A failed experiment, with a happy ending

Joben

Joben

Joined
May 22, 2009
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I found some oven bags in the pantry.
You're supposed to put them around roasts so they are moderately heat resistant.
They are large, thin and strong plastic bags that pack flat.
They seem great PSK item for use with chemical water treatment. But I wondered if I could take it one step farther.

I wanted to see if I could boil water in one.

I and boy #2 set off into the woods with the BK9 and cut branches to make this.
failandsoup01.jpg


We attach a bag with duct tape, and pour in water from my canteen.
failandsoup02.jpg


...and kindle a fire.
failandsoup03.jpg


Everything seems fine, the bag isnt even warm, I turn my back to chop up a branch. Suddenly this happens.
detail.jpg


A large oval burn opens up on the side with no warning that I saw. Not entirely unexpected, but still, a disappointment. Insult to injury, half the water fell on my fire, extinguishing the flames.

Emergency measured are enacted to save it quickly while it's still has a useful amount of heat...two birthday candles and a piece of fatwood are dispatched to the scene.
failandsoup07.jpg



About this time Boy #1 show up, and they roasted peaches (I didn't know you needed to cook them either ;) )
failandsoup08.jpg


Then we made soup in a foil oven pan. That worked very well.
failandsoup09.jpg

From the kitchen, carrots, sausage, and a pack of chicken flavor ramen noodles. From the yard, chives, parsley and a couple green beans.

Lessons learned: The part of the bag above the water line will fail. Cooked peaches taste a little funny. Foil pans from the dollar store are great.
 
Hmmm, well, at least ya got lunch out of the deal. Next time try cooking some pineapple, way tasty. If the bag had not failed, the glue on the duct tape would have. I have not seen any plastic type bags that can stand very close to the fire like that, would be handy though.
 
For anything like that to work you'll have to hang it a lot higher from the flames. It will take longer but it wont melt as easily. Looks like fun though.
 
Yeh, I thought it was a long shot, but since the bags are rated to 400 f. so theoretically it should work

But I think practically speaking, doing it over a wood fire, without exceeding the max temp, and without exposing it to direct flame...tricky. Maybe it would work higher up like Odaon says, but I think that would take a long time...and a lot of wood.
 
Well, at least you learned this before you depended on this in a situation where you needed the water! And, it sounds like you had a good meal afterward anyway.
 
Cool thing to try even if it didnt work out for ya. Les Stroud has boiled water in plastic soda bottles, but wasnt quite as successful trying to do it in a water bladder.

And I gotta say it, it is really nice to see someone out there with their kids! :)
 
Lessons learned: The part of the bag above the water line will fail.

This is a very important concept in bushcraft. You can boil water in plastic or even in leather and wood containers as long as you don't let the flames get above the water line.

I would say you would have better luck with a plastic bottle than the oven bag. In one survival school I took we used 2 liter bottles and snare wire to boil water. The bottles had to be mostly full and you have to be carefull when removing from the fire. The best way to remove ( that I found) was to take the whole stick that the bottle was hanging from off the fire and sit it all to the side.

Hope this helps
David
 
Thanks for the advice Echo4V!

Last night I watched a Survivorman.
Les boiled water in a hydration bladder, he got a small leak but it worked. He said he's tried it previously and thinks it goes better if you have a large bed of coals instead of a flame.
 
Joben said:
Thanks for the advice Echo4V!
He said he's tried it previously and thinks it goes better if you have a large bed of coals instead of a flame.
Click to expand...

Correct. :thumbup: Coals are the key, not flame. I learned this from the illegal aliens. What we call survival they call daily life. ;)


Like the others have said, it's great to see you doing this with your kids. Keep up the good work, keep them interested.
 
Actually they're my sister's kids. She and they are living with us now...very messy divorce in progress.
I do my best to provide some of what they arn't getting from Dad... :(

Bushman5 said:
very cool experiment, and nice looking Kabar there!
Click to expand...

Thats a Smith and Wesson "Search and Rescue" Ka-Bar clone.
Boy number #2 wanted to buy a 'survival knife' with his own money. He's pretty sensible with knives so we let him. I presented him with some affordable options that at least had decent steel. I kinda hoped I could interest him in a Mora, but he liked that one.

It's not quite Ka-Bar quality, but it's ok, 420HC blade, with an interesting semi-sharp swedge that makes a great firesteel striker, but would probably chew up a baton.
 
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