20 Best 5 Gallon Water Jugs (2023 Update)

Great water bottle. I have several of these and needed another. 3 gal is a good size for me, I can lift easily and get it in crock. It arrived later than expected but it's the times, everything is coming slower.CAROLE

I wanted a water bottle with a handle, sturdy construction, and made in the U.S. This one is perfect for my countertop dispenser. Thick walled construction and BPA free. Great quality and price.jhof7379

This sure came in handy, as I rinsed it out, then filled it chock full, and shortly after had a plumbing issue. BUT i had 5 gallons of fresh water on hand until the plumber arrived – perfect timing! hahaha. This is a great product.Elaine E.

The first time I used this container it developed a crease in the corner and the cheap plastic cracked and leaked within the first 24 hours. I have this container in an earlier model from 2015 and it is going strong after lost of heavy use. The older model has thicker plastic. I can feel the obvious difference in thickness.Maximus67

I really like the Coleman 5 gallon water chiller. It’s dual purpose for me. I like using it for adventures and camping trips in the mountains. It’s great to use to transport water. It’s a great size. We use it for hand washing, drinking, and for using to extinguish a campfire. It’s pretty solid, super light when empty, feels like it’s good quality that will last for years to come. It is also great to store water in just in case of an emergency I have five gallons ready to go.Deliteful

I’m a prepper. This is kind of an absolutely necessity for someone who frequently stocks up on all the things. I keep this in my garage shelf full of water and have used it quite a bit. It holds enough water for 2 people for like 2 days and is awesome. Great for travel and for preparing for future weather challenges.Melissa6372

We brought this filled with electrolyte water to a day at the field. My whole family was able to stay hydrated with nice cold water. We had so many complements and it kept the water cooler than other jugs we have used in the last. It was easy to carry and didn’t spill. I would definitely recommend to othersAlmal

Good for keeping soccer kiddos hydrated on a hot day. It's kind of heavy when full. The lanyard for keeping the lid attached to the cooler is nice, but if you're going to dump the water bucket on the coach after a win, be careful it could lead to a bump on the noggin!NorcalWingman

So happy to see this available. I use this with one of the recommended countertop hot/cold water dispensers and it works perfectly. It fits well, fills the dispenser quickly, and most of all I don't have to fuss with buying bulky water bottles any more.amnaturelle

So convenient and easy to use. Just pour in water from your tap. Comes out tasting great. Using with my water cooler that I've had for years. Also makes great tasting coffee and I use the water in my ice maker. No more lifting heavy bottles or running to the store for water. Money saving!Louise

I drink more water knowing contaminants have been removed. When you go back and have a drink of city water, it about makes me gag. I am very particular about the taste of my coffee and the Zero Water scores high marks for the improvement made in that regard. Sometimes though it seems the filters flow way too slowly, even when just replaced. I do wish they would design an easier to use valve. Something that could lock in the open position, especially when you need to fill a pan with water would sure be nice to keep a hand from cramping while holding it open for so long.Coast Guard 73

No sturdy, they will start to leak after the first week. They were assembled with a tight seal but the nozzle starts dripping on both items i bought!Angel

We have a permanent camping spot in southern Ohio, and it was such a pain to take down gallons and gallons of our reverse osmosis water from him each weekend. So, she I was offered to try these jugs, I was THRILLED! I can pop one of these in the sink and walk away while it fills with fresh reverse osmosis water from out separate tap. We take them to camp, pop on into our XL cooler packed with ice and other drinks, we put one under the camper for emergencies and use one for cooking! I absolutely love them! With the thick plastic, I know the sun won’t penetrate the bottles. The water never tastes like plastic or anything either! Such an amazing product! Perfect for those die hard campers!!!Kmroch21

This 5 gallon water container is perfect for camping. We sometimes camp where water that is safe for drinking is not readily available. This water container comes in very handy for those situations. The container itself is extremely well made and sturdy. I like that there is two choices for an opening. A bigger size to put the water in the container and a smaller size opening to pour the water you need out. When I did first get the container it did have a strong plastic scent. I just had to rinse it out a few times and it was good to go. Overall this is a great water container to have on hand if you camp or want to have just in case of an emergency where safe drinking water may not be readily available.Ranman

Scepter is known as a leader in this market And they certainly haven't backed down with this product. I love the quality of the BPA free plastics that are used in this product because you know they are going to last for many many years. We have 3 of them that we use for back up water in our rv and tent camping. Some other things I really like about this jug is that the opening for the container is really big and allows you to put your whole hand in for cleaning purposes spell that makes it super easy to feel water cwater containers of smaller sizes Some other things I really like about this jug is that the opening for the container is really big and allows you to put your whole hand in for cleaning purposes. There's also a smaller spouse that makes it super easy to fill water containers of smaller sizes.Water Tank 2

People will open lid to take a piece of ice etc this contaminates the whole cooler. Need to be able to easily lock off the cap once filled with Ice and water.. especially in a public arena..Tennismanager

We have a permanent camping spot in southern Ohio, and it was such a pain to take down gallons and gallons of our reverse osmosis water from him each weekend. So, she I was offered to try these jugs, I was THRILLED! I can pop one of these in the sink and walk away while it fills with fresh reverse osmosis water from out separate tap. We take them to camp, pop on into our XL cooler packed with ice and other drinks, we put one under the camper for emergencies and use one for cooking! I absolutely love them! With the thick plastic, I know the sun won’t penetrate the bottles. The water never tastes like plastic or anything either! Such an amazing product! Perfect for those die hard campers!!!Kmroch21

This is an amazing product. I have well water and when we lose power we have no water. I love that I can safely store water in this without having harmful chemicals in our water the next time we drink it. It’s thin so it’s easy to store in a pantry or basement shelf. The opening at the top is nice and large for easy filling. The handle feels sturdy and we weren’t concerned carrying it when it was full. We even talked about getting another one for our camper so we always have water no matter what the power situation is. Thank you for our piece of mind.Christy

It was important to us to be able to carry high quality drinking water on our car camping trip and this was the best option. We took 2 of them strapped to the roof of our Jeep, which we were constantly putting up and taking down, and we love how sturdy they are. One night got below freezing and we woke up to non-frozen water in the morning. and the water didn't get excessively hot on warm days (mid 80s – we'll see how it holds up in the true Texas summer!). I also love that these don't leach chemicals into the water like cheaper versions. I would highly recommend and look forward to trying the spout attachment, although, we managed to fill up our water bottles fine without it as long as we leveraged it on a table or bench.AHS718

We live in a rural town and have a rather large family as I am a foster parent so I have several kids in the home. I LOVE these bottle for several reasons. They are easy to manage and pretty sturdy, I was a bit nervous about the handles maybe coming off if carried by the handle when they are full but this hasn't happened yet. Most of the time when the boys are carrying in the bottles they carry it somewhat upright and put one hand on the neck of the bottle and the other on the handle so maybe that's why they've not broke off yet, because all the weight isn't JUST on the handle alone? Who knows but so far no issues. If your house is anything like mine (kids and dogs running around) I suggest purchasing a package (or five lol) of replacement lids. This is another reason I love these bottles you can purchase replacement lids in a 2-pk for somewhere around $1-$1.50 I forget the exact in store price. My empty bottles seem to take a beating and get knocked all around and the lids do break easily. In our family we go through one 5 gallon jug of water daily and since town is a good 40 minute round trip drive I don't like running in JUST FOR WATER so I have on hand right now a total of 12 of these and I'm going to site to store 3 more right now since the last three trips to town the store has been out. My adult daughter is EXTREMELY picky about water tastes and plastic smells and she says these bottles do not change the taste of the water, there is no icky smell or anything like that. I've had my oldest bottle for over 3 years and no cracks or leaks yet and once I forgot them in the back of the truck empty and the heat warped the bottom of the bottle so now 2 of them wobble a little but still no leaks or cracks. They are very much worth the price and with the state our country is in everyone should have some extra water put away and this is a affordable way to do it!Elizabeth

So, I was ordered by my doctor to drink more water. The water from my tap was awful, so I tried to add lemon juice (from the lemon juice bottles from the drink mixes) and 1/2 tsp of artificial sweetener (1/2 tsp is 1 tsp sugar, I believe). It was okay at first, but I got sick of sweetened lemon water — also I think the amount of "natural" sweetener was not what my doctor really wanted. So, I ordered two of these 5 gal water bottles and a ceramic base/dispenser. I fill up with the primo water within Walmart. I can handle the primo water from my Lake Mead, North Las Vegas Walmart. It loses one star because one of the water bottles warped on its own; not both which I would have expected since they were treated the same. However, Walmart has great replacement and return policies and took it back for a charge back because I had the receipt.Jason

In my process of prepping for the coronavirus outbreak I wanted to be sure I had some potable water ready just in case. I could have gone to Lowe's/Home Depot and bought some 5 Gal waters, but I don't need the water. I have a decent 5 stage filter system already, so I just need decent containers. These were inexpensive, 5 gallons, BPA free for longer storage without the plastic taste, and even came with a handle molded in to the body which seems to be a decent construction and shouldn't easily break. Came with caps that screw on. Two units cost just a little more than what one filled unit would have. All I need to do is rinse with a little bleach or high strength vinegar to clean out and then add fresh water for my backup. With some luck these will never get used. But it's nice to know for a very small investment I have at least a couple weeks of water on hand which is safe and clean and from a known source (my own filtered tap).WhateverMan

I can't believe we ever camped without one of these! This definitely makes life easier especially with kiddos who are thirsty or need to wash their little hands after playing in the dirt. I also love that I can haul it with me to baseball games to refill water bottles for the team! The top is super easy to screw on and screw off. If you're in the market for a cooler look no further this is what you want!Av

This container certainly worked well for our purposes. We used it for a hand washing station while camping. For the most part, it worked perfectly. My younger kids struggled to turned the spigot knob at times. That is my only complaint. Otherwise, it is great. I think it will hold up well for a long time.Cherise

For the price this is tough to beat. We typically take a couple of the arrowhead disposable jugs with us on camping trips, but we have a reverse osmosis water purifier at home so it makes more sense to carry our own water with us. For a 5 gallon jug this is surprisingly easy to carry, and reasonably easy to find space for it inside the vehicle too. If it doesnt last more than a year or two thats ok, it was cheap enough Ill just replace it! Great for a makeshift faucet too.Nathan

Walmart gives you regular tap water. I always filled my bottles at Walmart due to the great taste of primo water, but lately the water doesn't taste of primo. There is so much chlorine in the water we couldn't drink the water. Shame shame shame. I will definitely be calling the news media on Walmart. We tested the water n it was tap water. It's the one on stonecrest in lithonia.Miriam

I used Primo for quite some time but got some nasty tasting chlorine or bleach in two of them so I decided to no longer drink their brand. I went to take the empty bottles back and put them in their reclamation machine which issues tickets for the size bottle you drop off. I attempted to take my tickets back into the store and get my deposit back and they reused to do so. I contacted Primo and they sent me the following letter. The bottles cost about 5 dollars each but they only will mail you back a grand total of 50 cents by mail for any ticket you send back. Basically once you buy into their program you own that bottle or if you turn it in you now own a ticket stub worth 50 cents if you mail it back. EMPTY BOTTLE CREDIT (US ONLY) Primo does not have a deposit program in the United States. When you make the initial purchase of a 3 or 5 gallon pre-filled bottle from Primo, you are also purchasing the bottle. We offer an exchange program in which you can place your empty 3 or 5 gallon bottle into our recycling center at your local store and you will receive a recycle ticket that provides you a discount on your next purchase of water. Primo also will accept any competitors 3 or 5 gallon empty bottle that you can place in the recycle center and a recycle ticket will be provided to you so you may receive an exchange discount on your purchase of Primo Water. Primo Water Retailers do not provide any credits for empty bottles. Empty Bottle Return Credit Policy & Procedures 1) Consumer is required to provide all the following information. a. Name, address, contact phone & email. Bottle recycle ticket(s)c. Retail location where bottle(s) were returned 2) Bottle credit amount will be $1.00 plus standard U.S. First Class Mail up to $0.50. 3) Requests are handled Monday-Friday 9a.m.-5p.m. 4) Consumer is limited to a lifetime maximum of 10 bottle credit(s). Other limitations may apply. 5) Standard processing time is 6-8 weeks, check will be mailed to address supplied by Consumer. 6) The Retailer does not process bottle credits, all credits must follow the guidelines set above. Follow these Steps 1) Return your empty Primo Water bottle(s) to your nearest Primo Water Recycle Center. 2) Retain your recycle ticket for each bottle(s) returned. 3) Fill out the Empty Bottle Return Form Oct 2016 online, then print 4) Mail form and tickets to Primo Water for bottle credit and processing. 5) Correctly submitted forms with tickets will receive a check from Primo Water in 6-8 weeksNospamsam

I went to replace a refill that I had bought and found a freeze pop in the bottom of the container. That REALLY makes me question the process that they use to sanitize bottles that are returned and refilled. I guess it's possible they heat them, but still unsettling. And no we didn't place it there….we are in our 50's and haven't bought those since our kids were little.kindagross

Walmart gives you regular tap water. I always filled my bottles at Walmart due to the great taste of primo water, but lately the water doesn't taste of primo. There is so much chlorine in the water we couldn't drink the water. Shame shame shame. I will definitely be calling the news media on Walmart. We tested the water n it was tap water. It's the one on stonecrest in lithonia.Miriam

I used Primo for quite some time but got some nasty tasting chlorine or bleach in two of them so I decided to no longer drink their brand. I went to take the empty bottles back and put them in their reclamation machine which issues tickets for the size bottle you drop off. I attempted to take my tickets back into the store and get my deposit back and they reused to do so. I contacted Primo and they sent me the following letter. The bottles cost about 5 dollars each but they only will mail you back a grand total of 50 cents by mail for any ticket you send back. Basically once you buy into their program you own that bottle or if you turn it in you now own a ticket stub worth 50 cents if you mail it back. EMPTY BOTTLE CREDIT (US ONLY) Primo does not have a deposit program in the United States. When you make the initial purchase of a 3 or 5 gallon pre-filled bottle from Primo, you are also purchasing the bottle. We offer an exchange program in which you can place your empty 3 or 5 gallon bottle into our recycling center at your local store and you will receive a recycle ticket that provides you a discount on your next purchase of water. Primo also will accept any competitors 3 or 5 gallon empty bottle that you can place in the recycle center and a recycle ticket will be provided to you so you may receive an exchange discount on your purchase of Primo Water. Primo Water Retailers do not provide any credits for empty bottles. Empty Bottle Return Credit Policy & Procedures 1) Consumer is required to provide all the following information. a. Name, address, contact phone & email. Bottle recycle ticket(s)c. Retail location where bottle(s) were returned 2) Bottle credit amount will be $1.00 plus standard U.S. First Class Mail up to $0.50. 3) Requests are handled Monday-Friday 9a.m.-5p.m. 4) Consumer is limited to a lifetime maximum of 10 bottle credit(s). Other limitations may apply. 5) Standard processing time is 6-8 weeks, check will be mailed to address supplied by Consumer. 6) The Retailer does not process bottle credits, all credits must follow the guidelines set above. Follow these Steps 1) Return your empty Primo Water bottle(s) to your nearest Primo Water Recycle Center. 2) Retain your recycle ticket for each bottle(s) returned. 3) Fill out the Empty Bottle Return Form Oct 2016 online, then print 4) Mail form and tickets to Primo Water for bottle credit and processing. 5) Correctly submitted forms with tickets will receive a check from Primo Water in 6-8 weeksNospamsam

I went to replace a refill that I had bought and found a freeze pop in the bottom of the container. That REALLY makes me question the process that they use to sanitize bottles that are returned and refilled. I guess it's possible they heat them, but still unsettling. And no we didn't place it there….we are in our 50's and haven't bought those since our kids were little.kindagross

They're a tight fit compared to previous dew caps we've bought, but maybe that's why they don't leak when I'm carrying the bottle by its handle.linda

Excellent purchase for camping trip! One large bag of ice kept room temperature water cold for 2 days. Easy rollers even on dirt/grass. Looking at it, it does look like it would hold 5 gallons but it does and ice.Mommabear05

This cooler is great! The handle and wheels make moving the cooler and easy task. The water stays cold even in this Arizona heat. Two bags of ice and two gallons of water stay cool all week.Joshua

Crock leaked from the bottom when it arrived. Tried to contact the seller and they never responded (it's been over two weeks). Tried to contact houzz and they never responded (been over a week). I don't recommend this crock, the seller or this website.webuser_256582693

Love the color, excellent shipping. A little disappointed in the weight of the crock, I expected a much heavier, solid crock, this one is very thin walled, I hope it hold upcyclingidiot

We use these every day to take water to the horses. The size and shape makes them ideal for the job. That's why they got 2 stars. But despite the so called life time warranty, they start leaking after less than a month's use. The company does not respond to emails. I guess they would be OK for an occasional camping trip, but do not expect them to last.Patricia

I own a few of these and it's a crapshoot to find one that the spigot points in the proper direction. In my experience you cannot over tighten the spigots or they will snap off AND if you loosen them to point the spigot down they leak! It's a simple fix Reliance! Retool the factory machines so that the spigots always point down when they're tightened. You need to physically test each one in the store to find one where the spigot points in the right direction.Outdoors expert

Good container overall. Not particularly thick plastic but it's done good so far. 2 cons I found are the spigot is very tight and difficult to open with one hand and also it doesn't fully empty all the water out without tipping it up on an angle. Otherwise it's a good value and gets the job done.Tyler

Turn it upside down in a old dog watering bowl. Works great. Use it to water chickens. I like the handle to carry it and the 3 gallon capacity. Should last a long time.robercallowa-1