What do you boil water in?

Daniel L

Daniel L

Gold Member
Joined
Nov 2, 1998
Messages
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We often hear that boiling water for 2-3 minutes is pretty effective for killing micro-organisms - but what do you do when you don't have a pot/"billy"?

Is there a way to make one? The SAS Survival Guide talks about a birch container, but not for boiling (other than using a bamboo stem).

If you were in a wreckage situation, you could make improvise from metal sheeting.. any other ideas?

Thanks,
Daniel.
 
deleted.

[This message has been edited by jrf (edited 12-26-2000).]
 
Currently I carry military canteen cups. I also like the smaller coffer cans. I used to have a nice small aluminum pot, but proceeded to lose it along the way.

Improvised, I would ANY container I could sufficiently clean out. Especially old food cans.

One item I have MADE is a "box" shaped pan out of heavy aluminum foil! I have even boiled water in them. But they are not the best nor stoutest, but it works.

I found a set of instructions for making a pan with a coat hanger and aluminum foil. It was on a site from a Boy Scout troop. I'll try to find it again and post it. I haven't tried it yet, however!



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Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com


 
I have used the birch bark containers and they work fine to boil water in. the water in the container keeps the bark wet enough that it wount burn.
 
Hi Guys...

I haven't done this but have heard that you can boil water in a paper bag..
Has anyone done this ???

ttyle Eric..

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Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel

 
the paper bag works alot like the birch bark container if you use more than one layer of paper i think it would probably work. I'll go try it and get back to you guys.
 
jrf, ERIC: You can boil water in a paper container, like a paper cup. I would prefer something made of metal, but knowing that a paper container works is a good thing to know (just in case!).
 
I carry in my knapsack a small cornboiler with a lid that I can cook most any meals or boil water in. I stuff other items in it so that it does not take up too much space all by itself.
 
The paper bags will work but use thick tough bags not lunch bags or the like.
 
With a birch bark container, how do you heat up the water? You put the container on the fire, do you?

I'd think you'd heat stones (not creek bed stones) and put them in until boil.

Mike
 
the stone idea works great it is a lot safer too. I have heard that you can cook meat also with hot stones by shoving hot stones inside the animals cleaned carcass, I havent tried it but hey who knows maybe some day I will. Geoff.
 
A serious caveat here on heating rocks: Absolutely make sure you get the rocks from dry, higher elevation areas -- not rocks from near a stream. Rocks that contain moisture are likely to explode when put in a fire.

Some good friends of mine were doing a sewat lodge ceremony, a couple rocks exploded, and three people were sent to the emergency room with shrapnel wounds! Luckily no deaths in this case!

Peace,

Brian.
 
Hello,

You could also use animal hide.
Dig a depression in the ground line the hole with the hide use rocks to hold the edges down or wood stakes, then use rock boiling method.hide may cook after a while and need replacing.

Jeff
 
One of my canteens is the GI plastic type & I carry it in the issue case w/canteen cup. In addition, my pocket sized survival kit is housed in an "Jiffy stery-kit" -- a rectangular aluminum box about 5" x 2 1/2" x 1 1/2". The box is secured with a fold-over handle and, with a hole punched in it, the lid can double as a signal mirror.

------------------
Cheers,

--+Brian+--

I may be goin' to hell in a bucket, Babe, but at least I'm enjoyin' the ride.


 
Learn to burn bowls... take a split log or piece of wood, put coals on it. let them burn down, dump them out, scrape the bowl. repeat process until it is how you want. when you have it right, rinse it out. coating it with oil is good at this point (that's another conversation) but not absolutely neccesary. if you have the oil in it, flash it over a flame to treat it a little, not a lot. Take a small round pebble and run all over the inside of it to finish it and prevent places for bacteria to take hold. Every time you use it, rinse it and flash it over a flame to kill the bacteria that will accumulate in the wood grains.
No modern tools required. practice it and you can burn several at one time, while doing other things. there are tricks to the trade here, but practice is the best teacher.
 
quitone I have done the coal burning thing and it works ok, the bowl holds water well but I havenot tried to boil water in it yet. I made mind by cutting a huge knot off of a pine or spruce tree and ol tree will work, then either carve it out or burn it out.
cut the knot off and you can carve and burn a bowl really easily. Hope it works. Geoff.

[This message has been edited by Gunner (edited 08 December 1999).]
 
Another good one is make a clay pot and heat it up in a fire until it glows red and then you can use it to carry water as well as boil water, works great I have made several, gather the clay from either a damp patch of ground or a river bank, or anywhere where there is a great deal of moisture. I gathered nice gray clay from a stream near my house and made several pots and bowls. Also use clay to make ammo for slingshots and blowguns. Roll the clay into balls and harden in the fire. Also use clay to cook, wrap fish, or game in the clay and place it either in a fire or on hot coals. Geoff.
 
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