Last week I wrote a review of the Saratoga Farms 5-gallon water containers we purchased recently. One of the things that bothered me about our purchase was that when I’d first started researching water containers there was an option to buy just the containers, and another to get a starter kit with them that included a wrench to tighten the caps. And oddly enough, they were the same price either way.

Unfortunately, when I went to order, the site claimed the “with kit” option was sold out. The price was so good on the containers I ordered them anyway, figuring I might pick up a smaller set with the kit another time–you can’t have too much water, right? But those were sold out, too. Then I checked back the following week after I received the initial order, and found that someone else was selling the containers with their own version of the kit. This one included a friction-band wrench, which looked like it could be pretty handy, so I ordered it.

That arrived this week, and when I filled these containers I got the chance to try out the friction-band wrench. Eh. It works, and it was certainly more effective than tightening the lids by hand, but the band slipped loose at high torque. But it appeared to do the job. The containers didn’t leak.

Today I took the dog outside to play just as the UPS driver was pulling away. She’d left a small package, which was odd. I didn’t remember having ordered anything. When I opened it I found a plastic lid wrench for the water containers, from the same company I’d ordered the original set from. We had…a mystery on our hands! Did they read my review and decide to help me out?

I keep everything (not always a good habit), so when I got back indoors I checked the packing slip from the previous shipment to confirm the order date. To my surprised, I found that the wrench was listed on the original packing slip, quantity 0. Evidently they considered my purchase part of some package deal, and the wrench had been back-ordered.

In any case, I now have two wrenches! So I guess I’ll review those, now.

Actually, there’s not much to discuss. I prefer the one on the right. It’s made for these particular lids, and now that I’ve seen one in person I can tell it’s made of fairly high-grade plastic and won’t be breaking soon. The belt wrench works okay, but you have to re-adjust the belt after every turn, and the design of the containers only realistically about a 90-degree arc where the wrench will fit around the cap and you can turn it freely. It also puts your fingers right in line with the edge of the container when the belt slips. The plastic wrench handle is off-set so it rides above the container edges and can turn 360 degrees. It fits the cap more snugly.

Mind you, I’ll keep them both. And the belt wrench can be used for other size lids–which I have. It may come in handy in other ways.