Water Water Everywhere.....

[s7brad]

.....But nary a drop to drink! Cool post man. How has that Pathfinder been workin out for ya?

 

[Mistwalker]

Will boiling alone kill that type of waste? I think the filter then boil method would probably make it okay. But my mind would have me thinking I'm sprouting cooties in my gut though, but in an emergency I'd rather deal with the consequences later and drinking it rather than dying of dehydration.

To my knowledge boiling alone will kill any organic contaminates, just won't do anything to help with chemical contamination.

Chemical contaminants are a concern, but I'd be more worried about biological contaminants. The answer to the age old question "Does a bear $%!# in the woods" is yes...and so does everything else...and eventually it all works its way down into the creek you're about to drink out of. Blah!

At least there aren't as many animals per square mile of woods as there are people per square mile of city.

I know charcoal from a fireplace isn't "activated", but I've used it in a class where we built an improvised filter stand. We layered grass, charcoal and sand in a tripod with a canvas bag...worked pretty well (we still used iodine after filtering). If anything, I think the ground up charcoal can help with removing tannic or other less appealing water taste (depending on the source). I do keep a bag of replacement activated charcoal in my "bug out bag", but it doesn't have long life what's used.

I still think initial filtering is good to extend the life of your filter or even keep less sediment/particles out when boiling.

ROCK6

I think pre filtering with a coffee filter, bandanna, or whatever... will extend the life of the filters in portable water filtration systems.

On a survival course, we were told by the instructor
"Giargia and Crypto won't kill you in 3 days. Dehydration will".

Exactly what I was taught. One is a maybe...the other is a definite.

Just the other day, with great envy, I watched our cat lap water from my wife's fish pond. I have to clean that out that pond and I KNOW what's in there.:barf: Wish I could do that, but I wouldn't want to be a cat. I should save up for a filter.

Nice post. Thaks for sharing.:thumbup::thumbup:

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed the post.

I think most animals have stronger constitutions and immune systems than we do.

.....But nary a drop to drink! Cool post man. How has that Pathfinder been workin out for ya?

Yep. Thanks bro, glad you enjoyed it.

I'm really liking it. I've pretty much moved away from upper guards over the last couple of years but this one is small and doesn't get in my way. I definitely love the blade shape and the handle is comfortable yet gives a good grip.

.

 

[hung-solo]

another great post man.. very interesting indeed

 

[tonym]

Great thread Mist. If I were in Survival situation and risked death by dehydration I would drink that water and worry about the circumstances later. However, I would do anything possible, (such as your little filter trick) to purify the water as best as I can.

I fugure, it would take at least a day or two for bad water to affect me, and that gives me that much more time to get rescued or get out.

 

[lmalterna]

Tonym,
Sometimes as little as 2 hours depending on stomach contents, concentration of Giardia and your own immune system. SUCKS!! LOL!!! I wear the Tshirt.

2Door

 

[Mistwalker]

another great post man.. very interesting indeed

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed the post.

Great thread Mist. If I were in Survival situation and risked death by dehydration I would drink that water and worry about the circumstances later. However, I would do anything possible, (such as your little filter trick) to purify the water as best as I can.

I fugure, it would take at least a day or two for bad water to affect me, and that gives me that much more time to get rescued or get out.

Thanks Tony, glad you liked the thread. If I were in that situation another thing I would do is follow the stream a ways and see if I could find a beginning or a side stream that might be less contaminated.

Tonym,
Sometimes as little as 2 hours depending on stomach contents, concentration of Giardia and your own immune system. SUCKS!! LOL!!! I wear the Tshirt.

2Door

There are always risks involved in trading a maybe for a definite...it's just choosing the lesser of two evils.

 

[fujita yuji]

An informative post as usual, mistwalker.
As a knowledge I know water can be purified by sand filter but
never thought this kind of simple improvisation works so well.
Simply amazing!

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Brian

To my knowledge boiling alone will kill any organic contaminates, just won't do anything to help with chemical contamination....

Distillation (ie boiling & condensing/collecting the steam) would.

An improvised cap/funnel that could sit over the top of the vessel that's to be used for boiling the water that connects to a length of tube would be worth considering by anyone who would need to deal with chemical contaminants in their water.



Kind regards
Mick

 

[SpookyPistolero]

FWIW, I don't own a commercial water filter (never got around to it). I use a three part process to collect and purify my water. First, I use a home-made filter a-la Pict (below). Then it gets boiled. Last it gets a chlorine tab. Cheap and not overly labor intensive.

[youtube]m8VQk4isaOM[/youtube]

 

[Mistwalker]

I have had a couple...katadyn Hiker, First Need XL...but don't own one now and should probably invest in another First Need or some Life Straws or something just because they are much quicker than in-the-field improvisations and I am a father.

 

[A.W.U.K.]

Thanks for the interesting post, some good tips there.

Some years ago I was climbing Slieve Donard, a mountain in Northern Ireland, on what turned out to be a blazing hot July day. The 2 pints of water between 2 of us that seemed plenty at the beginning was exhausted by the time we were half way up. I followed a trickle of water flowing into the nearby stream uphill a little way to where it emerged from the ground and flowed through a patch of sphagnum moss (which is aparently a good filter) and refilled the bottle there. The water tasted absolutely delicious and we never suffered any ill-effects.

Another water story: After the battle of Omdurman in the Sudan, the victorious but exhausted British army had to march just 6 miles across the desert to reach the safety of Omdurman city.
Owen Spencer Davis, (Acting Wesleyn Chaplain to Her Majesty's Forces) relates:

Leaving these scenes of horror, we continued our march over the burning sand, most of the water bottles empty, before us the tantalising "mirage" with its water that no man can reach, and the men worn and tired after five hours almost continuos fighting.
As I look at the march it seems like the memory of some evil dream, strong men overwrought, sat down in the desert and cried like children. In the ranks of the Warwickshire Regiment one man became delerious and had to be overpowered by his comrades; and in the Cameron Highlanders one poor lad, stricken with heat apoplexy, died. But amidst all this misery we chaplins had the comfort of knowing that we were of practical use, for by urging the men to make one more effort, by giving the fainting a drink of water (being mounted we were able to carry extra water bottles strapped to our saddles), and by getting the worst cases put on the ambulance camels, we were able to do something to relieve their distress. At last we were met by camels bringing water, and to each man was served out a small quantity, sufficient to last him with care until water was reached.
When at length we came up with the 2nd Brigade, bivouacked by a flooded "khor", the thankfulness of our hearts was too deep for speech. The relish with which I drank water which was beyond description filthy and in which dead bodies lay, and the eagerness with which my poor horse rushed into the water to drink his fill will scarcely be credited.
Having had a short rest and refreshment, with renewed strength we marched into Omdurman."

In dire straits, I don't think anyone will be too concerned about a few ppm of heavy metals!

 

[Mistwalker]

G'day Brian


Distillation (ie boiling & condensing/collecting the steam) would.

An improvised cap/funnel that could sit over the top of the vessel that's to be used for boiling the water that connects to a length of tube would be worth considering by anyone who would need to deal with chemical contaminants in their water.



Kind regards
Mick

So...the chemicals wouldn't just steam and follow the water?

Thanks for the interesting post, some good tips there.

Some years ago I was climbing Slieve Donard, a mountain in Northern Ireland, on what turned out to be a blazing hot July day. The 2 pints of water between 2 of us that seemed plenty at rhe beginning was exhausted by the time we were half way up. I followed a trickle of water flowing into the nearby stream uphill a little way to where it emerged from the ground and flowed through a patch of sphagnum moss (which is aparently a good filter) and refilled the bottle there. The water tasted absolutely delicious and we never suffered any ill-effects.

Another water story: After the battle of Omdurman in the Sudan, the victorious but exhausted British army had to march just 6 miles across the desert to reach the safety of Omdurman city.
Owen Spencer Davis,(Acting Wesleyn Chaplain to Her Majesty's Forces) relates:



In dire straits, I don't think anyone will be too concerned about a few ppm of heavy metals!

It's all in the light of the current situation and perspective isn't it.

Sitting here at home wood food in the fridge and the cabinets grubs aren't really appealing...yet it's amazing how good they sound after a few days with no food .

.

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Brian

So...the chemicals wouldn't just steam and follow the water?

Only if their boiling point is close to that of water




Kind regards
Mick

 

[Mistwalker]

G'day Brian


Only if their boiling point is close to that of water




Kind regards
Mick

Well now, that makes perfect sense

I suppose I need to study the boiling points of common chemicals :thumbup:

 

[KennyB]

I would think that charcoal would be the best filtering medium given its close relation to carbon. Sure a little extra wood matter, but for the most part it's carbon.

Given that, if you had fire to boil water, wouldn't it aid you to filter it through some charcoal first to remove chemical impurities and as much organic impurities as possible?

Also I remember watching an episode of Dual Survivor recently where Cody Lundin used "solar filtering". Apparently he just left a bunch of water in a bag, and that was enough to kill the bacteria. I guess the radiation from the sun kills them in a way it wouldn't normally if the water wasn't inside of a bag.

Suppose one of these gravel/charcoal filters and the "solar filtering", would that be effective in a situation where you couldn't boil your water?

 

[luckykitty]

Solar treatment is quite effective but

you need time and preferably uninterrupted sunshine during that time.

 

[Don M]

People have died even with a water source because they were turned off by seeing tadpoles in the water. Can't drink that, might make you sick. So they ended up dead instead.

Charcoal from a fire may not be as effective as activated charcoal, but it should make a significant difference regarding removal of bacteria and viruses. They will adsorb onto the surface of the charcoal, which is exactly how most filters work anyway. The First Need filter is mostly a block of activated carbon, and I know the carbon core of the MSR Miniworks improves the performance of the ceramic element.

 

[Mistwalker]

Also I remember watching an episode of Dual Survivor recently where Cody Lundin used "solar filtering". Apparently he just left a bunch of water in a bag, and that was enough to kill the bacteria. I guess the radiation from the sun kills them in a way it wouldn't normally if the water wasn't inside of a bag.

Suppose one of these gravel/charcoal filters and the "solar filtering", would that be effective in a situation where you couldn't boil your water?

Green house effect is easily explained. Just park your car in a parking lot on a sunny day, especially in a warm month, and time how long you can stay inside it. But be careful, sadly pets and children die in such conditions every year.

Solar treatment is quite effective but

you need time and preferably uninterrupted sunshine during that time.

One more tool in the box....

People have died even with a water source because they were turned off by seeing tadpoles in the water. Can't drink that, might make you sick. So they ended up dead instead.

Charcoal from a fire may not be as effective as activated charcoal, but it should make a significant difference regarding removal of bacteria and viruses. They will adsorb onto the surface of the charcoal, which is exactly how most filters work anyway. The First Need filter is mostly a block of activated carbon, and I know the carbon core of the MSR Miniworks improves the performance of the ceramic element.

Amazing isn't it, how fear and knowledge can over ride instincts...the animals just drink the water and go on...

 

[Acetylene]

Excellent discussion. Thank you.

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Brian

.....I suppose I need to study the boiling points of common chemicals :thumbup:

As a general rule, boiling points of compounds increase with increasing molecular mass (although the polar nature of the water molecule makes it an exception to this rule).

Since most chemical contaminants have relatively high molecular masses, most should have a boiling point higher than water




Kind regards
Mick