Water Barrels As A Tent Anchoring Option

A water barrel demonstration at Industrial Fabrics Association International Tent Expo 2015 showed that a 20-by-20-foot tent required 40 water barrels to achieve 1,000 pounds per leg when all of the variables were taken into consideration

Water Barrels As A Tent Anchoring Option

When you mention water barrels within earshot of tent safety experts or insurance representatives, they noticeably cringe. Why? They are the worst option to tether tents for many reasons.

Scientific Reasons

• A water barrel is tall, narrow and it ties off from the top which could allow it to slip, especially if not tied properly.
• A plastic barrel offers little resistance against concrete or asphalt surfaces and has a tendency to slide.
• These factors reduce a typical 55 gallon barrel’s 480 pounds of water weight to a barrel that can fail at as little as 160 pounds of force.

Practical Reasons

• Professional tent companies properly anchor tents they lift the tent so they don’t have to combat the wind. That practice is almost impossible due to the time it takes to fill the water barrels all the way.
• Water appears to be an easy way to make weight. It’s not. Water is not always available, many venues won’t allow them to be emptied on site, and fresh water is wasted.
• Most tent manufacturer’s instruction don’t include water weighting as option. This puts the liability on the tent company and sometimes on the renter.
• More municipalities and venues are banning water barrels, and we expect this trend to spread.

Quantity Of Water Barrels Needed To Be Safe

Sure, water barrels are adequate for securing tents, IF you’re willing to use enough of them. Experts recommend installing tents so that the holding power is 1 ½ to 2 times the forces imposed on the tent. For a single 20’ by 20’ tent you need 37 barrels of water! If the wind is severe, even that huge quantity won’t be enough protection.

Other Options To Water Barrels

Consider using cement ballast, a widely accepted, safe and reliable alternative. Cement blocks weigh way over double that of water, have a lower center of gravity and offer much more resistance against sliding, greatly reducing the ballast footprint. The reduced footprint also presents an opportunity to properly ballast larger tents. For example, a 40-foot-wide tent will typically call for 2,000 to 4,000 pounds per leg, which is nearly impossible to accomplish with water barrels.

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