View Full Version : Water way to cook and boil
Survival scenario. I've carried my water in my condom shoved in a sock back to camp. Have had the luck to still have firesteel and knife, so have healthy fire going, shelter made from available materials. Fish caught on hook & line from survival tin.
Only thing is, no cookware. No saucepans, mess kits or anything like that would fit in survival tin.
Question: How do I boil the water to make sure it's safe to drink? and what do I cook in (assuming I have no desire to eat raw fish).
Over to you......
Hjaltlander
25-07-2004, 23:23
Not sure about boiling the water, would need to think about that...
The fish though, you could eat raw e.g Sashimi (my choice, yummy!)
Or wrap in large leaves, and cover in clay and place on edge of fire to steam, then break open and voila!
Or skewer fish on a stick and cook over fire.
Hjaltlander
:chill:
I've boiled water in hides or containers made of birch bark by adding hot stones to it.
Like adi says, hot stones. This is how our ancestors used to boil water before heatproof saucepans were available. Just fashion a waterproof container from wood, bark or whatever you can and drop in a few hot rocks.
and what do I cook in (assuming I have no desire to eat raw fish).
You don't really need anything to cook in.... you just have to adapt your methods... ie roots can be roasted directly in/on coals, rabbit can be made into a kebab, and as Hjaltlander mentioned above, use large leaves to wrap things in and cover with hot coals for a primitive 'leaf' oven ;-)
Ed
I've boiled water in hides or containers made of birch bark by adding hot stones to it.
This I've got to try.
Just goes to show what lateral thinking can do... :biggthump
Birch bark containers... How are these made?
Do this actually bring the water to the boil, or just heat it? . Would it be sufficient to purify the water for drinking?
Birch bark containers... How are these made?
Soak the bark, and fold it into a box/container shape..... use natural cordage to sew any bits together as needed (ie to hold the corners in place for a box shape). Wildwood Wisdom by Ellsworth Jaeger has a whole chapter dedicated to barkcraft, well worth reading.
:-)
Ed
Do this actually bring the water to the boil, or just heat it?
If you keep replacing the stones with hot ones from the fire it will eventually boil ;-)
Ed
:biggthump Many thanks.
and to quote Columbo... "eh, just one more thing..."
Can you sustain the boiling process to the point where the water is safe to drink, i.e. 5 mins or so?
Thanks again
To purify the water you don't need to keep it boiling, you just need to get it to the boil. So that should cut down on the amount of stones you were thinking of :wink:
SquirrelBoy
26-07-2004, 10:07
Survival scenario. I've carried my water in my condom shoved in a sock back to camp. Have had the luck to still have firesteel and knife, so have healthy fire going, shelter made from available materials. Fish caught on hook & line from survival tin.
Id use the survival tin you got the hook and line from :wink: :o):
TheViking
26-07-2004, 10:10
Hi...
I wouldn't waste a fish, boiling it! :wink: I would roast it or bake it in leaves, as mentioned before. :biggthump But if I must boil some water, i'd use the rock boiling method as Adi mentioned. :wink:
ChrisKavanaugh
27-07-2004, 05:13
Leans over my hiking staff with a Yoda-esq look of bemusement. I pull my BCB tobacco tin out and extract a folded square of heavy guage cooking aluminium. Folding it into a simple box ( you want origami? go see my screen progenitor Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid) I have a container that with care ( don't let it scorch and burn through) will boil water over a fire. Now, impatient we are young bushwalker, but wait. Heavy responsibility uluminum is, shiny,yes. But, beware THE DARK SIDE! ALuminum for some reason is tasty to bush creatures and they will eat it. Then the stomach lining is irritated and swells intestines shut. Animal dies a slow, agonising death. Aluminium found in bush, always collect. Now go, master must rest. Your MREs, good they are.
Keith_Beef
27-07-2004, 15:44
Survival scenario. I've carried my water in my condom shoved in a sock back to camp. Have had the luck to still have firesteel and knife, so have healthy fire going, shelter made from available materials. Fish caught on hook & line from survival tin.
Only thing is, no cookware. No saucepans, mess kits or anything like that would fit in survival tin.
Question: How do I boil the water to make sure it's safe to drink? and what do I cook in (assuming I have no desire to eat raw fish).
Over to you......
Fashion a pot from clay that you dig from the earth, or use hot stones, as others have explained (Steinbier is made like this).
Chris mentions carrying aluminium foil in your survival tin. I think that stainless steel foil is more resilient.
Kobayashi Maru approach.
How big is a survival tin? I've seen people mention Altoids and Fisherman's Friends....
When I was in the Scouts, we put together some survival tins of different sizes. Some had first aid kit, fire kit, navigation and signalling in a single tin. A cigar tin is bigger than a Fisherman's Friend tin, sure, but still manageable. I mean the oval tins that tobacconists have on the shelf, with 24 or more cigars in them. There are probably several different sizes, so maybe you could find one just big enough to serve as a small billy can, as well as container for kit.
As for cooking the fish, you can take green twigs and make a sort of racket that holds the fish, and makes it easy to turn so both sides cook. If you try to skewer it, it risks falling apart as the flesh cooks and softens.
Keith.
ditchfield
27-07-2004, 20:28
Rig up wooden stand and hang full condom over fire with neck open. It will not melt unless you let the water boil dry. Not the most sturdy method though.
Rig up wooden stand and hang full condom over fire with neck open. It will not melt unless you let the water boil dry. Not the most sturdy method though.
Have you tried that?
i saw on a program once, a thick bit of bamboo cut open and used as a cooking pot.. it worked really well and took ages to burn its self.
theorsmeister
28-06-2005, 17:18
It is not infact true that purifying simply requires bring to the boil.
You should infact boil the water for as long as possible, but after ten minutes there are no microorganisms left to kill. So atleast ten and add an extra minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level, as water boils at a lower temperature higher up.
If you cannot afford the time and effort, boil for as long as possible, bringing it to the boil will still kill most microorganisms, but it will not be completely safe.
Use this as a guide, I believe to be true, but do not hold me responsible for anything that may go wrong.
To the best of my knowledge, everything is killed before the water actually boils, boiling confirms you have passed that temperature, and the minute or so before you reach a boil and time as it cools is long enough for water to be sterilised. Some advice depends when and where information is gleaned from, if I was miles from help, and imodium, I would boil for as long as was practicable but it is "belt and braces".
Never tried boiling water in a condom but have tried using a paper bag, but the water based glue melted..... :o
Moonraker
28-06-2005, 21:13
It is not infact true that purifying simply requires bring to the boil.
You should infact boil the water for as long as possible, but after ten minutes there are no microorganisms left to kill. So atleast ten and add an extra minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level, as water boils at a lower temperature higher up.
If you cannot afford the time and effort, boil for as long as possible, bringing it to the boil will still kill most microorganisms, but it will not be completely safe.
Use this as a guide, I believe to be true, but do not hold me responsible for anything that may go wrong.
There has been quite a bit of discussion on this topic. Most recent sources advise that bringing water to the boil (making allowance for lower boiling point at altitude) is sufficient to kill any potentially harmful bacteria. This is from the UNHCR providing advice to aidworkers for providing potable water in emergency situations, which in fact advices against prolonged boiling:
92. Boiling is the surest method of water sterilisation. At low altitudes, water that is simply brought to the boil can be assumed to be free of pathogenic bacteria. Boiling should, however, be continued for one minute for every 1,000 metres of altitude above sea level, as the boiling temperature reduces with altitude. Prolonged vigorous boiling is often recommended but is not necessary to destroy the faecal-orally transmitted pathogens; it wastes fuel and increases the concentration of nitrates in the water. Water with high nitrate content is dangerous for very young babies. Domestic fuel supplies may, in the longer term, be the determining factor: boiling requires about 1 kg of wood per litre of water
source: http://www.aidworkers.net/UNHCR/water-09.html
wingstoo
28-06-2005, 21:35
Hi Folks,
Take a look at :-
http://ludlowsurvivors.bravehost.com
look at the photos of the EVENT 2005.
Boiling water in a plastic bag!!!!
You visit enough and I may give away the secret of how it is done!!
Ludlowsurvivors, Dave.
Can you guess how its done?
studies done at everest base camp (5545m). have shown that just bringing water to the boil killed all harmful organisim even at that altitude. so there is no need to add time to the boiling for altitudes below 5500m.
for futher information see:
Backer HD: Field Water Disinfection. In: Auerbach PS (ed): Wilderness Medicine: Management of Wilderness and Environmental Emergencies, 3rd Edition. Mosby, St. Louis, 1995.
anthonyyy
29-06-2005, 11:29
"I've carried my water in my condom shoved in a sock back to camp. "
Move your camp to where the water is - save your condom for when you really need it.
Graham_S
29-06-2005, 12:24
take plastic bag, place flat stones in bottom.
fill with water.
place fire heated stones in the bag making sure they rest on the flat stones.
remove and replace heated stones untill water is boiling.
easy.
arctic hobo
29-06-2005, 16:47
studies done at everest base camp (5545m). have shown that just bringing water to the boil killed all harmful organisim even at that altitude. so there is no need to add time to the boiling for altitudes below 5500m.
for futher information see:
Backer HD: Field Water Disinfection. In: Auerbach PS (ed): Wilderness Medicine: Management of Wilderness and Environmental Emergencies, 3rd Edition. Mosby, St. Louis, 1995.
I'd add that the way the world works, the most successful organisms (in this case bacteria) are the ones that can only live where they are, and ones that can survive a greater range of conditions only tend to thrive in the extremeties as they are out-competed otherwise. What I'm getting at is that if the place you're getting water from is stagnant and warm (best place for them), you will actually find that it is easier to destroy the resident nasties, which seems illogical.
I'm not suggesting anyone gets their water from the nastiest places they can find, just that they need not worry if they have to ;)
Only thing is, no cookware. No saucepans, mess kits or anything like that would fit in survival tin..
did anyone already say...
...use your your survival tin.
Buckshot
30-06-2005, 08:42
Leans over my hiking staff with a Yoda-esq look of bemusement. I pull my BCB tobacco tin out and extract a folded square of heavy guage cooking aluminium. Folding it into a simple box ( you want origami? go see my screen progenitor Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid) I have a container that with care ( don't let it scorch and burn through) will boil water over a fire.
:D Good post Chris :D
This got me thinking though and at the same time (who says blokes can't multi task!) I was walking past an old dicarded disposable BBQ. Hmmm, the base ali is about 1mm thick and obviously made to withstand heat. It's very light if a little bulky to keep in anything but a larger PSK - but worth a thought all the same...
Cheers
Mark