Primitive water treatment & purification?

J

JD Spydo

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Nov 20, 2004
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As some of you are aware I'm very close to moving down to the Ozarks and literally living off the land. Last night I spent some quality time in 2 of my past issues of "Wilderness Way" magazine on the subject of water purifcation. Now I'm already aware of the commercial filters such as the Big Berkey and the Aquarain units. I already own one of the Aquarain units for usage in the home. And as I sell a few items I'm prioritizing getting a portable unit such as a Katadyn or MSR for hiking and backpacking. But until I get set up first class I want to know all I can about primitive water treatment and compare it to what I've learned in my older magazines.

Mainly what I want to talk about and compare notes with you all on is what you all personally may know about Primitive Water Treatment & Purification from your first hand knowledge and experience. I know that boiling it for at least 10 minutes in most cases will make most spring water safe to drink. I also know that iodine, oxygen tablets and small amounts chlorine bleach will all aid in making water safe to drink.

But I'm interested in hearing the knowledge you all have aquired in making water safe to drink in a primitive and somewhat limited situation or any pointers you all can provide. Because for the first few days I may want to just boil or treat water before I put it through my Aquarain unit to further purify it. I don't want to overload my Aquarain unit with too much sediment because I've heard that pre-filtering water will make those filters last for a very long time if you treat them right. Or maybe we call share what we've learned about a way to make water safe by simple/primitive methods which could be much faster and more convenient rather than using a filter right away. I'm all ears on this one too. Looking forward to your comments. JD :)
 
you could make a sand a charcoal filter and then boil but I use the katadyn pro...and to make the flters last longer I gather water in one of those fabric 3 gallon wash basons hang it from a tree and let the junk settle to the bottom for a hour or 2 and also put a coffee filter on the filter inlet...after filtering I add drops and some gatoraid powder for taste.. katadyn pro filters have a prescreen on the filter and both the filter and the screen are washable.
 
Whatever you do, when you set up your permanent camp walk as far up stream as possible and see what may be effecting your water source (factories, agricultural farms, pig farms, cities, etc.).

As Crackerjax stated, there are the sand and charcoal filters, but you still need to treat the water afterwards.

Boiling is the safest and cheapest bet, and you only need to get the water to a rolling boil, not 10 minutes (which is a waste of fuel if using a stove, or no big deal if using a fire). Keep in mind that boiling does nothing for pesticides and heavy metals, only creepy crawlies like crypto and giardia. Get yourself a large container or two like a 5 gallon jerry can and a large coffee can to boil water in and everytime you build a fire start boiling water and topping off the large jug (build a small stove from flat rocks to the side of your fire ring and shove hot coals into the space between the flat rocks to continually boil water that way you have the rest of the fire ring for building fires, adding wood, cooking with a spit, etc. without spilling your coffee can or getting it full of ashes, plus the "stove" can be used for more consistent cooking). It really takes up only a few minutes of your day that way and you have clean readily available water whenever you need it (versus boiling 0.85 liters at a time in an ultralight uber-cool titanium pot). Add a piece or 2 of charcoal to improve the taste of the water or pour it back and forth between pots to aerate the water to improve the flat flavor of boiled water.

Using a pump filter gets rid of the critters, but not viruses and not all of them get rid of pesticides and heavy metals (you'll have to read up on the individual filter's capabilities). Make it last longer by only filtering clean water or filling a pot with water to allow sediment to settle before filtering. Use your bandana (or coffee filters, but the bandana is permanent and doesn't fall apart) as a pre-filter.

Pump purifiers get rid of everything, including viruses, but they're more expensive and tend to me more difficult to pump. See above recommendation for making your purifier last longer.

UV purifiers are great, but they require batteries and they don't do anything for chemicals, pesticide, heavy metals, etc.

I prefer not to use chemicals for long periods of time (especially if you choose to go with iodine, which is cheaper than chlorine dioxide tabs but not safe for extended use). They are a good idea to carry with you for traveling though, as it's much faster than building a fire and boiling.
 
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Bringing water to a rolling boil will kill any germs or parasites, but do nothing for chemical contamination. You can filter out sediment with filter paper, cheese cloth, bandana, etc. Its the chemical contamination that is an issue, and believe me this is an issue even out in the boonies. Most water should be good short term by pre-filter and boil. I would stock up on water as you go, using some sort of storage container.
 
You can generaly use the earth as a filter wherever there is water. Just get your water from a hole dug 3 feet or so from the water source which you allow to seep fill.

Boil it all by bringing to a rolling boil as previously noted. The MSR MIOX unit makes a chemical out of electricity salt and water which will kill all viruses etc. I highly reccomend it. The pump filters Do Not remove all viruses check out such claims by each manufacturer very carefuly. Sawer has a gravity flow filter which is reputed to remove viruses as well...However they are subject to fatal damage in freezing conditions. The ice crystals which form burst the tiny capillarie tubes. Allowing unfiltered water to mix with the clean filtered water.
 
Some of the stuff you guys are telling me kind of coincides with some of the tips I've gotten from Col John R. Moore ( www.thelibertyman.com). On several of his survival shows on the Republic Broadcast Network ( www.republicbroadcasting.org) >> he has stated many times that he believes in pre-filtering the water. He told me over the air one day that he likes running water through commercial coffee filters before even running it through your main water filter. He has also preached boiling it for at least 10 minutes. Now I know that conflicts with some of what you guys have said.

Water is something I take very seriously. I know that in survival situations that water can either make you or kill you. It's been said on many survival type shows (TV & radio/internet) that diarheria can truly be a killer in many situations.

Great feedbacks. Also I'm wondering if there are any earth springs that are safe without doing anything to the water. I remember when I was a kid and we were in the Rocky Mountains we got water from a mountain spring and it was great. But that was many years ago. Now I have heard that you can get rid of chlorine by boiling whereas many other chemicals are only concentrated as you boil the water?
 
If you put water in plastic bottles on a space blanket/black plastic in the sun for a few hours at 60 celcius it will kill pathogens but not contaminates.
Saw a disaster relief kit a while back that had bottles, a black plastic holder with a clear lid for this.
 
I grew up in Alaska, I trusted and still trust springs up there, water's about 33°F and sweet. Ask the locals, you'll get way better information from them.
 
I grew up in the rural appalachians, we had a spring house for drinking water till I was a senior in high school. If there is a natural spring close to your cabin I would say you are good. Chris
 
Groundwater is generally considered safer than surface water, but there are no guarantees. All sorts of nasty man-made things can leach into the ground and pollute the water table (think septic tanks and gas stations to name a few), so don't assume that all spring water is good drinking water. Pre-filtering is a good idea if the water is chunky, but keep in mind that bacteria and viruses are extremely small and can "hide" inside solids that are much to small to be removed by a coffee filter.

Don't leave bottle water in the sun to disinfect unless you're sure it will get very very hot...or you'll create a petting zoo in the bottle. Bugs die in very hot water, but breed like crazy in warm water. Not all bacteria dies at the same temp either. 60 C seems very low.

If the time and resources are available I believe that adding chemical disinfectant along with filtration, or boiling along with filtration, are the best bets.
 
I've long wondered about the effectiveness of a small still. If you were going to be in one place for awhile, it might be worth looking into.
 
I use the chlorine drops....if you were wondering....iodine is just bad for long term.....if I were you I would also collect rain water on a barrel on a roof gravity fed shower and if you paint the barrel black its even better...
 
wildmike said:
You can generaly use the earth as a filter wherever there is water. Just get your water from a hole dug 3 feet or so from the water source which you allow to seep fill.

Boil it all by bringing to a rolling boil as previously noted. The MSR MIOX unit makes a chemical out of electricity salt and water which will kill all viruses etc. I highly reccomend it. The pump filters Do Not remove all viruses check out such claims by each manufacturer very carefuly. Sawer has a gravity flow filter which is reputed to remove viruses as well...
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AS I said in an earlier post I am sort of torn between the Katadyn and MSR portable water filters. But even Aquarain has recommended MSR to me over their customer service line. I've also heard nothing but good about Katadyn of Switzerland.

But it seems as though MSR is a really high tech company. It's truly a serious subject when you are making your water fit to drink. It's about my #1 concern overall. It also seems like there are so many diverse opinions and schools of thought surrounding the subject of drinking water.

I'll probably go ahead and get the MSR unit because I do plan on doing quite a bit of hiking, hunting and fishing while in my Ozark life style adventure. Also I have concluded that the polycarbonate bottles ( 5 gal & 1 gal) will be my choice for long term storage.
 
dawsonbob said:
I've long wondered about the effectiveness of a small still. If you were going to be in one place for awhile, it might be worth looking into.
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A very effective still can be made out of an old crock pot or pressure cooker. I have never used one to purify water but it will purify corn mash quite well. Chris
 
August West said:
A very effective still can be made out of an old crock pot or pressure cooker. I have never used one to purify water but it will purify corn mash quite well. Chris
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Thanks, Chris. I'm not sure about the crock pot, but the pressure cooker would certainly work: I hadn't thought of that.

I'll have to try it with plain ol' water, though. Had to give up drinking liquor years ago.
 
dawsonbob said:
Thanks, Chris. I'm not sure about the crock pot, but the pressure cooker would certainly work: I hadn't thought of that.

I'll have to try it with plain ol' water, though. Had to give up drinking liquor years ago.
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Crock pot works too, has a whole in the lid for steam that you fit your worm to, you loose a little around the lid but that is easy to seal if you want too. I Am always on the look out for old canners at flea markets and yardsales, they are the best because of their size.

Like I said I was born and raised in the rural appalachians, new how to check the bead on a jar of whisky when I was still in middle school. :o Chris
 
August West said:
Crock pot works too, has a whole in the lid for steam that you fit your worm to, you loose a little around the lid but that is easy to seal if you want too. I Am always on the look out for old canners at flea markets and yardsales, they are the best because of their size.

Like I said I was born and raised in the rural appalachians, new how to check the bead on a jar of whisky when I was still in middle school. :o Chris
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Well, now you have me thinking about pressure cookers. An aluminum one could be carried into the field without too much trouble, and be used for both distilling drinking water, and cooking, too. And who's to say that it couldn't distill a little something extra, for those who might want to partake?

When I was in the Corps, one of my men was talking about setting up a still. I'm sure he never did, though. I mean, the gunny would have told me... right?
 
oh yea... the pressure cooker deal...knew it well in high school...use to go out and raid the u pick'em strawberry feilds at night ....ferminted it in 50 gallon plastic water drums.... oh well my dream of becomeing joshua persey flowers was destroyed when I found out I could get into big doodoo...now I buy junor johnsons legal stuff...
 
crackerjax said:
oh yea... the pressure cooker deal...knew it well in high school...use to go out and raid the u pick'em strawberry feilds at night ....ferminted it in 50 gallon plastic water drums.... oh well my dream of becomeing joshua persey flowers was destroyed when I found out I could get into big doodoo...now I buy junor johnsons legal stuff...
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I'm from North GA/Western NC, lived in one about as much as the other, must be something fairly common in the area. Although I used cracked corn, maybe some hog shorts, bakers yeast and a bit of sugar. Got my recipe from an old mountain man that made substantially bigger batches than you can make in a pressure cooker. ;)

Funny I grew up in a dry county but you never had to go dry if you knew the right folks. Chris
 
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