Project Zomboid – Which Water Container Is the Best?

Water is an essential resource for survival in Project Zomboid, and it is important to have a water container to store it properly. While the game offers several options, it can be challenging to determine which one is the best.

Recommended Read: How to Level Up Metalworking in Project Zomboid

In this post, we will explore the water containers available in Project Zomboid and determine which is best. Deciding which water container is the best depends on several criteria: Units of Water, Full Weight, and Units/Weight Ratio.

Based on these criteria, our picks for the best water containers are the bourbon bottle, watering can, saucepan, and beer bottle.


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Which Water Container is the Best in Project Zomboid

Although you can drink water directly from toilets, bathtubs, or sinks, they’re not everywhere. Thus, you need an optimal water container during your journey.

Note that our list only considers water containers that are portable, versatile, and can be placed in your inventory. The rain collector barrel and water dispenser are also moveable, but they’re inappropriate to carry around the world.

To expect the best water container, you should follow these criteria:

  • Units of Water: refer to the total capacity a water container can hold.
  • Full Weight: refers to the total weight you must carry while putting the water container in your inventory. In theory, the full weight is a combination of the water container weight and the total units of water weight. But in practice, the weight is reduced significantly. Besides, 1 unit of water weighs 0.1.
  • Units/weight ratio: refers to the quotient of water units and the water container’s weight. The higher the ratio, the better the water container.

Now, let’s see the best 4 water containers in Project Zomboid!

1. Bourbon Bottle

The bourbon bottle has the highest unit/weight ratio among water containers. It weighs 0.7 when full and holds 12 units of water.

Here’s the bourbon bottle units/weight ratio:
12 : 0.7 = 17.14 

In this formula, we have:

  • 12: Units of water
  • 0.7: Full weight
  • 17.14: The units/weight ratio

Your character can automatically drink water from a bourbon bottle as long as it’s in your primary inventory.

The bourbon bottle can be found with alcohol inside. Hence, you should drink it first to empty it. The empty bourbon bottle can be found in trash bins or via foraging, while the bourbon is available on kitchen counters and in grocery stores.

2. Watering Can

The Watering Can weighs 4, so it’s heavier to carry than others. However, this item is the water container with one of the game’s highest capacities, holding up to 40 units of water.

The units/weight ratio of the watering can is 10. While it’s an average ratio, it’s acceptable. And due to its high capacity, the watering can is used for farming rather than drinking.

In addition, you can’t drink from it. So, try to pour the water into different containers before moving around.

You can find the watering can in garages, sheds, and crates. Tool stores are also the best place to acquire watering cans.

3. Saucepan

If you’re looking for a water container with the highest capacity that can be used to drink, then the saucepan is the first item on your bucket list.

This cooking utensil can hold 25 units of water, and this capacity is only lower than the watering can.

Whereas the bucket and cooking pot also have a capacity of 25, they’re heavier (3 and 4) than the saucepan (2). Therefore, the saucepan units/weight ratio is 12.5, which is way better than theirs.

As mentioned, you can use the saucepan for drinking, and your character can drink automatically when it’s in your primary inventory.

The other feature of the saucepan is its ability to boil water. In other words, you can use the saucepan to purify water or cook.

Saucepans are also one of the most common utensils in Project Zomboid. You can find them almost everywhere, especially on kitchen counters, cabinets in houses, and restaurants.

4. Beer Bottle

Originally containing beer, a beer bottle is an essential water container after emptying.

The empty weight of the beer bottle is only 0.1, equal to 1 unit of water. When you fully fill 6.25 units of water, its full weight is only 0.4, leading to an incredible units/weight ratio of 15.625.

That said, beer bottles are backup water containers in case you can’t find any bourbon bottles. They are distributed in trash bins, on roads, or in factories.


Those are the best water containers in Project Zomboid!

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