They can have features like being insulated and have cup holders or they can be as basic as a thin plastic material.

What you plan on using your water jug for would affect which choice you make.

Coleman makes a variety of jugs.  They have a basic water carrying jug like the one pictured to the left. 

It’s made of tough plastic, has a handle to make it easy to carry and has a spout making the flow of water manageable. This carrying jug costs around $15.

 

Other types of 5 gallon water jugs

Coleman and Rubbermaid also make insulated jugs that can double as a cooler. These are going to cost between $30-$50.00.

The price is quite a bit more for the insulated jugs, but it just depends on if you like your water or beverage chilled.

Plus you could also get additional use out of it if you used it as a cooler rather than just putting liquid in it..

Many companies make a thin plastic water carrying jug. These are not ultra durable jugs so they would not be ones that you would want to take into situations where they would get beat up such as on a job site or campsite unless you don’t care if they last very long.

Since they are made of a thinner plastic, they are usually less expensive. They can often be found for $10 or less.

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The 5 gallon water cooler jug

Another option when it comes to 5 gallon water jugs is the type that sits on top of water coolers.

Just think about the water cooler that you see typically in an office setting.

You can either purchase these individually for around twenty dollars, or you can set up with a company to have full bottles delivered to you.

It is nice to have the ones with a handle if you are simply using them for home water storage though.

Most grocery stores sell water in these jugs or you can find empty jugs at stores like Wal-mart and Target.

If you like the style of these bottles but do not have a water cooler to sit the bottle on, there are bottles with this same shape and style that have a spout at the bottom; therefore they do not need the cooler stand.

If you already have your 5 gallon water jug and are looking for a way to keep the water cool,  you can often find an insulated cooler duffle bag.  They zip open at the top and have a hard bottom to keep your water jug stable.

You can fit your water bottle in the larger types of coolers too.  The insulated coolers can sell for as much as $100 though.  This could be a good option if you already have a water jug and don’t want to spend an additional $50 to get a new insulated water jug.

See this Mad Progress article for more camping tips.

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