Water Question?

B

BowlesKnives

Joined
Jun 10, 2002
Messages
38
Hey Guys,

I was reading something in a survival book about making a condensation trap in order to get water in dry conditions. Can anyone eloborate on this? Do you guys have any more recomendations as far as getting water in dry conditions? Thanks in advance.

Keep It Sharp,

Chris Bowles
www.bowlesknives.com
 
Hey Chris: Well if your in the deserts between US and Mexico, I think Border Patrol agents will be handing out Evian bottled water so we dont lose anymore Illegal aliens to dehydration!!!LOL...
Nah seriously though, seems like Ron Hood should have some good tips for scrounding up H2O in his upcoming Desert vid...
 
Chris, I am of aware of two popular types of condensation traps.
The first and most labor intensive is the solar still. It is alot of work for the water it produces. I have been told by several different military survival instructors that the solar still will get you killed. You will usually sweat more out than the solar still can ever hope to replace. I have dug one and it is a pain.

The simplest is just taking a plastic bag toss in a few small rocks. Then pull the bag over a leafy green limb or shrub. Tie the opening of the bag shut TIGHT. This produces more water than a solar still with alot less work. You can also fill a zip-lock bag with green leaves zip the end and accomplish the same thing.


Hope this helps.

Dave
 
Make sure that the plastic bag you use is clear. An opaque bag will inhibit photosynthesis, and the plant won't respire if it is not photosynthesizing--thus no water.
 
Cant beleive I forgot that. Well that say the memory is the second thing to go...now if I could remeber the first :confused:
 
Mutant - I believe they weigh down a corner of the bag so the water collects there instead of running out of the opening that the branch/shrub/leaves is stuck through. :)
 
I've heard of the solar still and I've also heard that it's a pain in the butt to do so.
The idea about using rocks in plastic bags, wrap around leaves and tied it shut sounds like it would hold water ;) (pun intended)
I suppose that if a hypothetical person was in a crash and had access to metal and fire, one (in the most desparate situation) could boil urine, direct the steam and collect condensation, but I don't think that would be terribly practical ;) Besides the smell is so terrible you'll probably die as a result.
Couldn't you just stick leaves in a clear bottle and see if it would produce some water, given that the leaves aren't poisonous.
 
The solar still works....kinda...don't expect to get a good drink from even a full days worth of work trying to work with it. Expect to get enough to wet your mouth and get something in you, but don't count on it as a way of making enough water to live on. I was watching a show on survival on some channel, and a guy that built a still used cactus, alot of it, for his solar still. After a day all he got was a mouthful. In all cases, if you're going out on a trip you should pack more water than you think you need. If something happens that causes you to rely on building a solar still somewhere in the Sahara then good luck, because that's all you'll be running on at that point. But lugging around a gallon or two ain't too refreshing either...
 
One method I have read about is to cut a cactus in half about twelve to fifteen inchs above the grond an holow out the stump. the roots will gather the water and it will collect in the hollow stump. Just don't use a peyote cactus.
 
Prickly pear cactus is edible. May not taste worth a flip but apparently you can eat it and thus obtain the juice inside without waiting for condensation. But you really need a KNIFE to get rid of stickers. Does anyone know if some of the other cacti are edible?

I dug a cone shaped hole 2' deep by 3' across and put plastic down in it and coffe can underneath to collect water many years ago. Is this a solar still? I got about 6-8 ounces of water a day if I remember correctly. Suppose if you're going to be in an area several days it would be worth it. Otherwise the bag over the bush sounds like much less work. Seems like it took about an hour to dig the hole with a shovel.
Plastic with ends turned up to collect water should work over just about anything that is putting out water vapor. Specially a pool of dirty water or wet mud. This would be one way to purify your water.
 
I haven't had much production out of desert solar stills either. Places where I think they might be useful are those with climates like the coast of Baja California. There's very little fresh water but if you have access to saltwater, I would think that you could use the still to produce some fresh water.
 
The solar still is supposed to be used by people who are in it for the 'long term' - and who have other complimentary sources of water. Your still will help out by contributing its few ounces per day if your other sources are, say, mopping up morning dew from the grass and brush. Also, locate your still in a sunny spot in the bottom of a wash where you are more likely to find moist soil under the surface. Since you would be planning on sticking around for a few days you can also plan on urinating just outside the rim of the hole so that the urine will soak down into the earth around your still, thereby giving more available moisture. I would also dig the still at night to conserve precious fluids and energy.

As far as prickly pear, the latest issue of Backpacker magazine tells about a guy who tried eating prickly pear for its water content. He puked, which is exactly what you don't want to do when you are already facing possible dehydration. Are there some species that are good and others that are not? I have always heard about cutting the top off of a barrel cactus and mashing the insides to a pulp. Then you squeeze out the moisture.
 
The fruit are described as edible and are sold in grocery stores as "tuna".
The pads can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable and are sold in stores as "nopalito".
The article didn't address eating the pads raw. I've eaten the fruit,
its full of seeds and was rather bland tasting as I remember.
The article was under www.desertusa.com/magoct97/oct_pa/du_prkpear.html

Also www.wwmag.net/pricklypear.html

A search on prickly pear will turn up other articles on it. Some even mention using it like aloe vera on wounds, another mentions it will help repel mosquitoes.
 
Ah, yes. The article in Backpacker mentioned the fruit, not the pads. I have eaten tuna boiled, and it was mildly sweet, with no ill affects. Of course, in a situation where you are trying to get water you will not be able to boil cactus fruits. The nopales are good when they have been boiled or fried, but some need to be boiled twice to get rid of the strong flavor. Pick them while the spines are new and soft, then you can just shave them off with a pocket knife.

Incidentally, in Mexico they make an awesome candy from the cactus meat, mostly from a cactus called 'visnago'. Also the fruits from a cactus called pitallo are eaten raw, but you have to get through the spines first. I don't know what the pitallo is in English. It looks kind of like a saguaro, but it can have 20 or 30 arms reaching upward from a central trunk.
 
Went back and dug up my Big Bend N.P. book. The Mescalero Apaches ate the heart of the agave or century plant. They would roast it over a pit filled with charcoal and cover it with something.
The book said that some of these pits were still visible. They also
would eat the hearts of the sotol plant in the same way. Of course the heart of the agave plant could also be fermented into mescal, which when further processed becomes tequila.
However the book does not mention eating these raw, so don't know if this is that helpful in the area of water. Perhaps you could cut one up and cover it with solar still so that as it dries the still would capture the condensation.
 
Went back and dug up my Big Bend N.P. book. The Mescalero Apaches ate the heart of the agave or century plant. They would roast it over a pit filled with charcoal and cover it with something.
The book said that some of these pits were still visible. They also
would eat the hearts of the sotol plant in the same way. Of course the heart of the agave plant could also be fermented into mescal, which when further processed becomes tequila.
However the book does not mention eating these raw, so don't know if this is that helpful in the area of water. Perhaps you could cut one up and cover it with solar still so that as it dries the still would capture the condensation.
 
First, the disclaimer, I have never attempted to build a solar still.


I've been told, by people who probably knew, that evaporative stills were one of the worst methods for procuring water, but did have a place. That place was a sunny beach by the ocean, where water is plentiful, but fresh water nonexistant.

This makes sense to me, because an evaporative still depends on the soil being damp and the sun being out. Most desert type places, if I was willing to dig 'till the soil was damp, I might as well dig till I get H2O, and if the soil is bone dry, it'll suck out the moisture of whatever plant matter I put in the pit.

Stryver
 
I'd like to work with someone on coming up with a new product - dehydrated water. it would be light, easy to carry, easy to use - it's the rehydration that I can't quite work out! ;)

I've set up and used the condensation trap and was truly impressed. It wasn't like turning on a faucet but I got enough that if I had to I'd probably survive for a couple days. I also live in a very humid climate - that makes a HUGE difference. Otherwise I'd hope to get enough to get a drink and get outta Dodge - you won't live off it.
 
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